UC Santa Barbara Class of 2030 Waitlist and Appeal Discussion

Colleges & Universities University of California - Santa Barbara
1

With Freshman decisions posting on today, I am starting a Waitlist/Appeal discussion.

2025 Timeline: Admits OOS and IS April 17, 2025. Admits IS April 28, IS admit May 2. IS CS/CSE admit May 5, IS CS admit May 13, L&S admits May 15, IS Psychological-BS/Art/CS/Econ/CE May 20, CS IS May 30. Denials sent starting Friday June 27. One appeal approved July 10.

Below are some waitlist stats from the last few years but are not predictive of this year’s chances.

UCSB 2025 Waitlist from CDS:

Number of qualified applicants offered a place on waiting list: 25713

Number accepting a place on the waitlist: 18022

Number of waitlisted students admitted: 9603

UCSB Waitlist 2024 CDS Data

Number of qualified applicants offered a place on waiting list: 15058
Number accepting a place on the waitlist 10641
Number of waitlisted students admitted 8715

UCSB Waitlist 2023

Number of qualified applicants offered a place on waiting list: 15689
Number accepting a place on the waitlist 9670
Number of waitlisted students admitted 5493
NO DATA FOR APPEALS

UCSB Waitlist 2022

Number of qualified applicants offered a place on waiting list: 16340
Number accepting a place on the waitlist 10163
Number of waitlisted students admitted 2793

  1. UC Waitlists are not ranked and it is not first in, first admitted.

  2. There is no way to determine your chances from being admitted off the waitlist. It will be depend upon how many admitted students SIR and how many spots are open after the deadline.

  3. No specific timeline for waitlist admits. If space opens up before the SIR deadline of May 1, then students can be pulled from the waitlist.

  4. Residency type and major are not broken out for the UC waitlist statistics.

  5. The number of waitlisted students that actually enroll is not listed.

  6. No LOCI’s since UC’s do not consider demonstrated interest. Opting into the waitlist shows your interest in attending.

  7. Opting into the waitlist is by invitation only.

  8. You cannot appeal your decision while on the waitlist.

UCSB Admissions Appeal Information: Appeal Process | Undergraduate Admissions

1 Like
UC Santa Barbara Class of 2030 Official Thread
3

Daughter was (at first?) waitlisted, she accepted the waitlist, she received and saved the letter from her portal. However, the portal appears to have updated and switched to “Not Admitted”. Is that normal where she’s still considered waitlisted?

4

Good luck to all those who end up on the waitlist! Last year my D25 (in-state) was accepted to Davis and UCSD but waitlisted at UCSB. She got off the waitlist the day after the SIR deadline and is about to finish her second quarter as a very happy Gaucho! Two of her friends were also accepted in mid and late May, so don’t lose hope. Congratulate yourself for completing all your applications, revel in your success, and enjoy these last few months in high school!

1 Like
5

That seems unusual. Maybe they are still uploading decisions and the portal is being glitchy. Hopefully other waitlisted students will chime if they have the same issue.

6

Ok, waitlist accepted message is back! OMG, I’m going to have a nervous breakdown. Thank you!

4 Likes
7

Waitlist on CS. Also applied CCS but result not available yet. Will it be reject or waitlist?

8

For CCS, you need to be admitted into the UCSB campus so most likely a denial for CCS but still a chance for CS from the waitlist.

9

D26 is WL for Pol Sci. She is very disappointed. So far the UCs have been heartbreaking - UCR & UCSC accepted, WL at Davis & rejected at Irvine. She has no hope left for the big 3. :frowning:

1 Like
10

Anyone know if they now look at major choice for releasing off the waitlist or is it based on college (e.g., Arts & Sciences) similar to admission decisions?

11

They will consider major choice depending upon the College, also will consider alternate major and may even admit as Undeclared. It really depends upon where there are open spots.

12

I wouldn’t lose all hope yet! My DD has had similar experience with UC’s so far, waitlisted at UCD, UCI, UCSB (!!) and in at UCM, UCR, UCSC. She has some excellent non-UC options, but being in CA, we really expected she’d go to UC. Her stats/EC’s/PIQ’s are on par or better than several classmates who’ve been admitted to the “mid tier” UC’s. I think the sheer number of applicants really makes it a crapshoot. Painful. But there is some hope. We have a friend whose daughter was only accepted at Cal, and have heard many anecdotes with similar stories. Plus, the waitlists seems to move. Don’t give up yet! :slightly_smiling_face:

4 Likes
13

It really does feel like a crapshoot with the UC’s. My daughter has gotten into some great OOS schools like U of Miami, Northeastern Boston campus, UDub etc for Marine Bio. UCSB is her #1 so i’m hoping she still gets in. The percentages of WL admits the last few years have been a lot better than I thought they would be so I’m hopeful. Trying to decide if we should go take a tour so if she gets in she can decide quickly or if that would make it harder on her if she doesn’t get in. We saw the campus 5 years ago and it was during Covid.

