Were you recently waitlisted at Boston University? The waitlist for any elite university can seem like a confusing, uncertain fate. Is the door fully closed, or is it still slightly ajar? We’re here to clear up some of this confusion, alleviate some of this uncertainty — and, if you stick with us, help you turn that waitlist letter into an acceptance letter. 

Boston University Waitlist Acceptance Rates and Statistics

Boston University Class Year	Number of Students Waitlisted to Boston University	Number of Students Who Chose to Join Boston University Waitlist	Number of Students Accepted Off Boston University Waitlist	Boston University Waitlist Acceptance Rate
Boston University Class of 2029	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
Boston University Class of 2028	15,033	8,907	34	0.40%
Boston University Class of 2027	9,643	5,899	3	0.05%
Boston University Class of 2026	14,991	8,944	1	0.01%
Boston University Class of 2025	8,791	5,592	674	12.10%
Boston University Class of 2024	5,235	2,987	339	11.30%
Boston University Class of 2023	5,441	3,446	1	0.03%
Boston University Class of 2022	4,399	2,584	7	0.27%
Boston University Class of 2021	4,107	2,308	0	0%
Boston University Class of 2020	4,381	2,219	4	0.20%
Boston University Class of 2019	3,503	1,803	2	0.10%
Boston University Class of 2018	5,055	2,402	69	2.90%
Boston University Class of 2017	2,649	1,340	65	4.90%
Boston University Class of 2016	3,329	1,402	329	23.50%
Boston University Class of 2015	2,370	1,151	8	0.70%
Boston University Class of 2014	2,258	1,104	771	69.80%
Boston University Class of 2013	2,991	1,467	557	38%

The figures in the table above are pulled directly from Boston University’s self-reporting to The Common Data Set for the past fourteen years. 

Your Chances of Admission to BU After Being Waitlisted

In the past 14 years, Boston University’s waitlist acceptance rate has hovered around 10.26%. 

There’s some variation in the numbers in the table, with the admissions committee sometimes digging deep down its waitlist and other times not so much. The sole determinant of how deep an admission team will go down its waitlist is the school’s yield, meaning the percentage of admitted students who choose to enroll the following year. The higher the yield is, the lower the waitlist acceptance rate is going to be. (That uptick you see in numbers for the Classes of 2024 and 2025 likely has to do with the fact that the coronavirus pandemic blazed on during those admissions cycles, and many students chose to take gap years.) 

Obviously, you can’t control Boston University’s yield. Whether or not admitted students will accept their spot isn’t up to you — they’re on their journey, and you’re on yours. What you can control, however, is how you approach Boston University after being placed on the waitlist. Let’s talk about the next steps. 

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

Over the last 30 years, around 40% of students who have come to Ivy Coach after being placed on the waitlist at an elite university have ultimately received admission. Compare that with only a 10% acceptance rate for the average waitlisted applicant!

How do we do it? Our team of former elite college admissions officers has perfected a tried and true method for optimizing a student’s chance of getting off the waitlist. It all comes down to two steps: 

1. Complete Ivy Coach’s PostMortem application review. Our team needs to see what you did right and what you did wrong in your application. We’ll help you pivot to a competitive approach that aligns with what you’ve already conveyed to the BU admissions committee. But it needs to convince and compel them this time — with a singular hook! 
2. Submit a compelling Letter of Continued Interest. You’ve probably already heard that, in order to get off the waitlist, you need to write and submit a Letter of Continued Interest to the admissions committee. But we bet you’ve been given all the wrong advice about what to put in that letter. (No, you shouldn’t brag about how amazing you’ve become in the few months since you applied!) We’ll help you craft a letter that will win over Boston University admissions officers — and it will feature zero brags and zero updates.

Getting Started with Ivy Coach on the Boston University  Waitlist

If you want to turn that yellow light into a green light, complete Ivy Coach’s complimentary consultation form and indicate that Boston University has waitlisted you. We will then be in touch with an outline of our services. We know that time is of the essence and that your letter needs to be sent to Boston University ASAP.