Is it rude to...

[sevententacles]

Is it rude to reach out to a graduate coordinator about an application status?

 

I reached out to the graduate coordinator last month to find out the timeline for decisions and was told that all decisions would be made by the end of October. However, I got an extension from another school for admission until slightly before the end of October.

 

The wait is excruciating in general, but more importantly I would like to make a fully informed decision on whether or not to accept or deny going to this other school that I have already been accepted to. (And accepting means dropping $300.)

 

Any advice would be much appreciated! :]

[Shep]

I'm not sure which program you applied to, but when I applied a few years ago to 13 different schools, I was accepted to all of them.  LIS programs are not hard to get into.  Why?  Most of them do fund their students, but do not fund like most graduate programs. Since this is a professional degree and not an academic degree, it is easier to get in, but hard to fund.  So, it might be worth it not to worry so much.  I'm sure you will hear the results sometimes this week. 

[sevententacles]

I'm not sure which program you applied to, but when I applied a few years ago to 13 different schools, I was accepted to all of them.  LIS programs are not hard to get into.  Why?  Most of them do fund their students, but do not fund like most graduate programs. Since this is a professional degree and not an academic degree, it is easier to get in, but hard to fund.  So, it might be worth it not to worry so much.  I'm sure you will hear the results sometimes this week. 

Thanks for replying! I ended up getting in and it all worked out.

 

When you say that these LIS programs fund students but not like other graduate programs, can you elaborate?

[Shep]

Congratulations! I'm not sure if you were offered funding from your program, but the programs I applied to had small stipend (scholarships) or competitive semester to semester GA positions.  Not the typical tuition waiver plus stipend for the entire two years.  Also, fellowships are farther and fewer.  The cost tends to outweigh the benefit of these programs.  Your chances of finding work is quite minimal and LIS programs tend to accept more graduate students than there are jobs.  Be aware of this.  Also, this degree can be interpreted poorly by those hiring in different sectors. 

Edited November 6, 2014 by Shep