Ohk I’ll just tell you this. I’m sure it will help. (Telling this because I told the same to some guys who reached out to me for scholarship negotiations because the season is already around the corner and it made sense to them)
The M7s and T15s are proud institutions where on one hand putting offers against each other can help but more often than not, it’s not an ideal strategy because some schools have some differentiation that helps them not fold. For example, we tried with Kellogg v Stern last year, Kellogg didn’t fold, Stern doesn’t negotiate.
And in your particular situation, you’ll end up handing the schools a reason for yield protection because you don’t even have an offer from the two schools. So tactically speaking, I think using that as a last resort to get a decision because you have to give an answer to the other schools is still a respectable way of handling it while demonstrating your value in the market.
P.S. waitlist strategy involves a lot more than just filling things up and letting schools know the same.
It’s an annoying process that requires too much from you