So, I came across this and wanted to clarify some misinformation you've received.
In the past, yes, Nova was accepting double the class size due to drop deadline settling. HOWEVER, Nova has a new Dean who has changed this policy. If a school ends up being over enrolled when class starts (which happened to Nova a couple of years ago), they not only have to try to defer students, but they are EXHORBITANTLY fined (e.g., millions of dollars -- a large amount for every extra student).
Because Nova was recently hit with a large fine for this (because, for whatever reason, VERY FEW students dropped that particular year -- a Perfect Storm scenario), the new Dean has decided to accept the class size (n = 248), and waitlist the rest (as many have pointed out in this thread, there seems to be a larger proportion of waitlists going out). As students drop, more will obviously get pulled in. But, I wanted you to know that this policy is new.
So, because they aren't relying on a backstock of accepted students, this is likely very good news for the alternative list students.
Source: a contact of mine who has been heavily involved in Nova admissions for 10+ years, of whom I asked this same question of.
