I got waitlisted at Cal Poly SLO. Will I get in and what happens next?
As Cal Poly continues to send out its acceptances for fall 2022, some students may receive word that they were put on the waitlist.
It may be a confusing response to those hopeful students wishing to be selected as a future Mustang.
However, it’s also not an uncommon notice, and many students are accepted off the waitlist each year.
For fall 2021, for example, 990 out of 9,600 students previously on the waitlist were offered admission to Cal Poly, according to university data. The year before, more than 4,000 out of 8,100 waitlisted students were later sent letters of acceptance.
Students will know whether they were placed on the waitlist by April 1, according to Terrance Harris, Cal Poly’s vice president for strategic enrollment management.
After that, students are informed they will hear again from the university on their enrollment status by July 15, Harris said.
“It is certainly a waiting game,” he said. “If we have information earlier than that, we will let them know. But the waitlist can be a lengthy process.”
Harris noted that the university is straightforward with students placed on the waitlist in letting them know that they might not end up getting into the university.
“We let them know that they should consider other options,” he said.
Many students who apply to Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo also apply to other four-year institutions. And most institutions have a May 1 decision deadline for enrollment, meaning a student may not hear about their waitlist status until after they’ve been required to accept or reject admission at another university.
Should a student accept admission to another university or college and then be selected off the waitlist at Cal Poly, Harris said that they can still enroll at Cal Poly if they unenroll at the other school.
Being placed on the waitlist at Cal Poly is significant, Harris said.
“Cal Poly is very competitive. It’s hard to get in here. It’s also hard to get on the waitlist,” he said. “We know that there’s a lot of really good students that we are unable to accommodate because of our capacity limitations. But being considered, whether that’s being admitted outright or being on the waitlist, is a significant accomplishment.”
Harris said it’s difficult to estimate how many students will be placed on the waitlist this year at Cal Poly.
This year marked a record-high year for applications to the San Luis Obispo university. More than 68,000 students have put their hat in the ring for admission.
This story was originally published March 30, 2022 at 12:00 PM.
