<p>When does Chicago notify waitlisted applicants whether they are off the waitlist or not?</p>
<p>The site says the notification begins from may 1st. Does Chicago announce earlier, though?</p>
<p>They can’t possibly tell you before May 1. On May 2, they will know how many kids enrolled. Then they will have to figure out how many more kids they need, if any. Then they’ll probably go through another review of candidates and select from there. But there’s NO WAY then can know on or before May 1.</p>
<p>Several years ago, I got in off the waitlist. I was notified via phone call around May 20th.</p>
<p>If the confirmations go in slow though, will they consider waitlist applicants earlier?</p>
<p>It is really, really rare for anything to happen with any college’s waitlist before May 1. I know of one case, ever, where a student was accepted off a waitlist before the end of April, and that involved (a) Harvard, where “yield” is so high that it’s almost true that one student turning them down opens up a space for someone on the waitlist, and (b) a recruited athlete who would not otherwise have been a strong candidate for admission. It was pretty clear that by mid-April they knew that a couple accepted recruits in the particular sport had decided to go elsewhere, and so they made an offer to the next-highest recruit in that sport on the waitlist.</p>