If you didn’t get into your top-choice school early on, or if you’re on a waiting list later on, you’ll need to write a convincing letter to show you’re still interested. This letter is a way to show, rather than just say, that you still really want to attend that school. It’s a chance to persuade the people in charge of admissions to give you another shot.
Chances of Admission After Being Deferred
Typically, about 1 in 10 students who are put on hold for top colleges end up getting accepted later on. This number can vary depending on the college and the year.
For instance, Harvard University mentions on its website that students whose applications were put on hold have been accepted at various rates, often similar to the rate for regular applicants. In the past six years, Harvard’s acceptance rates for regular applicants were 2.34% for the Class of 2027, 2.34% for the Class of 2026, 2.6% for the Class of 2025, 3.2% for the Class of 2024, 2.8% for the Class of 2023, and 2.8% for the Class of 2022.
On the other hand, Dartmouth College’s website mentions that 5 to 10 percent of applicants who were put on hold during the early application stage are typically accepted.
Georgetown University’s website states that about 15% of applicants who were put on hold during the early application stage are successful during the spring review.
However, regardless of the specific information on a school’s admissions website (some schools share more information than others), we have observed that 10% is the average figure across prestigious universities – sometimes more in some years and less in others.
Chances of Admission After Being Waitlisted
Top universities in America usually keep quiet about how many students they accept from their waitlists.
In certain years, like the 2019-2020 admissions cycle for the Class of 2024, these universities admitted many students from their waitlists. This happened because fewer students enrolled due to reasons like taking a gap year after the outbreak. Harvard, for instance, accepted 34 students from its waitlist for the Class of 2024. Other prestigious colleges also admitted students from further down their waitlists.
However, in other years, like the 2020-2021 admissions cycle for the Class of 2025, top universities hardly used their waitlists. For example, Harvard didn’t take any students from its waitlist that year.
The number of students accepted from a top college’s waitlist depends on how many of the accepted students actually decide to attend the college. This can change every year.
The table below displays how many students enrolled at each of the eight Ivy League schools over the past six years (from the Class of 2027 to the Class of 2022):
| Ivy League School | Class of 2027 Yield | Class of 2026 Yield | Class of 2025 Yield | Class of 2024 Yield | Class of 2023 Yield | Class of 2022 Yield |
| Brown University | 63.25% | 67.3% | 67.11% | 62.05% | 60.81% | 60.78% |
| Cornell University | 66.46% | 68.36% | 63.34% | 59.78% | 60.38% | 61.03% |
| Columbia University | 64.07% | 67.13% | 67.13% | 57.11% | 62% | 62.96% |
| Dartmouth College | 67.13% | 63.72% | 70.17% | 53.6% | 63.63% | 60.73% |
| Harvard University | Slightly Over 84% | 84% | 84.17% | 69.83% | 82.08% | 81.67% |
| Princeton University | 76.66% | 78.32 | 78.32% | 62.45% | 70.45% | 69.02% |
| University of Pennsylvania | 69.66% | 67.88% | 73.18% | 61.26% | 69.65% | 67.33% |
| Yale University | 69.97% | 67.7% | 71.18% | 54.98% | 69.17% | 70.19% |
Chances of Admission with Ivy Coach After Deferral
The chart below shows the percentage of students who start using Ivy Coach’s services after getting a deferral in the Early Action/Early Decision round. They want to better their chances of getting accepted in the Regular Decision round at the same school.
These numbers don’t include students who already worked with Ivy Coach on their Early Applications and got deferred. Usually, the admission rates for these students in the Regular Decision round are higher.
In some cases, usually less than 3% of students, we don’t hear back from them after they receive their Regular Decision notices. We consider those cases as rejections.
At last, there are many college sites in the top national universities where we either didn’t keep track well in the last thirty years or didn’t help enough delayed students to be included.
