There’s a discussion in the thread linked below about this very topic! I’ve linked to a comment I agreed with there stating that it can be very emotionally satisfying to turn down the school that waitlists you. Of course, a lot of folks will have a different conclusion, but I think it’s a pretty emotional decision since you generally don’t have a lot of time to consider it, and folks generally don’t want to consider it until they have an acceptance in hand.
For me personally, I’m very comfortable with the idea of a last minute pivot. I’ve uprooted my life a bunch since college, so I’ve never really worried about it. But my D26… I’m not so sure. I suspect that once she commits to a school, she’s going to want to COMMIT. So, we’ll end up having that discussion if/when she gets a waitlist.
Here’s the thread: Excellent article on what a waitlist is and is not - #18 by jym626