How does being waitlisted work?

Okay, this is probably a dumb question, but the waitlisting process has me kind of confused. I’ve been waitlisted at UCSD, UCI, and UCLA, and while I am planning to attend UCSB, there is a (tiny) chance I may get off the waitlist for one of those schools. Does this mean that if i submit my SIR to Santa Barbara I can’t go to one of the colleges I’ve been waitlisted to? Or if I decide to take my chances with a college that waitlisted me, and hope they accept me, I can’t attend UCSB? Is it possible they could notify me I’ve been accepted before the SIR deadline? How does this work? Thank you!

Most often, people are taken off WL right after May 1. Sometimes you will be unwaitlisted before May 1. You should deposit before May 1. If you are called from the waitlist and accept the place, you are unlikely to get your deposit back from the first school.

If you are offered a place off WL, you won’t be rescinded from UCSB. You can just decline the wailtist if you don’t want to go to that school. If you accept a WL offer, yes, you can go to that school. Just pay your deposit and that’s it. You would of course need to notify UCSB that you won’t be attending.

it may seem confusing because these are all part of the UC system, but its just like @Lindagaf wrote. Accept as many WL places as you want, it won’t affect in any way your acceptance to UCSB. Send in your UCSB SIR so you have a guaranteed place in the fall. If the ball bounces your way then you may get off the WL at one of those schools, in which case you get to decide which one you want to attend.