I also received an email from Rutgers today stating that I am at the top of their waitlist. Honestly, based on my experience with the program last year (my POI informally told me I was admitted but wouldn't respond for months when I followed up. Eventually they told me I was put on the waitlist, and ultimately I was rejected) and information I received this year (a mentor of mine heard from a good friend of hers, who is senior faculty r in the department, that they would not be accepting PhD students this year because they lacked funding), I am going to tell them to remove me from the waitlist. I've been accepted to top programs elsewhere and I don't want to enter a department that already feels messy.