so a school who's offer of acceptance I declined weeks ago just sent me a letter in the mail saying that I was waitlisted and they regrettably can not offer me a spot in their program for the upcoming year....uhm....okay?
I have heard of people receiving rejection notifications after declining offers. At least a waitlist is a bit kinder than that. Like ahlatsiawa said, I think it has to do with the institution's book keeping policies, etc.