Are you curious about how the waitlist for UC schools works? The University of California is a top-tier state school system, offering public education to California residents and others. The beautiful campuses and temperate weather add to these academic powerhouses’ appeal. However, as increasing numbers of students apply to college (and specifically, to the UC system) the waitlist is an inevitable discussion. Let’s talk about it.
Field report
To kick off the discussion, we’ll consult former Empowerly writer Andy Wang on his firsthand experience and perspectives.
“In recent years, it seems that many qualified students are being waitlisted at UC schools. A particularly strange aspect of this phenomenon is that the schools that are waitlisting students aren’t the expected ones, such as UC Berkeley and UCLA [Lost Angeles]; rather, other schools like UC Davis and UC San Diego… I am drawing both from my own personal experience going through admissions two years ago, as well as other evidence.”
How it began
“Two admission cycles ago I was a high school student eagerly awaiting college decisions to come out. Much like most of the students that are probably reading this blog, I was mainly looking at the UCs. At this point, I had earned admission into UCSB [Santa Barbara] and UCI [Irvine] but hadn’t heard back from UCSD [San Diego], UCLA [Los Angeles], or UC Berkeley. What intrigued me about UCSD was that almost everyone had already heard back beside me. I didn’t think much about it; but coincidentally, UCSD decided to notify, less than an hour after I was admitted into UCLA, that I was on the waitlist.“
A shared experience?
“This wasn’t just the case with me either; others who hadn’t heard back from UCSD and got into UCLA would also be waitlisted by UCSD. I believe that this stems from the notion that most students would prefer UCLA over UCSD. Essentially, as soon as UCLA released its admissions, UCSD would release conditional decisions.”
Why does all this impact the UC waitlist system?
Andy says it all comes down to “the all-important statistic of percent of students who attend from the admitted list. This statistic has notoriously been known to be used as a benchmark in telling the prestige or competitiveness of a school. The lower the percentage is, the less ‘strong’ the school looks on paper.“
What statistic is this? It’s more commonly called the “yield rate,” and it’s worth looking into. Knowing the numbers of the past won’t predict what will happen in the future; nonetheless, it may give you a ballpark. If you need help decoding these numbers and what they actually mean for your college apps, I highly recommend meeting with an Empowerly counselor and checking out the Empowerly Score® as a tool to make all this information more user-friendly.
What’s next?
If you’ve found yourself waitlisted for a UC school and hoping to get off that list eventually, there are steps you can take. Here are a few key pointers from UC Berkeley in 2022:
Q: Can I challenge the admission decision?
A: Appeals may only be filed by students who are denied admission. Since the waitlist offer is not a final
admission decision, the appeals process is not available. In order to express your interest in our campus and
to share more information for consideration, you may opt into the waitlist, by April 15, 2022.
Q: What is the Waitlist Essay*?
A: Students who choose to opt-in to the waitlist may choose to complete this optional written statement.
While this is not a requirement, the essay may serve to provide further information to the Office of
Undergraduate Admissions at Berkeley. [Topics to use for the statement may include: Awards and recognition obtained since the point of application, explanation of any course changes, challenges faced since the point of application. Please remember there is no right or wrong answer, simply the opportunity to share additional information.]
* Keep in mind, not all UC campuses handle the waitlist process the same way! Each campus does so a little differently. We highly recommend finding the FAQs for the school you are looking at to be sure of the final details.
For more answers to your questions about college admissions, Empowerly is here to help. Working with an expert is one of the best ways to boost your odds of acceptance.
