Waitlisted from Skidmore: What to Do

If Skidmore College just placed you on the waitlist, here is the good news: your odds are better than you probably think, and unlike many of the schools you may have applied to, Skidmore gives you real room to advocate for yourself.

For the class of 2029, Skidmore offered 2,778 applicants a place on the waitlist. Of those, 861 accepted a spot. From that pool, 79 were ultimately admitted. That translates to a waitlist acceptance rate of approximately 9.2%. Compare that to Carnegie Mellon at 0.3%, MIT at 1.8%, or UIUC at 0.05% in the same cycle. Skidmore's waitlist is not a dead letter. It is a genuine mechanism for filling a class of roughly 660 to 700 students, and the admissions office uses it actively.

That said, 9% is not a guarantee. The majority of waitlisted students will not be admitted. But the odds are high enough that your effort in the coming weeks is very much worth making.

Accept Your Spot on the Waitlist

Step one is non-negotiable. Skidmore will provide instructions for accepting your place on the waitlist through your applicant portal. Follow those instructions immediately. If you do not formally opt in, you will not be considered. The waitlist is not ranked, so there is no advantage to being first or disadvantage to being last, but there is also no reason to delay.

Commit to Another School Before May 1

Skidmore will not know whether it needs to go to the waitlist until after the May 1 enrollment deadline, when admitted students either commit or decline. You need to have a deposit down at another school by that date. This is not giving up on Skidmore. It is doing what every college in the country expects you to do while you wait for a final answer.

If Skidmore ultimately offers you admission from the waitlist, you can accept it and unenroll from the other school. You will lose the deposit, but that is the standard cost of keeping the waitlist option open.

Write a Letter of Continued Interest

This is your most important move, and it is where Skidmore's waitlist process diverges from schools like UIUC or Carnegie Mellon, both of which explicitly tell waitlisted students not to send additional correspondence. Skidmore does not prohibit letters of continued interest. At a small liberal arts college where demonstrated interest matters and the admissions staff reads applications with genuine care, a well-crafted letter can make a meaningful difference.

Your letter should accomplish one thing above all else: it should make the reader understand exactly who you will be at Skidmore and why that campus is the only place where your particular combination of interests, passions, and academic goals can be fully realized.

Here is what makes writing a Skidmore LOCI different from writing one for a research university. Skidmore's identity is built around the idea that creative thought matters, and the admissions office takes that motto seriously. They are not just looking for students with strong transcripts. They are looking for students who think across disciplines, who blur the lines between art and science, who bring an intellectual energy that cannot be reduced to a GPA or a test score. Your letter needs to reflect that.

Be specific. Do not write that Skidmore appeals to you because of its small class sizes and beautiful campus. Every liberal arts school in the Northeast has small classes and a nice campus. Instead, reference specific programs, professors, courses, research opportunities, or student organizations that connect to your particular academic and creative interests. If you are drawn to Skidmore's interdisciplinary ethos, show how your interests would come alive in that environment. If you spent time exploring the Tang Teaching Museum during a visit, or you have been following a particular faculty member's research, say so. If the new Billie Tisch Center for Integrated Sciences excites you because of how it brings together ten science departments under one roof, explain how that structure aligns with the way you think about your own academic trajectory.

Do not brag. Do not list your accomplishments. Do not open with "My name is..." and do not recite a generic statement about how Skidmore is your dream school. Show, do not tell. Let the specificity of your writing demonstrate that you have thought deeply about what your four years at Skidmore would actually look like.

Keep It to About One Page

A letter of continued interest is not a second application essay. It is a focused, genuine, and specific note that should run roughly 500 to 650 words. That is long enough to paint a vivid picture and short enough to respect the admissions officer's time. Address it to your regional admissions representative if you know who that is. If you do not, address it to the Dean of Admissions.

Submit the Letter Quickly

Do not wait until late April to send your letter. Get it in within a week or two of receiving your waitlist decision. The admissions staff will review these letters as they prepare for waitlist decisions, and the earlier yours is in the file, the better. Admissions officers tend to form attachments to the students who impress them first. This is the primacy effect, and it works in your favor if you act with urgency.

Upload the letter through your applicant portal and, if possible, also email it directly to your regional admissions representative.

Have Your School Counselor Make a Call

At a small school like Skidmore, a phone call from your school counselor can carry real weight. The admissions staff at a college with 2,700 undergraduates is small and relationship-driven. When a counselor calls and says that Skidmore is the student's top choice and that the student will enroll if admitted, that information matters, particularly at a school where yield management is a constant concern.

Your counselor should present you consistently with the narrative in your letter of continued interest. If there are meaningful new developments, a significant award, a strong set of mid-year grades, or a new leadership role in an activity you highlighted in your application, the counselor is the right person to deliver those updates. When good news comes from a third party, it carries more credibility than when it comes from you directly.

If your counselor is reluctant to make the call, push back. Advocacy calls are a standard part of the school counselor's role, and counselors at other high schools will be making them. A counselor who refuses is creating an unnecessary disadvantage.

Demonstrated Interest Matters at Skidmore

This is a critical distinction between Skidmore and many of the larger research universities you may have applied to. At schools like MIT, UVA, or UIUC, demonstrated interest is either not considered or only minimally considered in admissions decisions. At Skidmore, it matters.

If you have not already visited campus, attended a virtual information session, or had a conversation with an admissions counselor, now is the time. Attend an upcoming virtual event. Reach out to your admissions representative with a thoughtful question. Engage with Skidmore's social media and online content in ways that demonstrate you are actively learning about the school. These touchpoints create a record of engagement that reinforces the message of your letter of continued interest.

If you have visited campus, reference that visit in your letter. Talk about a specific moment, a conversation with a student or professor, or something you observed that deepened your conviction that Skidmore is where you belong.

Keep Your Grades Up

Even though the heaviest weight in Skidmore's waitlist review will fall on your original application, a strong finish to your senior year reinforces your candidacy. If your mid-year grades are strong, make sure your school has sent an updated transcript. A dip in academic performance, on the other hand, can take you out of contention. Maintain the level of rigor and achievement that made you a competitive applicant in the first place.

If you'd like help maximizing your chances of getting off the waitlist and into your current top-choice colleges, schedule a free consultation with an admissions expert today.