College Waitlist 2026: How to Write a Letter of Continued Interest That Gets Results
I have seen letters of continued interest work. I have also seen them hurt students who sent the wrong version. Here is what actually makes the difference.
Your senior just got waitlisted. Maybe it was their top choice. Maybe it was one of several schools that came back with that frustrating middle answer. Either way, the question in front of you right now is: what do you do with a waitlist decision in 2026 and is a letter of continued interest worth sending? The short answer is yes, if it is the right school, sent at the right time, with the right content. Let me break it down.
What a Letter of Continued Interest Actually Is
A letter of continued interest, or LOCI, is a short professional note your student sends to the admissions office after being waitlisted. It tells the school three things: you are still interested, you have grown since you submitted your application, and you would enroll if admitted.
That last point matters more than most families realize. Colleges track yield rate closely. Admissions offices are more likely to pull students off a waitlist who they are confident will actually attend. A well-written LOCI signals exactly that.
When to Send It
Send it within five to seven business days of receiving the waitlist notification. Do not wait until May. Do not send it the same afternoon you find out.
Give your student one or two days to process the news and then sit down to write it. A letter written in frustration reads like frustration. A letter written with clarity and purpose reads like the kind of student they want to admit.
The Four Things Every LOCI Must Include
One: A direct statement of continued interest. Say clearly that this school remains your first choice. If it is not your first choice, think carefully about whether sending a LOCI is the right move. Admissions offices can tell when a letter lacks genuine enthusiasm.
Two: A meaningful update since you applied. This is the most important section. What has your student accomplished, learned, or achieved since they submitted their application? A new leadership role. A higher grade in a tough class. A project or award. An experience that added to their story. If nothing has changed, at minimum name a course, professor, or program at the school that deepened your interest.
Three: A connection to the specific school. Generic LOCI letters get ignored. Name a specific program, research opportunity, professor, student organization, or campus community that matters to your student and explain why. This shows you did your homework and are not just copy-pasting a form letter.
Four: A clear enrollment commitment. End with something like: “If admitted from the waitlist, I will withdraw my other acceptances and enroll.” Only write this if you mean it. If you have other strong options, it is perfectly fine to hold your spot at another school while sitting on a waitlist.
What Not to Include
Do not restate your entire application. They already read it. Do not explain why you think you should have been admitted. That reads as argumentative. Do not attach new test scores unless they are significantly better than what you submitted. Do not write more than one page. Admissions readers are processing thousands of letters during waitlist season.
Keep it clean. Keep it focused. Keep it under 350 words.
The Format That Works
Open with one sentence: which school, that you received the waitlist notification, and that you are writing to reaffirm your strong interest.
Paragraph two: your most meaningful update since submitting. One concrete thing. Not a list of three things.
Paragraph three: your specific connection to the school. One program, one professor, one community reason.
Close: your enrollment commitment if you genuinely mean it, and a thank you for their continued consideration.
Professional tone. No emotional appeals. No guilt. No “I have dreamed of this school since I was five years old.”
One More Thing Most Families Miss
Check the school’s waitlist instructions before sending anything. Some schools have a waitlist interest form on their portal. Fill that out first. Some schools explicitly say they do not accept additional materials. If that is the case, follow their instructions. Ignoring a school’s stated process is not a great first impression from a waitlist position.
If the school allows a LOCI, send it by email to the regional admissions counselor who covers your student’s area, or to the general admissions office if you do not have a specific contact. Keep it professional.
Frequently Asked Questions: Letter of Continued Interest and Waitlists
What is a letter of continued interest?
A letter of continued interest is a short professional note sent to a college admissions office after a student is placed on the waitlist. It reaffirms the student’s strong interest in the school, provides a meaningful update since the original application, and in many cases includes a statement of enrollment intent if admitted.
When should you send a letter of continued interest?
Send it within five to seven business days of receiving the waitlist decision. Do not wait until close to May 1. Sending it too late means the school may have already moved through much of its waitlist by the time your letter arrives.
How long should a letter of continued interest be?
One page or under 350 words. Admissions offices receive a large volume of waitlist correspondence. A focused, specific, and concise letter is far more effective than a lengthy one. Every sentence should earn its place.
Does a letter of continued interest actually help?
