Vassar is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York. While it was originally founded as an all-women’s school, it has been co-ed since 1969. With around 2,500 undergrads, Vassar is consistently ranked as one of the best small liberal arts schools in the country.

Vassar is a little squirrely about its acceptance rate. For example, they do not include it on their admissions website. Last year their acceptance rate was about 23%. However, it should be noted, because far fewer men traditionally apply to Vassar than women, their rate for women was around 18% while for men it was closer to 33%.

When it comes to Vassar’s waitlist, last year they offered 1336 waitlist spots. 638 students accepted their spot and they offered admission to 32 students on the waitlist. This translates to about a 5% chance of getting accepted off the waitlist. This is a lower rate than the year before when they took 96 students off a similarly sized list, leading to a rate of around 15%. This year we expect it to be closer to last year’s numbers. That being said, fluctuation is natural with waitlists.

Vassar doesn’t publish much about their waitlist and they really should. We actually called their admissions office to confirm some information about the waitlist. The first person that we spoke to said that they didn’t think there was a waitlist and seemed to not know what a waitlist was. This was a really big red flag, and we think Vassar staff should be more aware of the basics of admissions. We talk to admission offices all the time and were surprised to hear this answer. So of course we went deeper and found that they obviously 100% have a waitlist. Duh. Not having a waitlist would mean that the school has a 100% yield rate, which is simply not a thing. If we were a stressed-out student (and not a company that has 10+ years of professional experience) we could see this being a big problem. A quick note to Vassar, do better—y’all are charging almost 70k a year.

ANYWAY, if you find yourself on Vassar’s waitlist and don’t know what to do next, we want to help demystify the process. If you still have questions or are struggling with waitlist decisions, send us an email. We would be happy to help! But in the meantime, let’s break down what to do if you are waitlisted by Vassar.

Get on the Waitlist

If you want to be on the waitlist, you will have to accept your spot. It is not automatic. For example, remember our statistics above? Last year only 638 students accepted their spot on the waitlist out of a pool of 1336.

You can go onto Vassar’s application portal and accept your spot. They will let you know if you have been selected for the waitlist by late March and you need to accept your spot by late April. However, we recommend accepting your spot sooner rather than later. It won’t directly affect your spot on the waitlist, but it is still best practice.

Line up a Backup

Once you have accepted your place on the waitlist, you need to accept a spot at another college. Getting off the waitlist isn’t guaranteed and you will need to be a little realistic here. We know it's not ideal, but you need a Plan B. Put a deposit down at another school by May 1st.

We hope that you get off the waitlist, but the odds aren’t in your favor. We love manifesting and positive thinking, but we are also realists. Having a Plan B isn’t just smart, it's necessary when last year there was a 95% chance of not getting off the waitlist.

If choosing a backup is stressful, we are happy to help walk you through it. If you really aren’t happy with your current choices, we can always discuss the transfer process. It takes some work, but if you are dissatisfied with your current choices, transferring next year can be a great option.

Reinforce Your Interest

Once you confirm your spot on the waitlist, you want to reach out and restate your interest in Vassar. They recommend sending a LOCI or letter of continued interest to your admissions counselor. You can find who your counselor is here if you haven’t already contacted them during this process.

But what is a LOCI? It really just boils down to an email showcasing your recent updates and interest in the school. This really shouldn’t be over around 450 words. Try to keep it short, sweet, and professional. The LOCI letter should include four parts.

Formal Greeting: Address your letter to your specific counselor, for example, “Dear Mr. Doyle,”. You should also include an opening sentence introducing yourself and thanking them for their continued interest in you as an applicant.

Reinforce Interest: This is where you sing the praises of Vassar. Tell them specifically why you are interested in attending Vassar and what you hope to do there. Again, keep this short. Ideally, under 200 words. You want this to be new information. It might help to look at your app/supplement to make sure that you aren’t repeating yourself.

Short Update: You want to highlight one or two exciting updates that have happened since you have applied. This might be starting a new job or position. It might be winning an award or another accomplishment. Whatever it is, it should feel impressive. You don’t need to list every little thing you have done since November. Instead, this should feel like a curated take on your most exciting news.

Professional Closing: Finish off your letter with a reiteration that Vassar is the top school for you and thank them for their consideration. End with a “Sincerely,” or “Respectfully,” and your full name.

You will also need your counselor to send them a mid-semester grade report or updated grades when you have them.

Be Patient

Waitlists force you to, well… wait. It can be hard to be patient, but Vassar won’t have any news until after May 1st. Most likely you will hear from them in Mid May through early June. Do the recommended steps above and then take a breath and hope for the best.

We know getting waitlisted is stressful. However, there are steps that you can take to maximize your chances at getting off of it. There are no guarantees when it comes to waitlists, but we will be crossing our fingers for you!

If you want an expert in your corner, reach out! We are happy to help!