Was your child waitlisted at Lafayette College?  Maybe you’re now counting your lucky stars, making sure you skip over the cracks in the sidewalk, crossing your fingers, and tossing salt over your shoulder. First thing’s first, cut it off with the magical thinking! Next step: take a deep breath. Being waitlisted isn’t anyone’s dream come true, but it’s also not the end of the road. 

If you play your cards right, you can turn that waitlist notification into an acceptance letter. 

Let’s look at Lafayette College’s waitlist admissions statistics from the last four years. The data in the table below is gathered directly from Lafayette College’s self-reporting to The Common Data Set. The Common Data Set Initiative is a voluntary effort among colleges to help all of those involved with a student’s transition into higher education. 

Lafayette College Waitlist Acceptance Rate (Classes of 2030 – 2026)

Lafayette College Class Year	Number of Students Waitlisted to Lafayette College	Number of Students Who Chose to Join Lafayette College Waitlist	Number of Students Accepted Off Lafayette College Waitlist	Lafayette College Waitlist Acceptance Rate
Lafayette College Class of 2030	Not Yet Reported	TBD	TBD	TBD
Lafayette College Class of 2029	2,364	1,120	81	7.2%
Lafayette College Class of 2028	9,874	3,107	697	22.4%
Lafayette College Class of 2027	2,456	981	17	1.7%
Lafayette College Class of 2026	1836	763	32	4.1%

Projections on Lafayette College’s Waitlist Activity for the Class of 2030

Let’s discuss those numbers! During the past four years, Lafayette College’s waitlist acceptance rate ranged anywhere as low as  1.7% to as high as 22.4%. Overall, the average waitlist acceptance rate for the past four years was 8.85%. This is lower than Lafayette College’s overall acceptance rate of 31.4%. 

You might be scratching your head and wondering why there’s such fluctuation from year to year on Lafayette College’s waitlist acceptance rate. How far an admissions committee will reach down its waitlist is determined by the school’s yield, or the percentage of admitted students who choose to enroll. The higher the school’s yield, the lower the waitlist acceptance rate. The thing about yield is that it is a highly unpredictable metric that not even Lafayette College’s admissions team can predict.

An overall waitlist admit rate of 8.85% isn’t the best odds, but it’s also not a closed door. The good news is: you don’t have to rely on chance alone. If you approach Richmond correctly after being waitlisted, you can stay on the sunny side of that 1.45%. To do so requires having just the right touch.  

How to Improve Your Child’s Chances of Admission Off the Lafayette Waitlist 

You have a few options. You could go door to door like a political canvasser, clipboard in hand, politely asking accepted students whether they’re really sure about Richmond and if they’d consider freeing up a spot. But that probably won’t be a very cute look. 

You could engage in superstition, maybe pull out the Ouijia board and call upon your ancestor’s spirits to help you out on this one. But has that ever worked out for you in the past? 

Your best option is to write a letter of continued interest. Most people know about these letters. But they usually get the completely wrong advice about what to include in them: stuffing them full with dubious updates and bragging about how amazing the applicant has become in the few months since they applied. You could send that kind of letter. Or you can send the right kind of letter, the kind that will convince a Lafayette College admissions officer to go to bat for you. 

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

Over the past 30 years, Ivy Coach has developed an excellent track record at getting our students off of elite universities’ waitlists. While only around 10% of regular waitlisted applicants ultimately receive admission, around 40% of students who work with Ivy Coach after being waitlisted go on to receive admission. 

It all comes down to our tried and true method of optimizing a student’s chances of getting out of limbo and onto their dream campus. It’s a two-step process: 

1. Complete Ivy Coach’s Post-Mortem application review. We need to see what a student did successfully and what they did wrong in their Lafayette College application. The narrative we help craft can’t have fallen from the sky. Instead, it should be consistent with the story conveyed in Lafayette College application — just told in a way that’s actually going to win over the admissions team this time around. 
2. Submit a compelling Letter of Continued Interest. We’re sure many people have already told you to write Lafayette College a letter, and we’re sure they’ve told you to be snappy with it. But we wonder: What have they told you to write in that letter? If they told you to fill it with brags and updates, definitely don’t do that. Ivy Coach’s letters to Lafayette College contain no shrill bragging. It’s a big reason why they’re so successful. 

Getting Started with Ivy Coach on Lafayette College Waitlist

If you’re interested in optimizing your chance of admission off of Lafayette College ’s waitlist to the Class of 2030, complete Ivy Coach’s complimentary consultation form and indicate that Lafayette College has waitlisted you. We will then be in touch about our services. We understand how important it is to spring into action quickly and that your letter needs to be sent out to Lafayette College ASAP.