I agree that you could have gotten half-scholarships and maybe better at the schools below your reaches. However, what’s done is done, and maybe those merit aid schools don’t have your major or something.
If you’re still interested, accept your waitlist spots, and update with any new information that wasn’t in your applications and hope for the best. The waitlist is very unpredictable, even more so than admissions. Nobody can “chance” you.
There are no reliable stats to tell you your odds of getting off a WL because it can change radically and unpredictably from year to year. Penn 2015-2016: 90. 2014-2015: 136. 2013-2014: 44. It’s anyone’s guess how many will get off for this cycle, but assume it won’t happen.
You rolled the dice, and it didn’t work out. You chose to shoot for top schools without adding some options that would likely have been between $60K and zero.
It seems that you knew the risk you were taking with your application list and that you were willing to take the free ride to your state school if none of these reach schools panned out.
my good friend got off the uchicago waitlist when he was a senior in hs. it could happen. especially if you stayed on all the waitlists. lol
Google for “[college name] Common Data Set”;
check section C2 for that year’s waitlist statistics.
Examples:
for 2016-17, Northwestern admitted 9 out of 1,790 on its waitlist.
Cornell admitted 61 out of 2,874.
My advice may differ from most here. But I would enlist the help of your guidance counselor or college counselor to outreach to the colleges where you are WL’d and try to find out what your chances are. In particular I would pick one or two and ask your counselor to mention they are on the top of YOUR list. Then I would really to work it, and come up with an “enthusiastic” letter of what you will contribute to that college and for one at least mention “if admitted, you will attend.”
Why not just go to your safety school on the fill ride?
Presumably, it is a suitable school, since you applied there in the first place.
@intparent Says it for me. You and your family made a decision, which didn’t include schools between $60,000 and zero. Nonetheless, I hope you will get off at least one of the waitlists, so you’ll feel better about it all. Best of luck.
Uchicago yield is so high this year from ED1 and Ed2 that it will take a real miracle to get off waitlist.
And UChicago keeps a huge waitlist.
For WL’s with a chance, I might focus on Cornell, Hopkins and Vandy. No inside information this year, just know students in the past who got in off the WL’s or who are given a spot in the next class.
Apply to university of Alabama free tuition. @mom2collegekids
You might call Cornell admissions and ask for a spot for the next year class 2022. They often defer WL candidates to the next class and advise that during the year “off” you can attend any college including your state school. You might be able to transfer all your credits. This way you can have the best of both worlds! 
@preppedparent That guaranteed transfer is a program that Cornell has – but every person I know who has received that offer got it when the regular decisions came out and not off of a waitlist.
@NASA2014 The OP already has a full ride to his/her state school.
@happy1, no I know folks who got the offer from the WL. It is similar to Harvard’s “Z” list offer where students are offered seats in the 2022 class.
@prepparent Thanks…live and learn
You have a full-ride at your safety. Congratulations, you have someplace good to go.
If you want, accept a position on each waitlist. Since you have 10, your chance of getting a single waitlist is roughly 10 times better than someone who is just on one waitlist. Submit a letter of interest to each, and any relevant updates.
Then FORGET IT ABOUT IT AND MOVE ON. Get mentally psyched for your safety.
If a waitlist comes through, it comes through.
Is your change better than 50%? Doubtful.
Is your chance better than 25%? Maybe
Is your chance better than 10%? Probably
Whether or not a school goes deep into their waitlist or takes no one varies widely from year to year. Can’t predict one year from a previous one.
Thank you all for the advice. I chose not to apply to any target/match schools since my safety school was already very good, and there was little to no chance I would receive a full scholarship at a target school. So, I focused my efforts on reach schools.
@jym626 I didn’t mean for the title of the thread to be misleading given that it was my intention to only apply to reach schools, knowing that I had a full-ride at a very good state school.