If your child was recently waitlisted to the University of Michigan’s Class of 2029, you’re likely wondering if there’s any hope they’ll receive an offer of admission. So let’s break down their chances of earning entry out of limbo to one of our nation’s top universities — and arguably its top public university. Spoiler alert: UMichigan regularly turns to its waitlist.

University of Michigan Waitlist Acceptance Rates and Statistics

Below are UMichigan’s waitlist acceptance rates and statistics for the Class of 2028 through the Class of 2002.

University of Michigan Class Year	Number of Students Waitlisted to UMichigan	Number of Students Who Chose to Join UMichigan Waitlist	Number of Students Accepted Off UMichigan Waitlist	UMichigan Waitlist Acceptance Rate
UMichigan Class of 2029	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
UMichigan Class of 2028	24,804	18,793	973	5.18%
UMichigan Class of 2027	21,078	15,076	77	0.51%
UMichigan Class of 2026	17,805	13,063	68	0.52%
UMichigan Class of 2025	20,723	9,856	1,248	12.66%
UMichigan Class of 2024	12,527	4,922	89	1.81%
UMichigan Class of 2023	14,783	6,000	415	6.92%
UMichigan Class of 2022	11,127	4,124	470	11.4%
UMichigan Class of 2021	11,197	3,970	36	0.91%
UMichigan Class of 2020	14,960	4,512	90	0.2%
UMichigan Class of 2019	12,631	4,457	91	2.04%
UMichigan Class of 2018	10,709	3,523	89	2.53%
UMichigan Class of 2017	13,615	4,010	74	1.85%
UMichigan Class of 2016	14,659	4,498	42	0.93%
UMichigan Class of 2015	9,409	3,724	79	2.12%
UMichigan Class of 2014	8,926	2,440	100	4.1%
UMichigan Class of 2013	Not Published	Not Published	Not Published	Not Published
UMichigan Class of 2012	5,662	2,067	0	0%
UMichigan Class of 2011	8,385	2,776	525	18.91%
UMichigan Class of 2010	6,489	1,863	0	0%
UMichigan Class of 2009	4,836	1,537	5	0.33%
UMichigan Class of 2008	4,100	997	0	0%
UMichigan Class of 2007	4,677	1,219	0	0%
UMichigan Class of 2005	3,716	1,005	0	0%
UMichigan Class of 2004	Not Published	Not Published	Not Published	Not Published
UMichigan Class of 2003	Not Published	Not Published	Not Published	Not Published
UMichigan Class of 2002	Not Published	Not Published	Not Published	Not Published

Your Chances of Admission to University of Michigan After Being Waitlisted

Over the last 26 years, UMichigan has released its waitlist admissions statistics 22 times. So the school isn’t exactly cagey about their waitlist figures. We wish we could say the same for Harvard University.

And over the 22 years in which UMichigan has reported waitlist statistics, the elite public institution has turned to its waitlist on 17 occasions — or 77.27% of the time.

Over the same 22-year span, UMichigan’s average waitlist acceptance rate was around 3.31%. If you take out the five years in which UMichigan didn’t accept any students off its waitlist, the school’s waitlist acceptance rate shoots up to approximately 4.29%.

During this window, UMichigan admitted a high of 1,248 students off the waitlist to the Class of 2025 (during the height of the pandemic when waitlisted applicants were selected out of limbo to fill the seats of gap year students) and a low of five to its Class of 2009.

On average, over the 22 years, approximately 203 students earned admission off the UMichigan waitlist annually. Removing the five years in which UMichigan pulled no students off its waitlist and the school’s average number of students accepted out of limbo over the 17 years shoots up to 263 students. So, yes, UMichigan’s waitlisted students have a real shot of earning admission if they play their cards right.

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

Over the last 10 years, 44% of students whose parents have first approached Ivy Coach after their children were placed on the UMichigan waitlist have earned admission. That’s right — nearly half of students who first come to us after being waitlisted to UMichigan are offered the chance to be Wolverines.

So how can UMichigan students play their cards right to give themselves the best opportunity of earning admission out of dreaded limbo? Ivy Coach’s process for UMichigan’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 UMichigan supplement 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 Monday morning quarterback. It’s so we can discern your child’s go-forward strategy.
2. Send in a powerful Letter of Continued Interest to UMichigan. 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 university.

Getting Started with Ivy Coach on University of Michigan Waitlist

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