The University of Pennslyvania (Penn) is the quintessential work-hard play-hard Ivy, and it’s extremely competitive to get into. In 2022, they accepted 3,549 students out of 54,588 – a 6.5% acceptance rate. But you are obviously aware of how competitive Penn is because you’re here for something else – waitlist info.
Before we talk about how to get off the waitlist, let’s dive into their recent data re: waitlist. In 2022, 3,351 students were offered a spot on the waitlist (about the same as were offered admission), and 2,508 students accepted a spot on the waitlist (about the same as accepted students who enrolled). Out of those 2,508 students, 147 were admitted off the waitlist. We thought that was relatively high compared to other schools (Stanford accepts like, 8), so we dug a little further. Turns out they generally accept over 100 students from the waitlist each year, sometimes as many as 300.
Don’t get too overly optimistic; that’s still a 5-6%ish chance of getting off the waitlist. But that means the steps you take to get off the waitlist need to be executed perfectly to give you the best shot possible. We’re going to outline the steps you need to move off the waitlist and into their incoming freshman class.
Step 1: Accept Your Place on the Waitlist
Penn, like so many other schools, has extremely limited info on their own website about the waitlist. We looked around and found this one PDF from 2017, and thankfully it still aligns with what we know from successfully working with waitlisted students each year. You will need to accept a spot on the waitlist by filling out the waitlist form. If you do not fill out the form, you have no shot at getting off the waitlist. You gotta tell them that you wanna be there! You’ll do this in April. Onwards, to step 2!
Step 2: Secure Other Plans
While we love the romantic idea of just accepting a spot on the waitlist and totally vibe-ing it out in theory – in practice, it makes us break out into stress hives. Go ahead and accept a spot at a college you were admitted to and would be happy to attend. Because at the end of the day, you will be going to a college. Now, step 3.
Step 3: Update Penn
Let’s hear it from Penn:
“Should I send additional letters of recommendation or other supplementary materials?If you have additional information that sheds new light on your candidacy, and you would like to express your continued interest, you may submit an update through your Penn Applicant Portal. Our form will only allow you to submit an update once, so we recommend you take your time and upload one comprehensive document.”
Penn is asking for a classic LOCI (letter of continued interest) here, so let’s give it to them. Remember, if you don’t supply Penn with an update/letter, your chances of getting in off the waitlist go from slim to nonexistent. An update letter is the one thing you can control in this process, so you need to write it and it needs to be perfect.
This is your final opportunity to communicate with admissions, so it's crucial to make it impactful, professional, and confident. While we understand that you might want to literally beg for a spot, we want to avoid that. No desperation!
Opening: Start with a formal greeting like "Dear Admissions Committee,” since this is a formal letter. No heys or howdys, you need to imagine you’re writing this letter to a future boss or senator or something.
Reinforce Interest: Penn knows you like them, but let's reinforce that with a few sentences (no more than three) reminding them just how excited you are about the possibility of going to Penn. And don't hold back - make it suuuuper clear that if you’re accepted, you will attend. They need to know Penn's your top pick, the place where you see yourself thriving academically and personally. So, hit them with a specific reason – maybe a class, a professor, or an extracurricular.
Update: Now, a quick update on what you’ve been cooking since you hit "send" on your fall application. Hopefully, you’ve kept pursuing lofty goals because these schools want to see that you’re still going after the things you’re passionate about. Hit on the highlights of what you've been up to – keep it snappy though. Just a paragraph with your top three wins will do. Whether you're now the top-ranked student, snagged a new leadership role, started a new club, picked up shiny new awards, hopped into exciting internships, or dove headfirst into groundbreaking research, let them hear about it.
Closing: Conclude your letter with the same professional tone you started with, reaffirming your interest, and stating the specific academic reasons you want to go to Penn. This will be a sentence. End with a profesh closer like Respectfully or Sincerely.
This should be around 300-400 words, and you’ll upload it to their portal. If writing the perfect LOCI feels intimidating, we can help.
Step 4: The Waiting
You’ll send this in around the same time you accept the spot on the waitlist. Make sure your school sends any updated grades, and if you took the ACT/SAT again and improved your score, send that along too.
Now, you’ll have to wait. Penn says they start sending out waitlist stuff in May, with the final decisions coming back end of June. Don’t reach out to Penn beyond this letter, we don’t want to annoy them, and instead, let your LOCI speak for itself. Make sure to secure a spot at another school and keep your grades strong. Best of luck!
If you’re on a waitlist and feeling anxious, we can help! Please reach out to us today if you need help with your waitlist letter.