Cornell is an Ivy League university in Ithaca, New York. One of the best universities in the country, if not the world, it is especially well-known for being the only Ivy with a college of agriculture as well as the only Ivy with a hospitality program. But you already know this if you are reading this post.
You probably already know that the acceptance rate last year was a mere 7.3%, and while we don’t know the acceptance rate for this application cycle just yet it is likely to be even lower. What you might not know yet, though, are the in’s and out’s of the Cornell waitlist. The Cornell waitlist is historically massive. More people are offered a spot on the waiting list than are accepted. In the 2022-23 application cycle, 5,168 applicants were accepted and 7,729 were offered a spot on the waitlist. Of that group, 5,531 accepted a spot on the waitlist. So, the waitlist was larger than the accepted student pool. That’s a lot of people, and there is no way for a significant portion of the waitlist to be let in. It’s numerically impossible.
This all sounds pretty doom and gloom, but we’re just being upfront. We can tell you that it’s all giggles and rainbows, but if you’ve been waitlisted by Cornell, you’re in a tough spot. And there is a chance you could get in. Last year, 260 students were eventually admitted off of the waitlist. That’s 4.7% — a far from inspiring figure, yet a figure greater than zero nonetheless!
Given that there is a greater than zero chance of getting in off of the Cornell waitlist, we’ve made it our job to understand how a student can go from waitlisted to admitted. And we’ve got it dialed down. So, this will be your step-by-step guide on what to do next if you’ve been offered a spot on the Cornell waitlist.
If you want more than a step-by-step guide, send us an email. We help students navigate the waitlist process.
Get on the Waitlist
First, you need to claim your spot on the Cornell waitlist. They require you to notify them that you’d like to be added to the waiting list by April 10th. An “average of 4,500 applicants a year,” confirm their spot. Some years, they’ve admitted as many as 190 students from the waitlist. Some years, they’ve admitted as few as 24. The good news is that, unlike many other Ivy League schools, they don’t brag about having admitted zero. So, if you keep your head in the game and work actively to make your application stand out positively, you do have a chance of getting in. That said, you also need to plan for an alternative.
Line up a Backup
It’s hard to get off the waitlist, so you need to have a plan for if that doesn’t happen. After you’ve claimed your spot on the Cornell waitlist, you need to accept a spot at a school you were accepted to that you would be happy to attend. Know that you will lose your deposit if you eventually get into Cornell and choose to go there.
Once you’ve got a back-up, it’s time to get to work on strengthening your Cornell application.
Update your Application
Cornell wants to see updates to your application for admission and, if necessary, your financial aid application as well. Your application updates “can include new grade reports, information about new honors or awards, and additions or shifts in momentum related to your activities in and outside of the classroom.” This can be submitted through the Application Status Page using the Supplemental Uploader. Once there, you’ll select “Wait List Correspondence” from the drop-down menu.
But before you start spamming Cornell with a bajillion individual documents (or really any more than one), please keep reading.
First, it’s important to know that the waitlists are managed by each individual college separately, so it’s really important that anything you submit is geared towards the college you’ve applied to at Cornell and the academic program within the college you said you planned to pursue in your initial application.
If you were not clear on what you want to study in your initial application, this is a good place to make it clear as well. They want to be able to imagine your future at Cornell, so help them.
And nearly all of this needs to be in one, one-page letter.
Your grade reports should be sent by your school (talk to your counselor about this), but any new information on awards, honors, activities, projects, or anything else like inside or outside of the classroom needs to be wrapped up into one perfectly written and impeccably edited letter.
The letter, which is often called a “Letter of Continued Interest,” needs to have four parts:
Formal Greeting: This should be a simple and formal opening addressed to the Admissions Committee. “Dear Cornell Admissions,” is perfect.
Reinforce Interest: This is where you remind them why Cornell is your first choice and what you want to do when you are there. You also need to remind them that Cornell is your first choice. They are very mindful of their yield rate, so this is an incredibly important step. It should be 2-3 sentences long, so keep your language simple.
Academic and Extracurricular Update: This is the meat of the sandwich that is your letter of continued interest. Since Cornell really wants this update, we recommend this section be up to 400 words long and focus on up to six core updates that build upon what you emphasized in your initial application.
Professional Closing: Wrap up your letter with a closing sentence or two reiterating that Cornell is your first choice and sign off with a “Sincerely,” or “Respectfully,”.
Then read, edit, and adjust as needed. Above all, make sure your letter is polite, respectful, and informative.
Follow Instructions and Be Patient
Once you’ve submitted the letter, do not call Cornell. Do not annoy them. Do not email them begging them to explain to you why you were waitlisted. Instead, try to enjoy your senior spring. You’re going to have to wait until at least May 1 to hear back, so don’t torture yourself. You should be checking the online portal semi-regularly, though, as if you are admitted off of the waiting list Cornell will require a response and deposit within 5 business days. So, keep your eyes on the online portal.
Most of all, keep your cool. Plan as if you won’t get in, but do what you need to such that Cornell has all the information necessary to give you a spot if one opens up. This isn’t fun, and it can be stressful, but it doesn’t need to rule your life. It’s senior spring, and you’re going to college soon. That’s a massive success, so enjoy the moment even if it is a little bittersweet.
If you want to increase your chances of getting into Cornell off of the wait list, send us an email. We specialize in helping students get into their dream schools.