Some get the hype about Claremont McKenna — that it’s a pristine liberal arts college located on a stunning campus and filled with passionate faculty and students — and there are those who have their sights set on bigger universities with less charm and character. Chances are, if you’re reading this, Claremont McKenna appeals to you, and if only you could get off of the waitlist for the Class of 2029, all your college admissions dreams would come true. 

Luckily, you’re in the right place. Let’s review the steps you can take right now to optimize your odds of getting off the Claremont McKenna waitlist.

Claremont McKenna Waitlist Acceptance Rate and Statistics

To start things off, let’s take a gander at the last 14 years of waitlists at Claremont McKenna:

Claremont McKenna College Class Year	Number of Students Waitlisted to Claremont McKenna	Number of Students Who Chose to Join the Claremont McKenna Waitlist	Number of Students Accepted Off the Claremont McKenna Waitlist	Claremont McKenna Waitlist Acceptance Rate
Class of 2029	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
Class of 2028	997	621	33	5.31%
Class of 2027	591	396	44	11.11%
Class of 2026	850	538	11	2.04%
Class of 2025	897	589	9	1.53%
Class of 2024	776	486	75	15.43%
Class of 2023	578	328	43	13.11%
Class of 2022	1037	651	25	3.84%
Class of 2021	723	404	1	0.25%
Class of 2020	1137	668	5	0.75%
Class of 2019	919	453	75	16.56%
Class of 2018	614	349	38	10.89%
Class of 2017	685	365	0	0.00%
Class of 2016	549	238	54	22.69%

Noticing a pattern here? Neither are we. The truth is that all of this variation in waitlist acceptance rate, which has ranged from 0% to 23% over the last 14 years, is due to a factor that none of us can predict, least of all Claremont McKenna admissions officers: yield rate.

The yield rate is simply the ratio of admitted students who go on to enroll. The higher the yield rate, the less likely Claremont McKenna is to dip into their waitlist and round out their incoming class with the students they aren’t too sure about. While you can’t predict how it will turn out for the Class of 2029, if you follow our expert advice, you can help to ensure that if Claremont McKenna does find itself in need of waitlisted applicants, you or your child will be the first student they choose!

Your Chances of Admission to Claremont McKenna College After Being Waitlisted with Ivy Coach’s Help

So how can Claremont McKenna students play their cards right to give themselves the best opportunity to earn admission out of dreaded limbo? Ivy Coach’s process for Claremont McKenna’s waitlisted students includes two steps, which go as follows:

1. Complete Ivy Coach’s PostMortem application review. We need to comb through your child’s complete Common Application and supplemental materials so we know precisely how they presented themselves. A mathematician should not suddenly present as a horticulturist once on the waitlist. During this PostMortem, we’ll highlight what went right and wrong. It’s not to scrub the application of all its personality — quite the opposite. It’s so we can discern your child’s go-forward strategy.
2. Send in a powerful Letter of Continued Interest to Claremont McKenna. The narrative we help students craft after being waitlisted must be consistent with the narrative they previously presented — just much more compellingly told. Ivy Coach’s students’ Letters of Continued Interest include no brags or updates. They’re love letters specifically tailored to each school. And, no, name-dropping professors and classes do not count as genuine specifics that demonstrate a student’s love for a college.

Getting Started with Ivy Coach on Claremont McKenna Waitlist

If you’re interested in optimizing your child’s case for admission off the Claremont McKenna waitlist for the Class of 2029, fill out Ivy Coach’s complimentary consultation form and indicate that your child has been placed on the waitlist. We’ll then be in touch to outline our waitlist services.