Were you recently waitlisted at Northwestern University to its Class of 2029? If so, all hope is not lost. Northwestern regularly turns to its waitlist to meet its institutional needs and complete its incoming class. But what exactly are your chances of earning admission to Northwestern out of limbo? You’ve come to the right place to find out!

Northwestern University Waitlist Acceptance Rates and Statistics

Below are Northwestern’s waitlist admissions statistics from the Class of 2028 through the Class of 2005 — an over 20-year span:

Northwestern University Class Year	Number of Students Waitlisted to Northwestern	Number of Students Who Chose to Join Northwestern Waitlist	Number of Students Accepted Off Northwestern Waitlist	Northwestern Waitlist Acceptance Rate
Northwestern Class of 2029	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
Northwestern Class of 2028	Not Published	Not Published	55	Not Published
Northwestern Class of 2027	Not Published	Not Published	83	Not Published
Northwestern Class of 2026	Not Published	Not Published	69	Not Published
Northwestern Class of 2025	Not Published	Not Published	108	Not Published
Northwestern Class of 2024	3,067	1,482	55	3.71%
Northwestern Class of 2023	2,861	1,859	24	1.29%
Northwestern Class of 2022	2,905	1,892	65	3.44%
Northwestern Class of 2021	2,752	1,760	9	0.51%
Northwestern Class of 2020	2,614	1,452	43	2.96%
Northwestern Class of 2019	2,767	1,587	55	3.47%
Northwestern Class of 2018	2,986	1,539	4	0.26%
Northwestern Class of 2017	2,852	1,606	14	0.87%
Northwestern Class of 2016	3,537	1,605	14	0.87%
Northwestern Class of 2015	3,204	1,476	26	1.76%
Northwestern Class of 2014	2,850	1,397	45	3.22%
Northwestern Class of 2013	3,135	1,307	155	11.86%
Northwestern Class of 2012	2,734	1,274	471	36.97%
Northwestern Class of 2011	1,572	915	220	24.04%
Northwestern Class of 2010	1,272	735	12	1.63%
Northwestern Class of 2009	1,199	643	155	24.11%
Northwestern Class of 2008	776	330	102	30.91%
Northwestern Class of 2007	700	350	1	0.29%
Northwestern Class of 2006	600	300	11	3.67%
Northwestern Class of 2005	725	395	5	1.27%

Your Chances of Admission to Northwestern After Being Waitlisted

Over the last 23 years, Northwestern has turned to its waitlist 23 times, although only a single student earned admission out of limbo for the Class of 2007.

Most recently, for the Classes of 2028, 2027, 2026, 2025, and 2024, Northwestern admitted 55, 83, 69, 108, and 55 students, respectively.

Over the 20 years in which Northwestern has released the number of students accepting spots on the waitlist, and the number of students admitted off the waitlist, the university has admitted an average of 7.86% of waitlisted students (or around 76 students per year) — with a high of 471 for the Class of 2012 and a low of one for the Class of 2007).

Your Chances of Admission to Northwestern After Being Waitlisted with Ivy Coach’s Help

At Ivy Coach, we annually help students earn admission off the Northwestern waitlist. In fact, over the last 30 years, 41% of students who first approach Ivy Coach after being waitlisted by Northwestern have earned admission.

Ours is a two-step process to optimize students’ chances of earning admission from Northwestern’s maybe pile. It goes as follows:

• Complete Ivy Coach’s PostMortem application review. We must diagnose what went wrong and what went right and understand how students positioned themselves in their applications. After all, how they present themselves going forward can’t be out of left field. It must be consistent with the narrative detailed in their application — just told in a much more compelling manner.
• Submit a powerful Letter of Continued Interest to Northwestern. Several years ago, we had to convince students their only chance of earning admission off an elite university like Northwestern’s waitlist was to submit a powerful letter. Nowadays, students know that their only chance of earning admission off a waitlist is to submit a powerful letter. Yet most students submit the wrong kind of letter — ones filled with brags and updates on all they’ve achieved in the few months since they first applied. It’s not the approach of Ivy Coach’s letters. Curious to know our approach? Well, that’s a secret family recipe — and it’s delicious!

Getting Started with Ivy Coach on Northwestern University’s Waitlist

If you’re interested in Ivy Coach’s assistance optimizing your case for admission off the Northwestern waitlist, fill out our consultation form, indicate that Northwestern has waitlisted you, and we’ll be in touch to outline our waitlist services with our very own Chad Faber, a former longtime Northwestern admissions officer.