The only thing harder than getting into college is getting off the wait list

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The University of California, Berkeley had almost 6,500 students on its wait list last year. It ended up admitting none of them.The only thing harder than getting into college, it seems, is getting off the wait list. At some schools, the wait list is far more selective than the college’s overall acceptance rate.

That’s a tough reality for thousands of wait-listed students across the country now, still holding out hope of getting into their dream schools after the May 1 commitment deadline passed.For colleges, it’s harder than ever to predict who will enroll because students are applying to more schools. Colleges have always used wait lists to manage enrollment, but the lists have ballooned in recent years. It’s part of an elaborate cat-and-mouse game many colleges play to manage yield, or the share of admitted students who enroll.

And wait lists have turned increasingly unruly, with fewer standard protocols than traditional admissions.“It’s terrible for most kids around the country, because it inflates their expectations,” said Jon Reider, a former Stanford admissions officer who is now an independent college consultant. “You and half the country are on the wait list—and you’re not going to get in.”Corbin Mahaffey, a high-school senior from Annapolis, Md., saw no downside to accepting a spot on Boston University’s wait list this spring. Then, he looked at the latest published numbers and got a reality check.For fall 2024, almost 9,000 applicants had accepted a spot on Boston University’s wait list.