When you applied to the California Institute of Technology, one of the world’s most highly selective colleges, you probably didn’t expect an easy road ahead of you. But if you’re reading this blog, you or your child has most likely been waitlisted to the Caltech Class of 2029. Even though morale might be low, your fight to get into this world-renowned research university is only just beginning. Let’s review the steps you can take right now to optimize your odds of admission.

Caltech Waitlist Acceptance Rate and Statistics

You need not be left wondering how likely the average waitlisted applicant is to eventually earn admission to Caltech, as this information is available online via their Common Data Set. With over 20 years of data at our disposal, we’re in an ideal position to assess how Caltech determines the waitlist acceptance rate.

California Institute of Technology Class Year	Number of Students Waitlisted to Caltech	Number of Students Who Chose to Join the Caltech Waitlist	Number of Students Accepted Off the Caltech Waitlist	Caltech Waitlist Acceptance Rate
Class of 2029	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
Class of 2028	Not Yet Published	Not Yet Published	Not Yet Published	Not Yet Published
Class of 2027	213	199	0	0.00%
Class of 2026	195	167	15	8.98%
Class of 2025	268	213	0	0.00%
Class of 2024	312	235	10	4.26%
Class of 2023	501	394	5	1.27%
Class of 2022	634	512	6	1.17%
Class of 2021	376	43	0	0.00%
Class of 2020	636	468	8	1.71%
Class of 2019	615	429	0	0.00%
Class of 2018	615	482	47	9.75%
Class of 2017	550	432	0	0.00%
Class of 2016	651	457	0	0.00%
Class of 2015	556	366	40	10.93%
Class of 2014	529	337	7	2.08%
Class of 2013	623	399	0	0.00%
Class of 2012	556	339	12	3.54%
Class of 2011	315	164	30	18.29%
Class of 2010	367	240	67	27.92%
Class of 2009	379	247	0	0.00%
Class of 2008	156	123	43	34.96%
Class of 2007	386	315	45	14.29%
Class of 2006	200	150	0	0.00%

Your Chances of Caltech Admission After Being Waitlisted

Caltech’s waitlist acceptance rate is not a fixed number, but rather a figure that can vary dramatically from year to year. It can range from 0% in some years to over two-thirds of waitlisted applicants in others, such as the Class of 2008. While this may seem perplexing, rest assured, there is a method to this apparent madness.

The waitlist acceptance rate is entirely determined by a little-known factor called yield rate, or the ratio of admitted students who go on to matriculate and enroll. The higher the yield rate, the lower the waitlist acceptance rate because Caltech admissions officers need fewer students to fill out their incoming classes.

Not even Ivy Coach’s famously accurate crystal ball can forecast the yield rate and subsequent waitlist acceptance rate for the Caltech Class of 2029. However, we can share some expert advice that will ensure that admissions officers over at the home of the Beavers will choose you first if they need a few extra students.

Your Chances of Admission to California Institute of Technology After Being Waitlisted with Ivy Coach’s Help

Ivy Coach’s tried and true method developed over three decades of optimizing a student’s chances for admission after being placed on an elite college’s waitlist has had a ton of success in getting students who come to us after being waitlisted from Caltech onto its Pasadena campus. Ivy Coach’s process includes two key steps, which go as follows:

1. Complete Ivy Coach’s PostMortem application review. We must see what a student did — both right and wrong. The narrative we help students craft can’t be inconsistent with the story conveyed in The Common Application — it just needs to be told much more compellingly. An art history student can’t suddenly be interested in physics. We have to make the art history student an art history student, they’d be remiss not to admit, one who has harnessed the power of the singular hook.
2. Submit a powerful Letter of Continued Interest. Most students correctly know they should submit a letter after being placed on a college’s waitlist if they hope to earn admission. And most know they should submit that letter without delay. Yet most students send the wrong type of letter. Ivy Coach’s letters to Caltech’s admissions office feature no brags or updates. Instead, they’re love letters to the school, filled with specific after specific that only apply to Caltech (and, no, name-dropping professors or classes certainly don’t count as specifics!). Our letters inspire Caltech admissions officers to root for our students — and root hard!

Getting Started with Ivy Coach on the Caltech Waitlist

If you’re interested in giving yourself the best shot of earning admission off the Caltech waitlist, fill out Ivy Coach’s complimentary consultation form and indicate that you’re on the Caltech waitlist. We’ll write back to you to delineate our waitlist service and will be happy to set up a complimentary consultation in which you can learn more about the service.