UC San Diego released ALL freshman decisions today (3/18/2022). Check your decision at Applicant Portal and share the news!
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105 Comments
Join the discussion and tell us your opinion.
My son is waitlisted at UCSD. Does he need to write a letter to the admission office to say this is his dream school? Is it necessary? Will the office even read it?
Students offered waitlist option at UCSD are not allowed to appeal and there is no waitlist statement (unsolicited materials will not be reviewed).
What do you think is happening with all the wait lists at UCSD? It looks like UCD, UCI, and UCSD have waitlisted way more people than normal even including many many high stat kids. Do you anticipate more WL movement than in prior years?
Conservative initial offers to prevent over-enrollment. If fewer students SIR than expected, waitlist will move.
Many thanks. How about UCI? Does UCI need a statement?
I know UCDavis needs a 200-word statement.
Thanks again!
Students offered waitlist option at UCI are not allowed to appeal and there is no waitlist statement (unsolicited materials will not be reviewed).
Are waitlists for SD and Davis ranked in any particular order?
Also, is it worth it to appeal to LA or Irvine? Thank you Ms. Sun
The campuses say no, I’m somewhat skeptical of that claim.
Chance of decision reversal on appeal is generally very low; although there were rare instances in the past when the UCs misjudged the yield and accepted a large number of students on appeal.
Hi Ms. Sun,
Eventhough UC is test blind for SAT, do you think student that submit their SAT will make a difference in the acceptance? Just wondering. Thank you.
Once students submit the UC Application, the UC Application Center strips the test scores from the applications before forwarding them to the campuses for admission evaluation. This was described at the UC Counselor Conference as the process. If the campuses can’t see the scores, the scores can’t influence the decisions.
My daughter was waitlisted at UCSD. We were looking at the common data from UCSD from last year and it looks like the chances of being admitted off the waiting list is 21.5%
Number of qualified applicants offered a place on waiting list: 19,976
Number accepting a place on the waiting list: 12,426
Number of wait-listed students admitted: 4,313
Compared to other UCs this feels like her best chance. What do you think?
Those numbers were from 2019 (2020 had similar numbers). Last year (2021), I think most UCs didn’t take any students off waitlist (most of the campus updates at the UC Counselor Conference conveniently left the waitlist numbers off and everyone talked around that).
So based on the previous questions related to being Waitlisted. When, if at all, do my wait list decisions get a notification either way? I assume they all come After May 1st? However, how early or late can people be “Admitted”?
Usually after May 1. UCs had, on occasion, held onto the waitlist until July in the past (I have heard of one or two instances of August admission offers). Hopefully that doesn’t happen, but the UCs can pretty much do whatever they want.
Hi,
Will UCSD perform any sort of a second review for waitlisted applicants if they choose to allow waitlisted applicants in this year? I am on the UCSD waitlist, I have AP Exams in May, and I am curious if those could have any effect on my admission outcome.
AP exam scores from senior year would not affect your admission. Supposedly the UCs look at the applications again for waitlist admission (at least that’s what they said when they first started using waitlists), but they now put SO MANY students on waitlist that I can’t imagine that is feasible.
My son was admitted to UC Davis and was waitlisted for UCI and UCSD, both of which he would prefer to attend. If he accepts the admission to UC Davis, would that have any impact on whether UCI or UCSD might take him from their waitlists? We heard a rumor that the UC schools communicate with each other and try not to take a student from a waitlist that another campus has already “gotten”.
No.
Is there any estimate as to how many freshman applicants were waitlisted at UCSD this year?
Probably an enormous number.
What is meant by conservative initial offers?
Conservative = fewer
Once the waitlist moves, how are students chosen for acceptance?
The UCs used to claim they look at everyone again. That’s not a possibility if they are putting 10k+ or 15k+ students on waitlist, so now they just claim they don’t rank the waitlist and then stop answering further questions.
What was the stats of acceptance from waitlist Fall 2021? I heard there was no one accepted from WL? thanks
None of the campuses really talked about it. Given that there was some evidence (based on how some of the UCs are talking about their admit numbers from last year) that most UCs over-enrolled (which generally only happens from the original admit pool), my suspicion is that no one came off the waitlist.
Does UCSD move students out of their waitlist based on major? Thank you!
No and I think students who applied to capped majors are more likely to get offered alternate (non-capped) major when coming off the waitlist.
