Being waitlisted is often compared to an indefinite purgatory. You linger with the hope that sometime after early May, after the SIRs (statement of intent to register), deposits, and yields (how many offered admission are actually coming) are totaled, that the admissions office just might pull your number out of the hat. Yet, there are no rules on when or even if such an offer is coming. Some offers are made mere days before classes begin; most often they aren’t.  That is what makes being waitlisted so unnerving.