Claremont McKenna is one of the five Claremont Colleges (along with Pomona, Scripps, Harvey Mudd, and Pitzer), and it’s notoriously competitive. For the 2022-2023 admissions cycle, they had a 10% acceptance rate. But you’re not here to know overall acceptance data – you’re here to learn about the CMC waitlist and how to get off of it.
Thankfully, CMC actually shares their waitlist data, so we know that in 2022, 850 students were offered a spot on their waitlist. Out of those 850, 538 accepted spots on the waitlist. Of those students, 11 were admitted (a 2% success rate).
Getting off the waitlist at Claremont McKenna will be a challenge, but it isn’t fully impossible. You need to do everything you can (of the things you can control) to give yourself the best shot. 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
Claremont McKenna has like, zero info about their waitlist on their website. Seems to be a common trend with top-rated schools! A trend we do not like. Trends we do like? Hot girl walks. Glazed donut nails. Mob wife aesthetic, etc. Anyways, we do know that CMC will send you a letter (most likely electronically) notifying you that you’re on the waitlist. You will have to accept that spot on the waitlist. That’s probably the most important thing you need to do, because if you don’t accept the spot, you simply will not get in at all. Step 1? Done. Moving on.
Step 2: Secure Other Plans
This is also a very important step. You absolutely must go ahead and accept a spot at a school you were accepted to and would be happy to attend. We love the image of just waiting wistfully by a window for the CMC acceptance to come in, but it’s unrealistic and again, 2% success rate of getting off the waitlist. We are risk averse, so please, accept a spot at a college.
Step 3: Update Claremont McKenna
Your next move is to send Claremont McKenna a letter of continued interest (LOCI for short). The purpose of the letter is to a) reaffirm your interest in the school and b) give them any relevant updates about your profile since applying and c) did we say reaffirm interest in the school?
If you do not write this letter, your chances of getting off the waitlist go from slight to zero. Remember, there are only so many things you can control in this process, and this is one of them. So you need to write it, and it needs to be perfect.
This is your last chance to talk directly to admissions, so it’s important to make your best last first impression. We know you may want to straight up beg, but please don’t do that. Our tone here should be cool, confident, and self-assured.
Opening: Begin with a formal salutation such as "Dear Admissions Committee" (or the specific admissions counselor, if you have their name and info), as this is a formal letter. Pretend you're writing to a prospective employer or someone else important, like, idk maybe an ambassador or fancy diplomat.
Reinforce Interest: Claremont McKenna is aware of your interest, but let's underscore it (with no more than three sentences) by reaffirming your enthusiasm for their school. Be unequivocal – say, in no uncertain terms, that if accepted, you will attend. They need to leave this letter fully convinced Claremont McKenna is your #1 choice. Provide a specific reason why – whether it's a particular class, professor, or extracurricular activity. Or maybe their whole Claremont College thing.
Update: Now you’ll give them an update on what you’ve been up to in the past few months since hitting “apply” on the Common App. CMC cares about passion, so it's important to show them you're still pursuing them. Keep it concise – just a paragraph with your top three wins. Quality over quantity! Whether you're excelling academically, taking charge of a new club, getting new leadership opportunities, collecting awards, diving into awesome internships, or exploring groundbreaking research, let them know what's been going on!
Closing: End your letter with the same professional tone you started with, reaffirming your interest (have we said that enough), and stating the specific academic reasons you want to go to Claremont McKenna. This should be like, one singular sentence. End with “respectfully” or “sincerely,” and ofc, your name.
This should be around 300-400 words, and you will send it directly to their admissions office, asking if there’s anywhere else you need to send it. If writing the perfect LOCI feels intimidating, we can help.
Step 4: The Waiting
Plan to send this around the time you confirm your spot on the waitlist. Check with your school counselor to make sure they forward any updated grades, and if you've retaken the ACT/SAT and boosted your score, include that too.
Now, you’ll have to wait. Booooo, we know. Gross. But you’ll find out during May - July if you did get a spot. And please, don’t reach out to Claremont McKenna beyond this letter. 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.