It can help at schools that actively move their waitlist. It is most effective when it includes a genuine enrollment commitment and a meaningful update. It rarely hurts, as long as it is well-written and follows the school’s stated instructions for waitlisted applicants.
Should you write a letter of continued interest to every school that waitlisted you?
Only write a LOCI to schools where your student would genuinely enroll if admitted. Writing a LOCI to a school you plan to decline anyway wastes everyone’s time and takes a spot from a student who genuinely wants to go there. Be selective and sincere.
Tony Le is a former UC Berkeley Admissions Reader and UCLA Outreach Director with 15+ years of college admissions coaching experience. A full-ride scholarship recipient to UCLA, UC Berkeley, and UCI, Tony has helped 500+ students get into top universities including Stanford, Harvard, UCLA, UC Berkeley, and Columbia. Featured in the Wall Street Journal. Official TikTok College Admissions Educational Partner. Founder of egelloC. Follow on TikTok @coachtonyle.
Tony works with a small number of families each year. Book a free strategy call to see if it is a good fit.
How College Admissions Works Under Trump in 2026: What the New Data Requirements Mean for Families
When the rules change in college admissions, families panic and make bad decisions. Here is what is actually happening and what it means for your student’s application strategy.
This week, news broke that the Trump administration has issued a demand to universities for admissions data going back to 2019, including information on race, GPA, and test scores. As of March 24, 2026, universities are scrambling to understand the scope of the request and what compliance means.
Here is what families actually need to know about how college admissions under Trump in 2026 may or may not affect their student.
What the Demand Actually Requires
According to reporting from the Daily News and other outlets, last August the Trump administration issued an executive action requiring universities to provide data on race, GPA, and test scores for all applicants since 2019. This is a data disclosure request, not a change to admissions criteria. It is aimed at scrutinizing whether universities are complying with the Supreme Court’s 2023 Students for Fair Admissions decision, which banned explicit race-based admissions at private and public universities.
Universities are described as wary and scrambling. Some are consulting legal counsel about the scope of what they are required to provide and whether privacy laws limit disclosure of individual applicant data.
What the SFFA Decision Already Changed
To understand the current moment, it helps to go back to what already changed. In June 2023, the Supreme Court ruled in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and UNC that explicit race-based affirmative action in college admissions is unconstitutional. Universities were required to immediately stop using race as a direct factor in admissions decisions.
What the ruling did not ban: considering the impact of race on a student’s life experiences as described in essays and personal statements, where a student discusses how their background shaped who they are. The line between these two things is the subject of ongoing legal interpretation.
Since 2023, many selective universities have revised their processes to remove explicit race data from initial application review while maintaining holistic processes that consider the full context of each student’s background and experiences.
What This Means for Students Applying Right Now
The current data request from the executive branch does not change the admissions criteria universities are using today. It is an after-the-fact demand for data that universities already collected and recorded. The practical implication for a student applying to college in the 2025-2026 cycle is minimal.
Universities are navigating significant political and legal pressure from the current administration. Several have already made changes to programs and policies in response to executive pressure on other issues (diversity programs, DEI offices, international student policies). The college admissions landscape is genuinely in a state of regulatory uncertainty, and that uncertainty may produce further changes in the 2026-2027 cycle and beyond.
For the current cycle, the most important thing your family can do is focus on what has always mattered in holistic admissions: a strong academic record, genuine extracurricular depth, and authentic writing that reflects who your student actually is.
The Test Score Landscape in 2026
One concrete change connected to this political environment is the accelerating return to test-required policies at some selective schools. Several universities that went test-optional after COVID have moved back to test-required or test-preferred in recent cycles. Yale, Dartmouth, MIT, and Brown all moved back to requiring SAT or ACT scores. Harvard restored test requirements. The trend among highly selective schools is toward requiring test scores again.
This shift is at least partially connected to the broader political and legal environment. Test scores provide a documented, race-neutral data point that schools can cite in admissions decisions. In an environment where holistic review is under scrutiny, standardized tests offer a defensible anchor point.
Families with students currently in 9th or 10th grade should plan for a test-required environment at selective schools when their student applies. The test-optional window may continue to narrow at highly selective institutions.
What Has Not Changed
UC campuses in California have been test-blind for California residents since 2022, and there is no current indication that this policy is changing in the near term. The UC system operates under California state law and UC Regents policy, which has been resistant to federal pressure on admissions policy.
