"If they go to Waitlist this year, most people (if they are accepted) should expect to hear from Caltech before May 5th. "
wow, that soon? god, i'm getting nervous! i'm not sure if my new "package" will come so soon.. i didn't realize they're so quick with examining the waitlist, i suppose they don't even look at it till they know all the answers, right? jeez
"I think they don't have as good a feel for what yield will be this year, compared to past years. I think Caltech is lagging behind in fin aid compared to some of the other top schools that are taking drastic measures (e.g, Harvard)"
yeah, well that's what i hope too.. i'm not so involved into whole US education systems since i'm an intl, but an overall impression from the stories here, and everything, is that most of the big schools don't have idea what to expect (i mean look at the MIT waitlist this year.. insaaaane)