3 Likes
14

If admitted off the waitlist, usually you are given a week to decide so it might be a good idea to plan a visit.

15

For those who were waitlisted I wanted to mention a thread I started Backdoor way into UCSB (reopening for 2026) - #15 by mikemac which may be a workable alternative for those who really want to go to UCSB

2 Likes
16

People on UCSB’s WL - I mined the common data set for info. Here are the results : Common data set info - Google Sheets

Interesting points -

  1. The UCs have significantly lower admit rates for instate kids even though their yield rates are significantly higher.

  2. This is not true of all university systems, for contrast see UW. I think that is why the yield rates in UW are so much higher for instate kids, they know they will mostly get in and so they are not desperately trying elsewhere.

  3. Approximately 1 out of 2 kids who opted into the WL last year were eventually admitted to SB.

17

Hellooo! I’m an OOS kid on the waitlist who’s wondering about when I might hear back. From this thread it sounds like OOS admits were only on that april wave, which seemed like an early and small group?? Is letting people off the waitlist in April a normal thing, and are OOS people like not really admitted off waitlist normally? It just seems pretty odd. Also I’m curious if they’re gonna admit people in april because I wanna know sooner rather than later lolol

1 Like
18

From this thread it sounds like OOS admits were only on that april wave, which seemed like an early and small group?? Is letting people off the waitlist in April a normal thing, and are OOS people like not really admitted off waitlist normally?

The UCSB timeline is not an official timeline posted by UCSB but from my own personal notes. I rely on several social media sites and the posters on these sites to compile the information. Not every waitlisted admit will post on these sites so the data may be skewed or incomplete. UCSB does not officially list any waitlist data dates, majors, residency etc….

I have posted the timelines that I have collected since 2022 and April admits do not happen each year.

Waitlist admits will start when the target enrollment is not met for IS, OOS and International students. If that happens before the May 1 SIR date, then UCSB will admit in April.

Only admissions will know when and whom will be admitted off the waitlist, each year is different and there is no way to know your chances. You opt into the waitlist and enroll somewhere else until you hear back.

2022: Admits starting May 2- May 17. Waitlist closed June 10.
2023: Rare waitlist admit Wed April 19, 2023. Few admits posted on Tuesday May 2,2023 and May 3 In-state and OOS. Admits on May 9, May 22, June 9, June 22. Denials June 23.
2024: Admits on May 8, May 9, May 15, May 17, May 20, May 22. Instate wave May 29. Few admits June 4, June 20, June 28.
2025: Admits OOS and IS April 17, 2025. Admits IS April 28, IS admit May 2. IS CS/CSE admit May 5, IS CS admit May 13, L&S admits May 15, IS Psychological-BS/Art/CS/Econ/CE May 20, CS IS May 30. Denials sent starting Friday June 27. One appeal approved July 10.

4 Likes
19

Hi, I’m an international student from Southeast Asia. For the timelines, are international students the same as OOS? Or would they be a completely different thing? Also, the last time kids from my high school opted into the waitlist (2 from 2024), one got accepted, and one got rejected. I’m also assuming 9-10 kids got accepted from my batch, but most likely none of them will attend UCSB based on past years. Do you think that’ll help my odds of getting in from the waitlist as a student from my school? Especially if only one student has actually attended UCSB in the past 5 years. My last question is whether you think international students have a lower chance of admission from the waitlist compared to in-state and OOS students?

20

Again, these timelines are my notes so as stated they are not comprehensive and are probably incomplete since not all waitlisted students will post if they are admitted off the waitlist.

The UC Regents in 2017 placed a cap on the UC campuses for International and OOS enrollment to 18%. The majority of enrolled students will be California residents (goal 82% or higher). That said, all UC’s have historical enrollment data and using this information, they will admit a certain number of students to meet those goals. If there enrollment numbers are lower than expected, they will go to the waitlist to fill in the gaps.

For 2025, the enrollment yield for both International and OOS students was the same around 7% vs 16% for In-state. So CA residents are twice as likely to enroll than OOS and International students.

Each UC campus has institutional priorities that they want to fulfill and unfortunately details are not forthcoming on what they are but if they are not met, they go to the waitlist list to help fill in those spots.

Each year’s enrollment varies, so there is no way to predict if certain waitlisted students have a lower or higher chance for an acceptance. All I can say everyone that is interested in attending UCSB should opt into the waitlist and then move on to a school that has accepted you. If admitted off the waitlist, then it will be a nice surprise and “icing on the cake” if UCSB is your top choice.

Every year I post this blog from Rick Clark at GTech but it can pertain to any waitlist situation: What To Do If You're Waitlisted

2 Likes