Important Information on Our Waitlist Process

3/26/22 Update: The waitlist webinar will be held on April 7 at 7:00 p.m. Keep an eye on your inbox for registration information.

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By now, many of you who applied to Wake Forest have received your decision from the Admissions Committee. And while that news may not have been what you were hoping for, the opportunity remains for you to join our next first-year class. Following is some helpful information as you move forward in our process:

First, you need to add yourself to our active wait list. Your application will not receive further consideration if you do not take this step. To join the active waitlist, log in to your Admissions status portal. There, you will find the “Decision Reply Form.” Complete that form, indicating the last date you’d like to be considered for admission; then, submit it.

Second, email your admissions representative. If you are not sure who that is, be sure to visit our staff page for more information. (Please write to the person who reviews applications from the state where your high school is located, not where you live. This includes international applicants who attend schools in the United States.) Your email should describe how the final months of your senior year are progressing; please be aware that the Admissions Committee is particularly interested in updates about your academic work. Feel free to email your admissions representative again closer to May 1.

That’s all you need to do. Continue to work hard in the classroom, and rest easy knowing you’ve done all that you can do.

On our end, we will monitor enrollment carefully over the next few weeks, and, in late April, the Admissions Committee will gather to discuss how many additional students we will need to add to the class. The number of students admitted from the waitlist varies from year to year, and it’s too early at this point to say how many students we’ll need this year. We understand that being a member of the Wake Forest University Class of 2026 is a goal for so many of you – thank you, in advance, for your patience.

Keep an eye out for more information about a webinar we will hold later this spring, where we will share tips and advice for navigating the waitlist. In the meantime, please be aware that applicants on the active waitlist are not ranked; all will be reviewed should we need to admit additional students. And while we offered interviews as part of our admissions process, we do not offer interviews to students who have been waitlisted.

Finally, a note of caution: as you continue in your college search, keep in mind enrollment at the other institutions to which you’ve applied and been admitted; don’t risk losing your place there in hopes of receiving an offer of admission from us.

Our active waitlist will be composed of phenomenal students like you: those who have pursued curricula that pushed them to see the world in new ways; those who have improved their local communities beyond what they imagined; and those who negotiated the uncertainty of another unusual academic year. Know that we have intensely attended to your essays, proudly conducted your interviews, and thoroughly enjoyed your Top Ten lists. No matter where your search takes you from here, we know that you’ll enrich that campus community in meaningful ways.

We wish you only the best.

Warmest regards,
Wake Forest University Office of Undergraduate Admissions