The University of California, Davis waitlists thousands of applicants each year, so if you’re reeling from this recent news, know that you’re in great company. What’s more, being waitlisted at UC Davis is not tantamount to a rejection (as it often is at certain other schools). There is absolutely still a shot for you to earn admission to Davis and walk away from this setback with a reason to celebrate. Ivy Coach is here to instruct you in the art of making lemonade out of these lemons.

UC Davis’ Waitlist Acceptance Rates and Statistics

Below is Davis’ waitlist data for the Class of 2028 and 2027. The historical data for waitlist acceptance rate is rather sparse as Davis does not have a robust archive of Common Data Sets to draw from, but these two data points alone are still quite illuminating.

UC Davis Class Year	Number of Students Waitlisted to UC Davis	Number of Students Who Chose to Join UC Davis Waitlist	Number of Students Accepted Off UC Davis Waitlist	UC Davis Waitlist Acceptance Rate
UC Davis Class of 2030	Not Yet Available	Not Yet Available	Not Yet Available	Not Yet Available
UC Davis Class of 2029	Not Yet Published	Not Yet Published	Not Yet Published	Not Yet Published
UC Davis Class of 2028	17,166	9,609	4,309	44.84%
UC Davis Class of 2027	19,446	10,898	4,387	40.26%

Your Chances of Admission to UC Davis After Being Waitlisted

So, for the Class of 2028, a whopping 44.84% of waitlisted UC Davis applicants ended up earning admission. The prior year, for the Class of 2027, this figure stood at 40.26%. These are highly beatable odds. But we’d like to add a caveat. Yield rate, across institutions, tends to be quite variable from year to year. While we don’t have the historical data to substantiate this claim, Ivy Coach would speculate that there may have been a day when the waitlist acceptance rate was much lower at Davis. 

And why? Because Davis’ yield rate from year to year (or the percentage of admitted students who choose to enroll) is prone to change. The higher Davis’ yield, the lower the likelihood they reach deep into their waitlist. And yes, this could mean that the Class of 2030 waitlist is far more competitive than prior years. But we at Ivy Coach like to remind our students of the things they can control. Here’s what you can do to assure that you will be the first student Davis picks when they find themselves in a position to dip into their waitlist.

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

Follow these two steps to put your best foot forward following news of being waitlisted by UC Davis:

1. Complete Ivy Coach’s PostMortem application review. We will walk you through all the do’s and don’ts now that the worst has come to pass. A waitlist notification is evidence that something went wrong with your initial application, so we’re here to correct that.
2. Submit a compelling Letter of Continued Interest. And do so quickly. Time is of the essence, and UC Davis admissions officers will soon be inundated with letters. Ensure yours stands out by following our guidance for including what should go into it and omitting what shouldn’t go into it (such as bragging and boasting).

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

1. Delaying before sending out your Letter of Continued Interest. You do not have the luxury of down time now that you’ve reached the eleventh hour of your admissions journey.
2. Fill your letter with unlikable brags and updates. Yes, this includes that pre-college summer enrichment program you did, those other college acceptances you received, or that exam you aced that you’re quite proud of. No admission officer likes a student who thinks they want to hear about the other schools they’re flirting with.
3. Reach out to the Davis admissions office. It’s not their responsibility to keep track of why you weren’t admitted or to give you answers. You’ll just come across as a gadfly.
4. Send follow-up letters after submitting your Letter of Continued Interest. There’s an old saying in elite college admissions: the thicker the file (A.K.A. the more communications with admissions officers), the thicker the applicant!
5. Conduct ridiculous waitlist campaigns. All these extra efforts will do is give Davis the ick. Don’t even think about it!

Getting Started with Ivy Coach on University of California, Davis Waitlist

If you’re interested in optimizing your case for admission off UC Davis’ 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 Davis has waitlisted you. We’ll then be in touch with an outline of our services.