Like many schools, they note that they won’t have the final list of how many openings they have until after May 1.
BUT. My impression is that they slot a person for a person. So, for example, say that a Mechanical Engineering guy drops out now (because he’s accepted somewhere else today). Do they go to their list of ME students now & plop one in or do they still wait for May 1 and do the whole shebang then?
They wait until May 1 because they always accept more students than they have space for because they protect their yield. After May 1 they will know their true amount of spaces left and then make their decisions. It is my understanding that for the wait list they do indeed look at specific factors such as geographic location, major etc. in deciding who to takeoff the waitlist. So says they have no students from South Dakota who major in ME, they will go to the waitlist and try to fill out that spot with a student from that geographic area and major. This information was part of a blog post by the admissions director last year.
What I don’t understand is that by May 1, you probably have accepted another offer no?
Yes, but you could still change your mind and enroll at Tech after May 1’st, you just lose your deposit(s) at the other school (unless it’s Early Decision or some such commitment).
fwiw, my older kid landed on the *extended" waitlist at Georgetown (this is only 25 kids around the world…who are almost almost there but just the right person needs to drop out) and they didn’t receive answers until almost July!! So she was EA > Deferred > Waitlist > Extended Waitlist > Nice handwritten note saying she almost got in. 
But this was for the Walsh School which is insanely hard to leap into.
I got waitlisted for Tech too. I hope this really goes our way !I’ve read that some years they’ll have nobody make it in off the waitlist but some years where they’ll have several hundred, so really its coming down to luck I believe. Just gotta hope that those Ivy Leaguers who have Tech as their safety school back out and go to those schools instead. Best of luck comrade
Have you guys heard from Georgia Tech yet?
I was also wondering if anyone has heard from Tech yet. I was also wait listed and have not heard anything as of now! 
As of now, crickets.
Nothing on the admissions blog…nothing on CC…BUT I just wrote an admissions counselor there who I know a little bit (barely…but enough to write her) and asked if they think they’ll be going to the Wait List at all. I will let everyone know if i hear back.