Waitlists and appeals, and which are real

A waitlist is a genuine queue and people do come off it, usually late and often at short notice. If you are on one, confirm you want to stay on it, keep your alternative firmly in place, and be reachable in the weeks after results. Treat it as a possibility you have not closed off, never as a plan.

An appeal is a different and much narrower thing. Most institutions reconsider only on procedural grounds: a marking error, a document submitted but not recorded, evidence that existed at the time and was not considered. Disagreeing with the judgement is not grounds. If you have one of the real grounds, appeal in writing, quickly, with the evidence attached. If you do not, those hours are better spent elsewhere.