Common App, FAFSA, and the standard application structures and deadlines are unchanged. The strategic advice for strong applications remains the same: build genuine academic rigor, develop meaningful extracurricular depth, and write specifically and honestly about who you are and what you have done.
Frequently Asked Questions: College Admissions Under Trump 2026
Did the Trump administration ban affirmative action in college admissions?
No. The Supreme Court banned explicit race-based affirmative action in the Students for Fair Admissions decision in June 2023, before the current administration. The current administration is demanding data to assess compliance with that Supreme Court ruling, which is a different action.
Should families factor politics into their college list?
Not significantly at this stage. The specific admissions criteria at any given school are the relevant factor, not the political environment broadly. Some families are choosing schools based on campus environment and institutional values, which is a reasonable consideration. But making major strategic shifts based on unclear regulatory developments typically leads to worse decisions, not better ones.
Will this affect financial aid for international students?
There is separate regulatory activity from the current administration around international students and visa policy that is a genuine concern for non-US applicants. Families of international students should monitor F-1 visa policy changes and the status of any executive actions affecting international enrollment.
Are UCs affected by federal pressure on admissions?
UC campuses have been test-blind for California residents since 2022 and operate under California state policy. UC has historically been willing to resist federal pressure that conflicts with California law. The current federal data request may apply to UC campuses, but no UC admissions policy changes have been announced in response as of this writing.
What should junior families focus on given the uncertainty?
Strong academic preparation, meaningful extracurriculars, authentic essay writing, and a balanced college list that includes realistic options. These fundamentals have driven strong outcomes through every cycle regardless of the political environment. They remain the foundation of every successful application.
Tony Le is a former UC Berkeley Admissions Reader and UCLA Outreach Director with 15+ years of college admissions coaching experience. A full-ride scholarship recipient to UCLA, UC Berkeley, and UCI, Tony has helped 500+ students get into top universities including Stanford, Harvard, UCLA, UC Berkeley, and Columbia. Featured in the Wall Street Journal. Official TikTok College Admissions Educational Partner. Founder of egelloC. Follow on TikTok @coachtonyle.
Tony works with a small number of families each year. Book a free strategy call to see if it is a good fit.
National Decision Day May 1: How to Choose the Right College in the Next 30 Days
Every April I work with families who are frozen by this decision. I have seen students choose well and I have seen students choose under pressure and regret it. Here is the framework that produces clarity instead of panic.
May 1 is National Decision Day, and you have about 30 days to commit. For most families, this is the most significant financial and life decision they have made together as a family. It deserves a structured process, not a panicked Friday night conversation the week before the deadline. Here is how to approach it.
What Happens on May 1 and Why It Matters
May 1 is the universal enrollment deposit deadline for most four-year colleges in the United States. By that date, your student needs to submit an enrollment deposit to exactly one school and decline all other offers. Submitting deposits to multiple schools simultaneously is not allowed and is an ethical violation of the college process.
If your student is on a waitlist at another school, they can submit their deposit to one school and remain on the waitlist. If they get off the waitlist after May 1, they can withdraw from the school they deposited to. There may be a deposit forfeiture but the money is usually a few hundred dollars, not thousands.
The Factors Most Families Get Wrong
Families usually focus almost entirely on rankings and brand name. They underweight factors that research consistently shows matter more for long-term satisfaction: actual program strength in your student’s specific area, campus culture fit, class size and access to faculty, career services quality, and geographic location relative to industry hubs in their field.
A student who wants to work in film going to USC’s School of Cinematic Arts will have advantages a student at a higher-ranked general university will not. A student who thrives in small seminar-style classes will struggle at a large lecture-based research university regardless of its ranking. These specifics matter more than the overall institutional rank.
Visit Before You Decide If You Have Not Already
If your student has not visited the schools they are seriously considering, go now. April visits to campuses look nothing like the organized tours of October. In April, you are seeing the school as it actually is: classes are in session, students are on campus, the dining hall reflects reality, the residential halls reflect reality.
Most colleges allow admitted students to sit in on a class during an April visit. Do it. Fifteen minutes in an actual classroom tells you more than a highlight tour video.
