How soon do colleges look to the waitlist?

<p>I have some recent updates to send to some waitlisted schools, but I'm afraid it's a little late. My letter will probably get there around April 26th? I know that admitted students have until May 1st to SIR, but do schools potentially look to their waitlists before then, depending on the SIRs they have and have not yet received?</p>

<p>What worries me is that most colleges say they will notify waitlistees around mid-may, which means only about 15 days for them to decide considering they start May 1st... Then again, they sorted out 20k+ applications in 4 months. </p>

<p>Any ideas?</p>

<p>I think they look at them before it but they don’t start serious consideration until after May 1st. Also, they are looking for specific people to fill in their class holes from the waitlist, so the search is much faster.</p>

<p>Usually May 1, the point at which admissions officers can draw a realistic appraisal of the class size. The waitlist will likely not be utilized if over-enrollment is a concern.</p>

<p>For some reason, Rice has already started accepting off the waitlist. But many were speculating that it was because they were very conservative in accepting this year and already knew they were going to have a low yield. But schools like HYP will probably not go to their waitlist until May 1st, if at all.</p>