<p>Cacciato, we notify students who have chosen to remain on the waitlist if we have place for them in the Class of 2014 AFTER the May 1 reply deadline for other schools, because we need to know how many students accept their offer of admission here before we know if we have space for any/some/all waitlisters. Therefore, it is very important that you deposit at a school that you would otherwise feel comfortable attending, with the knowledge that it is very possible that you will attend that school. Should you be admitted off of the waitlist at UChicago and decide to attend, you would need to alert the other school that this has happened and will likely forfeit your deposit there (depending on their policies).
It is VERY IMPORTANT that you deposit at another school should you decide to remain on the waitlist here; we have no idea how many students, if any, will be accepted off of the waitlist this year, and we do not want you to simply assume that you will get in off of the waitlist and then not accept a place at another school and have nowhere to go next year. That would… suck, for lack of a more official word. It is important that you have a solid, second choice that you feel comfortable attending, and have taken steps to attend, should you not be offered a place off of the waitlist here.</p>