The Side-by-Side Comparison Framework
Build a simple comparison document. List the two or three finalist schools. For each, write down:
Net cost after gift aid, the actual number, not sticker price. Campus size and what that means for your student’s learning style. Specific program rank and strength in your student’s intended major. Internship and career placement data for your student’s field. Student satisfaction data, which US News publishes alongside rankings. Location and how that connects to where your student wants to live and work after graduation.
Reading this list out loud together as a family, slowly, often surfaces the answer. One school will consistently win on the factors your student actually cares about.
When Parent and Student Disagree
This happens more than families admit. Parents often favor affordability or prestige. Students often favor social fit or location. Both are legitimate concerns and both deserve space in the conversation.
My advice: set the financial parameters clearly as a family first. Here is what we can afford. Here is what we cannot. Within that range, the student’s voice is primary. They are the one going to school there, building relationships there, and growing there. A school that is financially right but feels completely wrong to the student will produce a miserable first year.
What to Do If You Are Still Waiting on a Waitlist
Commit your deposit to the best school you have been admitted to. You can remain on waitlists at other schools simultaneously. If a waitlist offer comes through in May or June and it is the right school, you can move. The deposit forfeiture is a small price for keeping options open.
Do not hold multiple deposit spots at multiple schools. Beyond being an ethical violation, it takes a seat from another student who needs it.
Frequently Asked Questions: National Decision Day May 1
What is National Decision Day?
National Decision Day is May 1, the date by which admitted students must submit an enrollment deposit to the college they plan to attend in the fall. It is the standard deadline set by most four-year colleges in the United States. Missing it without communicating with the school can result in the school offering your student’s spot to a waitlisted applicant.
Can my student ask for an extension past May 1?
Some schools will grant short extensions in cases of genuine hardship, pending financial aid appeal, or unusual circumstances. You must contact the admissions or enrollment office directly and ask. Most schools will not extend without a specific reason, and extensions are granted at the school’s discretion.
Can a student submit deposits to two schools at the same time?
No. Submitting enrollment deposits to multiple schools simultaneously violates the ethical standards of the college admissions process. If discovered, it can result in both schools rescinding admission. Commit to one school on May 1. You can remain on waitlists while holding one deposit.
What if a better offer comes through after May 1?
If a waitlist acceptance arrives after you have already deposited elsewhere, you can choose to accept the waitlist offer, withdraw from the school where you deposited, and forfeit the deposit. The deposit is typically a few hundred dollars. This is not unethical and it is relatively common when waitlist movement happens in May and June.
Is it okay to choose based on feeling over rankings?
Yes, and in many cases it is the right call. Research on college satisfaction consistently shows that students who attended schools that fit their learning style and campus culture preferences report higher satisfaction than students who attended higher-ranked schools that were a poor personal fit. Trust genuine gut feeling backed by a real campus visit.
Tony Le is a former UC Berkeley Admissions Reader and UCLA Outreach Director with 15+ years of college admissions coaching experience. A full-ride scholarship recipient to UCLA, UC Berkeley, and UCI, Tony has helped 500+ students get into top universities including Stanford, Harvard, UCLA, UC Berkeley, and Columbia. Featured in the Wall Street Journal. Official TikTok College Admissions Educational Partner. Founder of egelloC. Follow on TikTok @coachtonyle.
Tony works with a small number of families each year. Book a free strategy call to see if it is a good fit.
What Rising Seniors Must Do in April and May Before Applications Open
The families who feel calm and prepared in August are the ones who used April and May correctly. The ones who feel panicked in October almost always skipped these two months. Here is what actually matters right now.
Your junior is in the final stretch of 11th grade and the college application process feels like it is still months away. But here is what most families miss: April and May, the two months before summer, are the highest-leverage window in the entire college admissions process. What rising seniors do in April and May before applications open determines how prepared, calm, and competitive they will be when senior year starts. Let me walk you through exactly what to do.
Priority One: Request Recommendation Letters by May 15
I cannot overstate how important it is to ask for recommendation letters before school ends for the year. Teachers who agree to write letters in May have the full summer to write them thoughtfully. Teachers who are asked in September and October are writing 20 or 30 letters simultaneously while managing a full teaching load. The quality of the letter, and the care that goes into it, is almost always better when requested early.
