I got waitlisted from the University of Richmond. What should I do now?

The University of Richmond is one of the more transparent schools in the country when it comes to the waitlist. They publish a detailed FAQ telling you exactly what they want to see from waitlisted students, and they explicitly reward demonstrated interest. If you follow their guidance carefully, you give yourself the best possible chance at a school where the waitlist is a genuine part of how the class gets built.

Here are the numbers. Richmond states that they have extended offers to waitlisted students in each of the last five years, admitting between 28 and 113 students annually. For the most recent cycle (Fall 2024 enrollment), the waitlist acceptance rate was approximately 1.7%, with 67 students admitted from roughly 3,866 on the list. In earlier years it has been as high as 3.3%. Richmond also publishes that 11% of the Class of 2029 enrolled as waitlist admits, which is a substantial share of a class of roughly 800 students. The percentage rates look low because Richmond places a large number of applicants on the waitlist relative to class size, but the absolute numbers represent real, meaningful movement.

Confirm your spot through the Spider Portal by April 15. This deadline is earlier than the national May 1 deposit deadline, so do not assume you have more time. If you miss it, you are out of consideration entirely.

Commit to another school before May 1. Richmond will not begin making waitlist offers until after the deposit deadline, once they know how many admitted students have chosen to enroll. Put down a deposit at the best school that admitted you and invest in that choice genuinely. If Richmond comes through later, you can switch and forfeit the deposit. Be aware that Richmond explicitly states it reserves the right to rescind an offer of admission to any student who remains enrolled at Richmond and another institution concurrently. If you receive a waitlist offer, cancel your enrollment elsewhere immediately.
Tell Richmond it is your first choice. This is the single most strategically important move you can make, and Richmond says so directly. Their published FAQ states that they are interested in selecting students who have a sincere desire to enroll and that they may consider a student's level of demonstrated interest when making selections. They then say explicitly: if Richmond is your first choice, make that known to the Office of Admission. That is an open invitation, and at a school with a yield rate that hovers in the low 30s, the admissions office needs genuine reassurance that waitlist offers will convert. If Richmond is your top choice, communicate that without hedging.

The best vehicle for this is a focused, specific letter of continued interest addressed to your regional admissions counselor. The letter should paint a vivid picture of who you will be on Richmond's campus, reference specific programs, faculty, student organizations, or aspects of the university's culture that connect to your interests, and make the reader understand why you cannot replicate the Richmond experience elsewhere. Richmond has a distinctive institutional identity that rewards specificity. The Robins School of Business is one of the strongest undergraduate business programs in the country. The Jepson School of Leadership Studies is the only undergraduate leadership school at a major American university. The Richmond Guarantee funds a summer experience for every undergraduate. The campus itself, with its collegiate Gothic architecture on 350 acres, shapes a residential life that is central to what makes Richmond Richmond. If any of these features connect to what you want from college, say so in concrete terms. Do not brag, do not list your other acceptances, do not rehash your resume, and do not write generic sentences about Richmond being a great school.

Send updated academic information if it helps your case. Richmond's FAQ explicitly welcomes additional grades, including third quarter or second trimester results, and recent standardized test scores. If your senior year grades are strong, make sure your school sends an updated transcript. If you have retaken the SAT or ACT and improved, submit the new results. However, Richmond also explicitly states that additional letters of recommendation will not be considered. Do not send them. Ignoring that instruction signals you are not reading their guidance carefully.

Understand the need-aware waitlist policy. This is the detail most families miss, and it is one of the most consequential distinctions in Richmond's process. Richmond is need-blind in its Early Decision, Early Action, and Regular Decision rounds, but it reserves the right to be need-aware for students on the waitlist. In practice, this means your financial need may factor into whether you receive a waitlist offer. Students requiring significant aid may face a higher bar than full-pay students when the admissions office is selecting from the waitlist. Richmond is more transparent about this than most schools, and you deserve to know it going in. If your family is in a position to attend without financial aid and you want to maximize your chances, you may consider updating your financial aid status through your portal. That is a decision only your family can make. One additional caveat: students admitted from the waitlist are not eligible for merit scholarships, which will have already been distributed to initially admitted students. If you were counting on a Richmond Scholars or Presidential Scholarship, that opportunity has passed.

Ask your school counselor to call your regional admissions representative. Your counselor should communicate that Richmond is your top choice, that you will enroll if admitted, and that your academic performance has remained strong through senior year. Third-party advocacy reinforces the message of your letter without the risk of self-promotion. If your counselor resists, push back. This is part of their job, and counselors at other schools will be making these calls.