I got waitlisted from Bates College. What should I do now?

Your position is frustrating but far from hopeless. Bates is a small liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine, with a class size of roughly 500 students, and the admissions office actively uses its waitlist to complete the incoming class.

For the Class of 2028, Bates admitted 34 students out of 883 who accepted a spot on the waitlist, a rate of approximately 3.85%. For the Class of 2027, the rate was roughly double that, at about 8%. In earlier years the variation has been even more dramatic. The waitlist acceptance rate at Bates is driven entirely by yield, the percentage of admitted students who choose to enroll. In a year when yield comes in lower than expected, the admissions office reaches into the waitlist to fill the class. You cannot control that variable. What you can control is how you handle the next few weeks.

The first step is to accept your spot on the waitlist by May 1. Bates asks waitlisted students to log into their application portal and register to remain on the list. If you do not register by that date, you will not be considered. The waitlist is not ranked, so there is no strategic advantage to timing your response, but there is no reason to delay. Accept the spot now.

The second step is to commit to another school. Bates cannot tell you when or whether they will have space in the incoming class, and you cannot wait in limbo through the spring and summer without a college to attend. Accept admission to another institution and submit your enrollment deposit before May 1. If Bates later offers you a spot and you decide to attend, you will unenroll from the other school and lose the deposit. Every college in the country recognizes and accepts this process. Choose the best option from the schools that admitted you and invest in it genuinely.

The third step is the most important one specific to Bates: send an update email with your most recent transcript. Bates's official guidance states that while they do not require additional materials from waitlisted applicants, you are welcome to send an email with recent updates and your most recent transcript. That phrasing is an invitation, and you should take it.
Your email should accomplish two things. First, it should make clear that Bates is your top choice and that you will enroll if admitted. At a small school managing a class of 500, the admissions office needs to know that a waitlist offer will not be wasted. Second, it should include any genuinely meaningful updates since you applied. A strong set of mid-year grades is the most important piece of new information you can provide. Beyond grades, relevant updates might include a significant award, a new leadership role, the completion of a meaningful project, or any development that is consistent with the narrative of your original application. Do not list everything you have done since January. Focus on one or two things that genuinely strengthen your candidacy.

Make the email specific to Bates. This is your opportunity to demonstrate that you understand the institution and have thought carefully about what your four years there would actually look like. Bates values intellectual curiosity across disciplines, close faculty-student collaboration, civic engagement, and a community ethos that is notably unpretentious for a school of its caliber. Its identity is rooted in open curriculum design, the thesis requirement, Short Term courses in May, and a founding commitment to coeducation and racial integration dating to 1855. Reference specific programs, faculty, research opportunities, or aspects of campus life that connect to your particular interests. If you are drawn to environmental studies, mention specific faculty or the Bates-Morse Mountain Conservation Area. If you visited campus, describe a specific moment or conversation that stayed with you. The specificity of your writing is what separates a compelling email from a forgettable one. Do not brag. Do not list your other acceptances. Show, do not tell.

Ask your school counselor to make an advocacy call to your regional admissions representative at Bates. At a school this small, where the admissions staff reads applications carefully and builds relationships with high school counselors, a phone call can carry real weight. Your counselor should confirm that Bates is your top choice, that you will enroll if admitted, and that your senior year has been strong. When updates come from a trusted third party rather than from you directly, they carry more credibility. If your counselor is reluctant to make the call, push back. Counselors at other schools will be making these calls.
Demonstrated interest matters at Bates in a way it does not at larger research universities. If you have not already attended a virtual event or had a conversation with an admissions counselor, now is the time. These touchpoints create a record of engagement that reinforces the message of your email.

Two practical details worth knowing: Bates meets the calculated financial need of waitlist admits, so you will not be penalized financially for being admitted late, but you should make sure your financial aid application is complete in your portal. And housing is guaranteed for all four years including students admitted from the waitlist. Finally, be ready to move quickly. Bates has stated that waitlisted students offered admission need to be prepared to accept on a very short timeline, usually within 48 hours. If Bates is truly your first choice, think through the decision now so you are not scrambling when the call comes.