What does it mean to be waitlisted?

Applicants are offered our waitlist in the spring when, after several thorough reviews of their application, we aren’t able to offer them a place in the incoming class. Michigan is consistently ranked as one of the top universities in the world and, as such, admission is extremely competitive.

In 2021-2022, we received applications for over 84,000 unique applicants, for the enrolling first-year class of about 6,682 students. With a limited number of spaces in our first-year class, we are unable to admit all qualified applicants. However, some spaces become available after the May 1 enrollment deposit deadline. By agreeing to be placed on our waitlist, applicants may be offered admission when and if that happens.

What should I do next?

The first thing you’ll need to do is decide whether you wish to accept the waitlist option. Please respond online through Enrollment Connect by April 17. Once on Enrollment Connect, click on the "Reply to Waitlist Offer" button under the 'Action Items' section. This will allow you to complete a form, indicating your response to our waitlist offer.

Keep striving to do your best in school and make sure to have other options figured out if you’re not ultimately admitted to Michigan. Keep in mind that if you’re not admitted, you can always apply as a transfer student from another institution.

We will not accept any additional documents from you unless specifically requested, as they will not impact your final decision.

When will I know if I’ve been admitted?

In a typical year, we complete our admission from the waitlist by mid-June. 

How do you decide which waitlist applicants you’ll admit?

Since we invited you to be on our waitlist, we strongly believe you have the capability to be successful in college and, if space were available, you could succeed at Michigan.

Once we get a clear picture of how many admitted students fail to meet the enrollment deposit deadline, we’ll know how many waitlisted applicants to whom we’ll offer admission. 

How many applicants are offered admission from the waitlist?

Each year that number varies, based on the number of applications we receive and the individual credentials each applicant brings to the table. Our large waitlist allows us adequate opportunity to fill the variety of academic programs to which we admit, if needed. Here is our data for the past four years.

Applicants who accepted our waitlist offer:
Fall 2019: 39%, or 5,085 applicants
Fall 2020: 48%, or 10,080 applicants
Fall 2021: 73%, or 13,149 applicants
Fall 2022: 72%, or 15,076 applicants

Applicants who were admitted from the waitlist:
Fall 2019: 2%, or 106 applicants
Fall 2020: 13%, or 1,289 applicants
Fall 2021: 0.5%, or 69 applicants
Fall 2022: 0.5%, or 77 applicants

Are waitlisted applicants ranked?

Waitlisted applicants are not ranked.

What if I applied for Preferred Admission from Ross, but am now waitlisted?

If a waitlisted student applied as a Preferred Admit student to Ross, their Ross application will be cancelled; however, if admitted and they attend, they can apply to Ross as a cross-campus student.