When do UCSD waitlist decisions usually come out? Thank you!
Usually after May 1.
My son got waitlisted from UCSD and UCdavis while othes got rejected.
Can you help me with decision which the best junior college he can attend so he can tranfer to the University after 2 years?
Thanks !
He can attend a nearby community college. Whether he needs to cross-enroll at different community colleges depends mostly on his major whether the community college he chooses to attend offers all of the required major preparation courses.
Hi Ms. Sun,
What are the chances of getting into UCLA or UCBerkeley as a transfer student from community college? What do they consider in making this decision? (e.g., Do they look at both community college grades and high school grades? Do community college extracurriculars matter?). Thank you!
Admit rate varies by major; you can look up the admit rate by campus and major here. UC transfer admission looks at college coursework (major preparation and minimum course requirement) and college GPA (from UC-transferable coursework).
Which college is overall better for mechanical engineering , UC Santa Barbara vs Cal Poly Pomona?
Cal Poly campuses are more practical and skills-based (better job preparation). UCs are a bit more theoretical (not as good with job preparation but I think a little better with future advancement).
Hi. Waitlisted in UCSD, should I submit SIR?
You should commit to a college that has accepted you and move forward with all enrollment-related tasks. That is where you will go if the UCSD waitlist doesn’t pan out.
what school would you recommend between UC Riverside, Chapman, and Cal Poly SLO for electrical engineering or data science?
There is no objective way to evaluate colleges. You need to take the time to explore the different colleges (attend admitted students events, talk to current students, etc.), look at the available opportunities (some colleges will have webinars on academic programs and research opportunities, or chance to meet faculty) and financial aid offers (figure out how much free money you will get, how much you have to borrow), to decide which college fits you best.
My son is on the waitlist for acceptance at UCSD. If they do offer him a spot how long does he have to make a decision and respond?
I don’t remember specifically for UCSD but for most UCs it’s 3-5 days.
My son is on the waitlist for acceptance at UCSD as a CS (capped) major If they do offer him a spot how likely is it that they will allow him to begin as a CS major vs. putting him as undeclared?
Undeclared is more likely.
From what I have heard Cal Poly SLO is more hands on. My son had a friend who stopped at Pre-calculus (also to keep his GPA up) and got into Cal Poly SLO engineering program this year as a freshman. GPA: 4.7
Congrats!
I applied as a CS major, and Undeclared for the second major. I have been waitlisted since decisions came out. What are the chances I have been waitlisted for the first major, and what is the probability for me getting into either one of them.
UCSD will probably just offer you whatever is available.
I’m waitlisted at UCSD and UCI for a capped major. Which school do I have a higher chance of getting off the waitlist?
I think UCI is already releasing waitlist decisions.
Generally, when have UCSD waitlist decisions come out in the past?
Generally after May 1.
I’ve been waitlisted at UCSD, UCI, and UCD for computer science majors (CSE was alternative major). I’ve been accepted at UCR, UCSC and rejected at UCLA, UCB. Which schools do you think I have at for getting off the waitlist?
I have a 3.9 uw gpa, 4.3 w gpa, 1400 sat and pretty good ecs
And was UCD admissions this year conservative or not conservative?
Admission from waitlist depends largely on the size of the initial admit pool and the yield from that pool, the size of the waitlist opt-in pool, and how quickly everyone else gives up. Kind of a crapshoot going forward.
All UCs make very conservative number of admission offers now because there’s no way to accurately predict yield.
Did UCDavis require a 200-word statement for their waitlist opt-in? I saw on their FAQ document that waitlist applicants do submit a statement, but my son said he didn’t notice anywhere to add a statement when he opted into the UCSF waitlist. Did he miss it?
Davis requires a statement, San Diego does not have that option.
Did UCSD start notifying waitlisted students today?
Haven’t heard anything yet.
Did UC Davis start notifying waitlist?
Haven’t heard anything yet.
Does everyone have and equal chance of getting off the waitlist?
For UCSD, maybe. The campus still admits to campus (without consideration for major). Although students who only have capped majors as their choices may be restricted to space availability in those majors.
Great thread! My daughter is on UCSD waitlist so I’ve been following this for info. D0 you happen to have any thought if it would typically be harder to get off the waitlist if you are an out of state applicant (which she is). Not holding my breath but will update here if there is any news.
OOS yield tends to be lower so there is usually more movement on the waitlist. However, yield has become really unpredictable in recent years so it’s hard to say.
