Pomona College is a small liberal arts school in sunny southern California that punches way above its weight. Thanks to the Claremont Colleges consortium, Pomona has the resources of a major university in a tight-knit and super elite community. 62% of the 1,800 students at Pomona conduct research with faculty, and there are 69 different study-away programs available to students. Pomona expects their students to become world leaders in business, philanthropy, government, and art, so they are extremely selective about why they welcome onto campus as part of the student body.

Rice University is a mid-sized private university in Houston, Texas. The school has about 4,500 undergraduate students, who make up about half of the overall student body. The campus culture is, however, truly driven by the enthusiasm of the undergraduate community. At Rice, they seek to build a campus community full of diverse perspectives and voices, and that shows. There is also a real emphasis on practical learning — or learning with a career in mind. About a third of all new students express interest in engineering, and the Rice business program is widely known as exceptional. One in ten undergraduate students pursue the business major, which was launched in 2021 to much academic fanfare and even greater student enthusiasm.

Swarthmore College is a small liberal arts school with only about 425 students per class. The school is both culturally intimate and academically intense. Nestled in a massive arboretum, also known as a really fancy garden and forest full of specimen plants and trees, Swarthmore is only 25 minutes by train from Philadelphia. The college is extremely selective, and especially popular among students who want to study engineering, computer science, or to go pre-med, but who want a liberal arts foundation with significant focus on literature, philosophy, and sociology.

So you have been waitlisted at UVA; you might be asking yourself, ok, what do I do now? Getting waitlisted isn’t fun, we’re sorry. It can be frustrating. However, we want to help you navigate the next steps when it comes to the University of Virginia. UVA actually publishes a sizable list of FAQs about their waitlist. They are very transparent about their waitlist, which is honestly refreshing. Many schools don’t want you to peek behind the curtain when it comes to the waitlist, and we love that UVA isn’t that way. Below you’ll find our own tips and advice on navigating UVA’s waitlist.

Tulane is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana with a tradition of pairing academic excellence with a commitment to service. They look for young people who push past the expected in pursuit of the common good, and students love the college for having a work/life balance that celebrates all that New Orleans has to offer.

Tufts is a unique place — quirky but urban, intimate but well-resourced for research opportunities, nerdy but friendly. Like almost everywhere else, it’s gotten more competitive as the years have gone by, with last year’s common data set reporting 3,444 admitted students from an applicant pool of 34,002 (an acceptance rate of 10.1%).

We aren’t going to sugarcoat it; being waitlisted is not fun. Boston University is one of those schools that is getting more popular every year, which can lead to a long waitlist. Located right on the Charles River in Boston, Massachusetts, Boston University (often just called BU) is a  private research university. In 2023, they had a 14% acceptance rate. This is a pretty steep drop-off from past rates. For example, in 2020, their acceptance rate was  22%.