| College/University | 2024 US News National University Ranking | Percentage Over 30 Years of Students Who Enlist Ivy Coach’s Services After a Deferral Who Earn Admission to That School |
| Princeton University | #1 | 40% |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | #2 | 28% |
| Harvard University | #3 | 60% |
| Stanford University | #3 | 33% |
| Yale University | #5 | 33% |
| University of Pennsylvania | #6 | 60% |
| California Institute of Technology | #7 | 0% |
| Duke University | #7 | 50% |
| Brown University | #9 | 33% |
| Johns Hopkins University | #9 | 33% |
| Northwestern University | #9 | 33% |
| Columbia University | #12 | 57% |
| Cornell University | #12 | 33% |
| University of Chicago | #12 | 66% |
| University of California, Berkeley | #15 | N/A (no Early policy) |
| University of California, Los Angeles | #15 | N/A (no Early policy) |
| Rice University | #17 | Incomplete Data |
| Dartmouth College | #18 | 66% |
| Vanderbilt University | #18 | Incomplete Data |
| University of Notre Dame | #20 | Incomplete Data |
| University of Michigan — Ann Arbor | #21 | Incomplete Data |
| Georgetown University | #22 | 33% |
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | #22 | Incomplete Data |
| Carnegie Mellon University | #24 | 25% |
| Emory University | #24 | Incomplete Data |
| University of Virginia | #24 | Incomplete Data |
| Washington University in St. Louis | #24 | Incomplete Data |
Chances of Admission with Ivy Coach After Waitlisting
The numbers are similar for students who become Ivy Coach clients after being put on a waiting list. But it’s not always straightforward because some top colleges in the US don’t use their waiting lists, or they don’t tell anyone they’re not using them.
Still, Ivy Coach’s success rate with students who first join us after being waitlisted is similar to those who join us after facing delays.
Over the years, we’ve helped students get into all the top 25 national colleges according to US News & World Report for 2024, like Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and others. Some years, we help a lot of students get off waitlists at various prestigious schools. Other years, not as many.
But no matter the year, our waitlisted students always send persuasive letters showing their continued interest. The real variable here is how many students a school accepts from its waitlist each year, which can vary a lot.
What is a Letter of Continued Interest?
A “Letter of Continued Interest” is like a message, similar in length to a Personal Statement, that you send to a school if they’ve put your admission on hold or waitlisted you.
It’s a chance for you to reach out to the admissions committee (usually through their local representative) and let them know you’re still interested in joining if you get accepted.
This letter is your chance to convince someone from the admissions team who might not be sure about your application, and to show how you plan to contribute to the school. When a student gets deferred or waitlisted, it often means that one admissions officer is in favour of the student while another is not. A great Letter of Continued Interest can persuade both of them.
Why an Ordinary Letter of Continued Interest Won’t Suffice
When students or parents who aren’t our clients tell us they’ve already sent stuff to a top university after being deferred or waitlisted, we just hope for the best. We can’t really help them more than that.
It’s like going to the doctor and starting treatment before seeing them. The treatment might not work as well, and it lowers our chances of helping the patient.
Lots of students, especially their parents, tend to flood universities with updates and info after being deferred or waitlisted. Getting named president of your school’s National Honor Society is great, but Harvard doesn’t really care about that. Basically, people tend to brag and throw everything at admissions officers. But that’s not the best approach. And since most deferred or waitlisted applicants don’t end up getting in, it’s not the right way to go about it.
Ivy Coach’s Letters of Continued Interest Are Weird
The letters from students who came to Ivy Coach after being turned down by Harvard (and other top universities) are unusual. Yes, strange.
Though each letter is unique, they all try to tell the student’s story in the best possible light. They show how the student plans to bring their own special qualities to the university’s programs, culture, traditions, activities, and more, instead of just being well-rounded. We didn’t tell students to name-drop professors or list lots of classes that change each year.
Every letter from Ivy Coach’s students also throws down a challenge — it dares admissions officers not to accept the student who created a quick, cheap test for oral cancer, or the one who found a better way to herd sheep, or the one who designed bamboo socks. And so on.
Ivy Coach’s Assistance Crafting a Powerful Letter of Continued Interest
If you need help from Ivy Coach to improve your chances of getting into college after being put on hold in the Early Action/Early Decision round or on a waiting list in the Regular Decision round, please fill out our free consultation form. Let us know if you were put on hold or waitlisted, and we’ll get in touch with you.
It’s important to understand that Ivy Coach can only increase your chances of getting accepted after being put on hold or waitlisted. Students in these situations don’t usually have a high chance of getting in, and if someone tells them otherwise, we advise them to be cautious.
During this stressful time of year, after being put on hold or waitlisted, we want to work with families who understand their situation and are committed to improving their chances of getting into college. So, if a parent asks if we can guarantee admission after being put on hold or waitlisted, don’t be surprised if you don’t get a definite answer right away.