I was waitlisted and UCSD and it was my top choice. Is the waitlist ranked or chosen at random? What are the odds looking like right? – In recent years I heard up to 20% which gives me a sliver of hope at least.
UCSD still admits to campus (without consideration for major). Although students who only have capped majors as their choices may be restricted to space availability in those majors. Waitlist admit rates can vary greatly from year to year.
FYI all re the time to make a decision after acceptance off the waitlist – From the UCSD waitlist confirmation my son received: “Students admitted from the waitlist will receive an email regarding their portal status update and will have five days from the date of the update to accept the offer of admission through the Applicant Portal.”
Thanks for the update!
Does that mean he got a waitlist notification this week from UCSD?
No, he got it on March 18 when decisions were issued. That’s what the quote is from. He hasn’t heard from them since.
Since it’s been almost a week after May 1st, is it still likely that UCSD will admit people off the waitlist or will it be similar to last year?
If there has been no movement, then I would speculate that the campus has met enrollment target for now but is waiting to see if there will be movement of SIR’ed students due to waitlist admission at other UCs/colleges.
Curious, what was the admit rate last year from waitlist? Thank you 🙏
According to the UCSD Common Data Set, no on came off the waitlist in Fall 2021.
I believe some people got off the waitlist today. How often do waitlist decisions come out/is it likely that another group of people will be admitted?
Thanks for the update! Depending on how many spaces are open, the campus may admit multiple batches of students.
A number of people got accepted off the UCSD waitlist yesterday in poly science, computer arts, biz econ and marine science according to posts I have seen.
Thanks for the update!
Sadly my understanding is that the waitlist for freshman **housing** at UCSD is extremely long thus any students admitted off the waitlist will be unable to find on-campus housing. Extremely frustrating that a school would admit more freshman than they can provide housing to.
That’s unfortunate.
Hi Ms. Sun,
Am waitlisted for Computer Science at UCSD. Did UCSD start notifying the CS waitlisted applicants?
I think a few waitlist decisions have gone out.
My son is also in UCSD computer science wait list. Hoping for the best and shall inform here if I get any acceptance in due course .
I wish him the best of luck!
My daughter in UCSD and UCI computer science wait list. Looks like chances getting off the waitlist almost zero probability especially OOS students. Like hitting the lottery ticket!!!
Hang in there. I wish your daughter the best of luck!
I called the UCSD housing dept and learned that there are housing spots held for waitlisted students
Thanks for the update!
My son was accepted off the waitlist for UCSD on 5/4. Thanks for all your help Ms Sun.
Glad I could help and congratulations!!!
They did admit May 9th and in the past did a second round a week later in different majors than before but they did not follow that pattern this year it seems.
The waitlist can be very different every year because of yield and other factors.
Another data point to add to this thread – my son got in off the waitlist this afternoon as an econ major; admitted to Sixth College, which was his second choice behind John Muir College. One interesting thing in the acceptance letter was the claim that UCSD received more than 150,000 applications this year. UCLA reported just under 150,000 and they claim the most in the nation. So, not sure what to make of that. The letter also indicates that an on-campus housing application is included in the pre-enrollment checklist, so it seems that those taken in off the waitlist are offered housing.
Congratulations and thanks for the update! My guess is UCSD included both the freshman and transfer applications in the count.
My daughters, who was a waitlisted in the engineering program at UCSD, received notice on May 23, 2022 that she was not going be offer a admission as there were no more spots. She has not heard yet (Yes or No) from UCLA or UCI.
Seems like some (maybe all) of the capped majors at UCSD have “closed” for the waitlisted students.
Same for me^. A few days ago I was notified that I was “released” from the waitlist at UCSD, I was planning on majoring in business economics.
That’s news to me. Thanks for the update!
Also Business Econ major here. I have not received such an email but it seems like the majority of waitlist acceptances have already occurred.
My child is still on the waitlist in UCSD and UCD. Should we expect any sort of a decision or just give up?
Your child should move forward with a backup plan and deal with the decision, positive or negative, when it presents itself.
Is there a possibility that the UCs will never respond and just keep the decision in limbo?
The UCs do get back to everyone. If a student never hears back, it’s more likely that the message was lost or eaten by the spam folder. A decision should appear in the applicant portal at some point in the summer.
Thanks a lot for your timely response.
I’m happy to help.