Scenario: I got accepted to very low-ranked colleges and was waitlisted by many safety schools. With the approaching date for deposits (May 1st), do you think its worth it to wait to get accepted from the waiting list? What are the chances for schools like Rutgers, Syracuse, Northwestern, UCLA, etc.?
You should definitely deposit somewhere before May 1, or else you run the risk of having nowhere to go in the fall. Waitlist admissions is very random and unpredictable.
Are you saying that Northwestern, UCLA, Rutgers and Syracuse are your safety schools that waitlisted you? What are the “very low-ranked colleges” that accepted you? I will refrain from further comments until this gets clarified.