Your student should identify two teachers from junior year, ideally in core academic subjects, and one additional recommender who knows them well. Meet with each teacher in person if possible. Provide a brief written summary of your student’s goals and what they hope the teacher might highlight. Do not just hand them a Common App invite link with no context.
Priority Two: Finalize Your College List This Spring
The college list your student is working with should be substantially finalized by the end of junior year. Not locked in stone, but no more than 10 to 14 schools across three clear tiers: two to three reach schools, five to seven target schools, and two to three safety schools.
Research each school deeply enough that your student can name specific programs, professors, or opportunities that genuinely interest them. This research becomes the content of supplemental essays, which open in August. Students who have not done this research write generic supplemental essays that admissions readers recognize immediately.
Priority Three: Finalize Your Test Strategy
If your student has not yet hit their target score on the SAT or ACT, May is the time to decide: are you going to test again senior year? If yes, when? Schedule those tests now. Fall test dates fill quickly. June SAT is the last test of junior year and scores come back before summer, giving your student one more data point before deciding whether senior year tests are necessary.
Know the testing policies at every school on your list. Most schools are still test optional. But for students with strong scores, submitting them is almost always an advantage. For students with below-average scores for a target school, understand whether submitting or withholding serves them better.
Priority Four: Start the Activities Resume
The Common App Activities section gives your student 10 slots to describe their most significant extracurricular activities in 150 characters each. This is harder than it sounds. Start building and refining the activities list now.
For each activity, answer: what exactly did you do, in numbers where possible? What was the impact? What was your specific role? 150 characters is tight. Writing a draft version of each activity description in April gives you four months to refine it before the real thing opens.
Priority Five: Begin Essay Brainstorming
Do not wait until summer to start the Common App essay process. Brainstorming takes time and reflection. Do the brainstorming exercises in April while your student still has the full context of junior year in their mind. Great essay topics often come from experiences that just happened, not from trying to recall something meaningful from three years ago.
Commit to writing one rough draft version of the main essay before summer starts. Even a messy draft is better than starting from zero in August.
What to Do With the Summer
If the April and May to-dos above are handled, summer becomes what it should be: a time for meaningful activity, rest, and essay drafting. Students who spend summer in panic mode trying to figure out their college list, request rec letters last minute, and write their first essay draft in August make exhausted, rushed applications. Do the foundational work now.
Frequently Asked Questions: What Rising Seniors Must Do in April and May
When should a rising senior ask for recommendation letters?
Ask by May 15 of junior year, before school ends for the summer. This gives teachers the full summer to write a thoughtful, unhurried letter. Teachers asked in September and October are writing dozens of letters under pressure. Early requests get better letters. That is not speculation; it is what teachers tell me directly.
Is it too early to finalize a college list in April of junior year?
No. You will refine the list over the summer and into senior fall, but having a working list of 10 to 14 schools by the end of junior year is exactly the right timeline. Students who are still building their list in October of senior year are writing supplemental essays without having done the deep research those essays require.
Should a rising senior take the SAT or ACT in June?
If your student needs one more testing opportunity, the June SAT is a strong option. Scores return before summer ends, giving your student the information they need to decide whether retesting senior year is necessary. Do not leave test strategy ambiguous heading into senior year.
What should a rising senior do over the summer for college applications?
Draft and revise the Common App essay, research specific programs and supplemental essay topics at target schools, and continue meaningful activities. Students who use summer for a structured, productive experience and come back with a drafted essay are dramatically better positioned than students who let summer pass without progress.
How do you narrow down a college list in junior year?
Narrow by eliminating schools that do not genuinely excite your student, schools where the academic fit is clearly off, schools where the financial investment is not justified, and schools where the campus culture does not fit your student’s personality. Keep schools where your student can name specific reasons, not just rankings, for their interest.
Tony Le is a former UC Berkeley Admissions Reader and UCLA Outreach Director with 15+ years of college admissions coaching experience. A full-ride scholarship recipient to UCLA, UC Berkeley, and UCI, Tony has helped 500+ students get into top universities including Stanford, Harvard, UCLA, UC Berkeley, and Columbia. Featured in the Wall Street Journal. Official TikTok College Admissions Educational Partner. Founder of egelloC. Follow on TikTok @coachtonyle.
Tony works with a small number of families each year. Book a free strategy call to see if it is a good fit.