Early Decision and the Waitlist

Wake Forest continues to receive significant interest in joining our campus community. This year is no exception: along with those who applied Early Decision I, our total Early Decision applicant pool was up 16%. For those who were admitted, we congratulate you on this accomplishment and look forward to communicating with you about our admitted student events! For those who were denied admission, we wish you the very best as you take the next step in your academic journey. Please know that our decisions are not made lightly, and, especially in recent years, our decisions reflect a growing applicant pool and no changes in first-year enrollment. 

Soon, we will release admissions decisions to those students who applied Early Decision II.  This blog post will be helpful to those of you who receive a waitlist decision. 

You are an impressive group of students! We believe many of you could contribute to our campus community, but, as we’ve explained, this year’s Early Decision process was highly selective; that means we were unable to admit you at this time. Instead, a select group of students will be invited to receive additional consideration on our waitlist, allowing us to revisit your application as space allows. Our Admissions Committee will only consider for admission those applicants who join the active waitlist. It’s important for you to understand that your admissions decision is not the same as your being on our active waitlist. To join the active waitlist, please simply log in to your Admissions status portal. There, you will find the “Decision Reply Form.” Please complete that form, indicating the last date that you would like to be considered for admission; then, submit it. 

Next, after you have taken some time to process your admissions decision, email your admissions representative. If you are not sure who that is, be sure to visit our website 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 have progressed since your application submission. While we are happy to hear about your successes in your community, the Admissions Committee is particularly interested in receiving updates about your academic work. Please feel free to email your admissions representative again closer to May 1.

And that’s all you need to do! 

We will monitor enrollment carefully over the next few months, and, in late April, the Admissions Committee will gather to discuss how many additional students we will have the opportunity to admit. 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 will need. We would encourage you to visit our blog in late April and early May for updates – and, importantly, for information about a webinar we will hold, where we will share advice for navigating the waitlist process.

As you continue your college search, keep in mind enrollment deadlines at the other institutions to which you’ve applied and been admitted; don’t risk losing your seat in those incoming classes in hopes of receiving an admissions offer from us. 

No matter where your search takes you from here – whether to another campus or to ours here in Winston-Salem – we know that you will enrich that campus community in meaningful ways. 

Warmest regards,

Wake Forest University Office of Undergraduate Admissions