Ignore the waitlist. I inquired about the decision and got this response today: “Your application is awaiting decision. Our admission committee and faculty are still reviewing applications. More offers will be sent throughout March and April.”

Offered admission to the online program instead

Portal initially showed "On Hold - Action Needed", they wanted my TOEFL scores. Sent them on the same day, got official notice on Mar 26 :)

UIUC MSCS

CS Bachelor's from a top IIT. 8 months working in Big Tech. No publications. Good LORs.

1.5 years of experience at Microsoft as SDE. I can understand that my GPA is quite low compared to other applicants. No research output but solid 2-3 projects in undergrad.

Was expecting this, only 3% acceptance according to email

I just want to say, don't listen to the admission office. He's there to discourage you. I called the CS admission office asking about the paper works and he said "our admission process is very selective, your chance of getting in is very low" He kept saying that 3-4 times, even though I didn't ask him about my chance. I have a low GRE score, but my grade is very high (almost the top 5% of my class) and my work experience is related to their research. The professor that wrote me a letter of rec has some close contact with ETH professors too. Maybe that helped me get in. I'm from the US btw.