If the College of the Holy Cross waitlisted you for admission to the Class of 2030, don’t let this setback shake your faith. An acceptance to this private Jesuit liberal arts college could be right around the corner. But instead of praying an acceptance letter into existence or resting on your laurels, you’ve made the wise decision to turn to Ivy Coach in your time of need. Let’s walk through the historical waitlist acceptance rate data at Holy Cross and assess your options going forward.

College of the Holy Cross’ Waitlist Acceptance Rates and Statistics

Below is Holy Cross’ waitlist data for the Class of 2027 (the most recent cohort for which data is available) through the Class of 2018, covering admission cycles that have been published in the Common Data Set. 

College of the Holy Cross Class Year	Number of Students Waitlisted to Holy Cross	Number of Students Who Chose to Join Holy Cross Waitlist	Number of Students Accepted Off Holy Cross Waitlist	Holy Cross Waitlist Acceptance Rate
Holy Cross Class of 2030	Not Yet Available	Not Yet Available	Not Yet Available	Not Yet Available
Holy Cross Class of 2029	Not Yet Published	Not Yet Published	Not Yet Published	Not Yet Published
Holy Cross Class of 2028	Not Yet Published	Not Yet Published	Not Yet Published	Not Yet Published
Holy Cross Class of 2027	3,700	1,572	42	2.67%
Holy Cross Class of 2026	2,005	989	1	0.10%
Holy Cross Class of 2025	1,795	731	5	0.68%
Holy Cross Class of 2024	1,632	632	20	3.16%
Holy Cross Class of 2023	1,875	834	12	1.44%
Holy Cross Class of 2022	1,581	752	0	0.00%
Holy Cross Class of 2021	1,109	444	0	0.00%
Holy Cross Class of 2020	1,074	459	14	3.15%
Holy Cross Class of 2019	1,307	494	8	1.80%
Holy Cross Class of 2018	816	343	0	0.00%

Your Chances of Admission to Holy Cross After Being Waitlisted

So, the Holy Cross waitlist acceptance rate has stayed relatively low over the past several years. In fact, in our survey of all of the available data, the highest waitlist acceptance rate recorded was only a mere 3.16% for the Class of 2024. Some years, such as for the Classes of 2018, 2021, and 2022, zero students were admitted off of the waitlist. 

And here’s some more unfortunate news: the waitlist acceptance rate is entirely unpredictable, being beholden on one little-known statistic: Holy Cross’ yield rate from year to year (or the percentage of admitted students who choose to enroll). The higher Holy Cross’ yield, the lower the likelihood they reach deep into their waitlist. We don’t have any data to inform how the yield rate has changed at Holy Cross over the last two admission cycles, nor to project what it will look like for the Class of 2030, but we at Ivy Coach like to remind our students of the things they can control. Follow our advice and you can ensure that you will be chosen off of the waitlist if Holy Cross finds themselves in the position of needing to draw from the waitlist.

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

Here’s a walkthrough of our time-honored strategy for helping our students earn a spot off the waitlist at Holy Cross:

1. Complete Ivy Coach’s PostMortem application review. And do it quickly! If you delay in contacting us to get the ball rolling, the less of an impact this evaluation of what went right and wrong with your Holy Cross application will have on your ultimate admission odds.
2. Submit a compelling Letter of Continued Interest. And note that submitting a letter full of bragging and boasting is rather un-Jesuit of you. Holy Cross admission officers are sick and tired of receiving letters that make a meal out of the waitlisted applicants accomplishments, or worse, that list their college acceptances. Try a fresh (and far more successful) approach with Ivy Coach!

What Not To Do If You or Your Child Was Waitlisted by Holy Cross

1. Delay before submitting your Letter of Continued Interest. Time is of the essence, and you’ll seem more enthusiastic if you submit your letter within days of being waitlisted.
2. Fill your letter with unlikable brags and updates. Yes, writing about that pre-college summer enrichment program counts as bragging. Holy Cross doesn’t want to hear about it!
3. Reach out to the Holy Cross admissions office. Your thoughts and prayers suffice after submitting your letter. Any further communications will only render you a gadfly.
4. Send follow-up letters after submitting your Letter of Continued Interest. The same principle applies here. Your letter will be far more powerful when it’s not drowned out by redundant communications or follow up letters.
5. Conduct ridiculous waitlist campaigns. Yes, this includes all the classics: flowers sent to admission officers, chocolates, billboards, personal emails, angry voicemails. Don’t even think about it!

Getting Started with Ivy Coach on Holy Cross Waitlist

If you’re interested in optimizing your case for admission off College of the Holy Cross’ waitlist to the Class of 2030 with the help of our team of former elite college admission officers, fill out Ivy Coach’s complimentary consultation form and indicate that Holy Cross has waitlisted you. We’ll then be in touch with an outline of our services.