Are odds good with CMU's waitlist?

Bit stressed over here. I’ve got CMU as my top-choice school and I'm curious, has anyone here got accepted off their waitlist? How common is it?

Acceptance off the waitlist can vary greatly depending on the year and the specific program at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). Historically, though, CMU, like many competitive universities, has had quite low acceptance rates off the waitlist.

For example, during the 2023-2024 cycle, 8,587 students were offered a place on the waitlist, 5,106 accepted that offer, and just 75 students were ultimately admitted, for an acceptance rate of just 1.4%. So, while getting in off the waitlist at CMU isn't impossible, the odds are steep.

If you are waitlisted, to maximize your chances of getting off, you'd want to send a letter of continued interest. This is a letter you would send to the admissions office stating that CMU is your number one choice and you would definitely attend if accepted. It's also an opportunity to update them on any major achievements or milestones since your original application.

You can learn more about how to write a strong letter of continued interest on CollegeVine's blog: https://blog.collegevine.com/deferred-or-waitlisted-tips-for-writing-a-letter-of-continued-interest

However, if you're waitlisted at CMU (or any other school), you want to be sure to still accept an offer of admission at one of your other schools by the May 1 deadline - you can rescind your commitment if you end up getting off the waitlist elsewhere. There's never any guarantee of getting in off the waitlist, and you don't want to miss out on other great opportunities.

Good luck - fingers crossed that you end up dodging the waitlist altogether!