Waiting List

Waiting List Update, 6/12/2024: Our waiting list process has concluded for the Fall 2024 term. We appreciate your interest in UVA and wish you the best as you begin your college career. If you remain interested in UVA, you may be interested in reviewing information about our transfer process. 

Waiting List Update, 5/16/2024: We’re grateful to the many deserving students who remain on our waiting list. We offered admission to a small number of students this evening. These students received an email notifying them of an update to their status in their MyUVA application portal.

Over the next month, we will continue to monitor our class. We expect to resolve the status of all students who remain on the waiting list no later than June 15.

We are thankful all of our applicants for putting their faith in us and for their interest in UVA. We wish you the best as you wrap up your senior year and get ready for what we hope is a fun, safe, and relaxing summer.

Waiting List Update, 4/9/2024: We are grateful to all students who remain interested in attending UVA. On Tuesday, April 9, we offered admission to 57 students who were on the waiting list for first year admission. We’ve reached out to these newly admitted students through their application portal and by email. All admitted students, including those offered from the waiting list, have until May 15 to submit their enrollment deposit to secure their place in the class. Enrollment deposit fee waivers are available to students with financial need and deadline extensions are available to those experiencing difficulties with FAFSA submission.

Although we may be able to offer admission to additional students who remain on our waiting list, we do not expect to do so before May 15, and the process may extend into June. 

Again, we are grateful to all students who remain interested in UVA and wish all students the very best as they complete their senior year and make their college selection.

Who is on the waiting list? Why is the waiting list large?

Each year, there are many talented students who find themselves on the waiting list – students whom we’d very much like to offer admission if spaces become available in the entering class.

The applicant pool can be seen as having several parts, in-state and out-of-state for the five different academic entry points. It's hard to predict which part of the class might have space after May 15th, so we have to have a waiting list that includes students from the different areas of the pool. 

Students offered the waiting list join it via a form in the portal. Some decide not to pursue further consideration. 

Why wasn't I deferred?

Last June, we announced that we would no longer defer students who applied under Early Decision or Early Action. Since fewer than 5% of students were admitted during the defer review in previous cycles, we made the decision to eliminate deferral and offer the waiting list option to give students a more accurate sense of their chances of admission. 

What is the timeline?

We will know how many spaces in the class are available after May 15, the deposit deadline for admitted students. If spaces become available, we will spend about two weeks determining how many additional offers of admission we can make. Because most colleges require a deposit by May 1, we strongly encourage you to pay a deposit at another school, even if UVA is your first choice.

Deadlines for opting in to the waiting list

Early Decision: March 1
Early Action: March 1
Regular Decision: April 15

You can remove yourself from the waiting list after accepting a spot, but opting out is permanent.

How do you decide which students to admit off the waiting list?

If we are able to take students off the waiting list, we’ll determine which schools or programs – the College of Arts and Sciences, Architecture, Engineering, Nursing, and Kinesiology – have spaces available. Because we need to achieve the proper ratio between in- and out-of-state students, we’ll also see how many spaces we have available for Virginians and for non-Virginians. We’ll review the applications of students on the waiting list and consider our original evaluation along with any new information we have received.

How many students will get admitted?

The number of students admitted from the waiting list can be quite different from year to year. Here are the numbers from the last few years...

YearStudents Admitted from the Waiting List
2023360
20227
202183
2020915
20199
201813
2017117
What happens if I get an offer?

We’ll be in touch with students who have accepted their place on the waiting list between the second week of May and the end of June. After we reach out to students by phone and email with an offer of admission, they’ll have 48 hours to accept or decline the offer in their student portal.

What can I do to improve my chances?

Please upload your mid-year report in your portal when it becomes available. Although you are welcome to send additional letters of recommendation via your portal or the general admission email account, they should only be sent if they tell us something new that we haven’t learned about you yet.

While we’re happy to answer your questions, calling, writing, or visiting won’t have any impact on your admission decision. You've already given us a lot of information and the only additional item we need is your updated grades when they become available. 

The waiting list opt-in form submitted through the portal takes the place of a Letter of Continued Interest (LOCI).

 

Is the waiting list ranked?

We do not rank the waiting list. We will re-evaluate a student’s application and consider any new information submitted to make our decisions. This also means you have until the reply deadline to decide if you want your application considered again. Those who reply earlier do not receive preferential treatment. 

UVA Wise Deferred Admission Option for Virginia Residents

If you’re a Virginia resident on the waiting list for the College of Arts and Sciences, you have the opportunity to enroll at the UVA College at Wise, located in southwest Virginia, for one year before automatically enrolling at UVA in Charlottesville. Students in this program must complete 30 hours of transferrable credit during their first year at UVA Wise and earn a 3.0 cumulative GPA or better. You may accept this option and continue to remain on the waiting list for first year admission to UVA.

This agreement provides entry to the College of Arts and Sciences. Students pursuing this opportunity will not have the opportunity to major in the McIntire School of Commerce within a four year timeline. It is recommended that all students pursuing this opportunity identify a top choice major within the College of Arts and Sciences.