Tens of thousands of high school seniors are placed on waitlists for schools in the UC system — and UC San Diego admitted the highest number of waitlisted students in 2023-24, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
After UC San Diego, UC Santa Cruz let in the most waitlisted students that year, followed by UCLA, UC Santa Barbara, UC Riverside and UC Berkeley.
UC Merced is the only UC campus to offer undergraduate programs but not sustain a waitlist.
UCLA is the most selective UC campus and usually has a lower admission rate for waitlisted students, but that number was higher in 2023 than previous years. In 2023, 12% of students who opted onto the waitlist were admitted, in comparison to only 3% the year before.
At UC Berkeley, 24% of waitlisted students were admitted in 2023 — but less than 1% got off the waitlist for the fall of 2022, according to the Chronicle.
These discrepancies come into play because of a complex calculus each campus uses to fill the number of seats it has remaining; and, when admissions decisions are released to students, campuses do not know many admitted students will enroll.
UC admissions officers told the Chronicle that waitlists also allow campuses to ensure their incoming class is fuller. The spots also vary by schools and majors.
“They are looking to fill different niches within a class,” Ariel Mazel-Gee, a college admissions consultant based in San Francisco told the Chronicle.
