Carnegie Mellon is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. And it’s one of the best out there for STEM programs. It’s a highly-competitive school with an acceptance rate around 11%. And while students do get waitlisted, it’s really tough to get off the Carnegie Mellon waitlist. All waitlists are hard to get off. But according to U.S. News & World Report, Carnegie Mellon is one of the top 10 hardest schools in America to get off the waitlist. For the 2022-2023 year, 8,986 applicants were wait-listed. 4,652 accepted positions on the wait list and just 43 were admitted.
If you’ve been waitlisted, you should be cautiously optimistic, but stay grounded in reality about your odds. We have some advice on what to do if you’ve been placed on the Carnegie Mellon waitlist:
First
First, you need to accept your place on the waitlist. Carnegie Mellon is unusual in that it offers two types of waiting lists: Priority and Regular. The Priority Waiting List is basically like an early decision pledge. You’re telling Carnegie Mellon that if you get off the waitlist, you intend to go. And unsurprisingly, the odds of getting off that waitlist seem to be better. Carnegie Mellon recommends you attend an information session for waitlisted students. You should definitely plan to attend and learn more about the options.
Second
Next, you should secure a spot somewhere where you have been accepted and would be happy to go. Again, the odds of any student getting off the waitlist at any given school aren’t very high. Register somewhere and think of yourself as going, unless you happen to get off Carnegie Mellon’s list.
Third
Write an update. In years’ past, Carnegie Mellon has offered an update form for waitlisted students. The information session should shed more light on the current practice. Either way, schools aren’t just playing eenie-meenie-miney-mo to figure out who gets off. Assuming you and your competition already gave a well-rounded representation of who are in your first-round application, schools are deciding based on new information. We recommend using the below structure to update Carnegie Mellon.
Header: Start out with an opening, formal introduction. Something like “Dear Admissions Committee,” should suffice. In the next 1-2 sentences, remind them who you are and why you want to attend Carnegie Mellon.
Body: This is the most important part. You should plan to give an update on your academics and extracurriculars. If there are relevant personal updates, include those, too (but not everyone has them). But don’t bring in anything that might seem like you’re trying to gin up sympathy. The priority here should be to speak to you what you’re accomplishing as a student.
Closing: This should also be very professional. Think of it as a letter to your future boss or someone you do business with.
The Waiting Game
Make sure your school or high school guidance counselor submit your final grades by the deadline. Apart from that, it’s really just a game of waiting. You should hear from Carnegie Mellon in May or June. Don’t try to contact anyone from the school (apart from the update). Try to relax and enjoy the rest of your senior year.
Need some help with a waitlist update? Call us. We’re experts at advising students on how to get off college waitlists.