Waitlisted? :/

I found out that I got waitlisted to UC Davis and UC San Diego.
Act:29 SAT:1830
Gpa:4.31w, 3.81 uw
Rank:~30/466
Volunteering: ~300 hours, went to Costa Rica to teach English and built a kitchen there
Would it have been my essays that put me on the waitlist? If I called the admissions office, would they be willing to tell me my rank in the waitlist? Does anyone how many were waitlisted this year? I’m really scared about my chances at my other schools now (ucla, ucb, usc…)

First of all, waitlisted is not the end of the world. You still have a chance for an acceptance. Waitlisting this year is on the increase due to budget problems in Sacramento and until this is resolved, many highly qualified applicants have been put on the waitlist. Last year UCD and UCSD accepted very few off the waitlist, but it will probably be different for this year once the budget is passed. Here is a link to help with your waitlist statement if you want to continue pusuing UCD and UCSD. Just because you were waitlisted at these 2 schools, does not mean you will not be accepted elsewhere. Good luck.

http://■■■■■■■■■■■■/home/waitlist-woes-and-waitlist-statement-guideline-2015/

I’m in the same boat as you. I thought I was a sureshot!
ACT: 35 SAT subject tests: 740, 800
GPA 3.9 weighted, huge improvement as hs went on
7 APs, 2 honors courses
Varsity sports captain for 3 seasons, two different sports
20 hours of volunteering
Decent (not so sure about that anymore!) essays!

In addition, many of my friends with lower gpa’s/standardized test scores than me got accepted! Gah!

Thank you for the advice Gumbymom. I was devastated, but your advice helped.