non-gaurunteed/waitlisted accommodation application

Hello. I'm leaving high school, and UFed UoE and applied for accommodation a while ago. I live in the city but for various reasons would strongly prefer to move out of my family home. Because I live here, I don't meet the conditions of the accommodation guarantee. I accept that Edinburgh residents should be given less priority, but I don't even have a ballpark idea of what my chances are, and for that reason can't determine when/whether I should start looking into private accommodation. The info about this situation is frustratingly vague:

Applicants who are not guaranteed an offer of accommodation will be informed of any potential accommodation offer later [when??] in this process and given the opportunity [so even this isn’t a given?] to be placed on a waiting list for any suitable vacancies that may arise once guaranteed applicants have been housed

I don't particularly care whether the place is on my preferences list or not, but please can anyone who has been through this process give me a suggestion of how likely it is that they'll offer me anything at all, and when I should start looking into private if I’m getting no news.

Thank you for your patience in listening to me freak out