Niche survey finds more students wait-listed at colleges

What happened?

1. Niche's May 2026 survey asked nearly 3,000 students, primarily Niche users, about their admissions results, according to Inside Higher Ed.
2. 32.4 percent of respondents had been wait-listed at least once this year, the survey found.
3. The figure is more than 12 percentage points higher than a similar 2021 survey, according to the report.
4. For students who submitted more than 16 applications, 7.8 percent of their applications were wait-listed, the report said.
5. Experts told Inside Higher Ed that institutions may be letting more students onto wait lists as yield rates become increasingly complicated.

A May 2026 survey by the college search website Niche found that 32.4 percent of nearly 3,000 respondents had been wait-listed at least once this year, according to Inside Higher Ed. The figure is more than 12 percentage points higher than a similar 2021 survey, the report said.

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