MathCat Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 I received quite a good offer from a school that is high on my list. I don't have an exact ranking, especially since I haven't visited most of them yet, but I visited this one and really liked it. The deadline to decide is in a little over two weeks. Having discussed this with them, I think they will be willing to extend this deadline a bit if I wish to visit other schools that have made me offers. The problem is that most of the other programs I've applied to won't make decisions until mid-February to mid-March. My professors have suggested I should inquire about my status with these schools, as I might be able to find out if I'm still even in the running or not. I'm wondering how I should phrase this. A couple of the departments explicitly say not to email about admission status, so I guess I'll just wait those ones out, but for the others, I'm worried about how it will be viewed. Will I come across as impatient, or like I'm trying to leverage them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TakeruK Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 If you don't want to appear as if you are leveraging them, then just email to say that you got accepted at XYZ (don't mention the financial offer) and that XYZ wants you to respond in 2 weeks. Then tell them that you will try to ask XYZ for an extension and would like to know what date their school would make decisions by, so that you can ask for an appropriate amount of time. That way, you will avoid sounding like you are trying to leverage them and/or rush them. Tiggerise, nugget and Kleene 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidwesternAloha Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 I have been (((told))) but cannot speak to the truth behind this, but, two of my former classmates who are in years 3 and 4 of their PhD's advised me to let other schools know, should I find myself in that situation. Programs don't care that you applied to other schools, they know students apply to many. That being said, my friends have stated that programs will "talk" if they find out you were accepted at another school, and may become competitive in offering you admission, or at the very least, encouraging the other program to finalize their decision for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashrj Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 If you don't want to appear as if you are leveraging them, then just email to say that you got accepted at XYZ (don't mention the financial offer) and that XYZ wants you to respond in 2 weeks. Then tell them that you will try to ask XYZ for an extension and would like to know what date their school would make decisions by, so that you can ask for an appropriate amount of time. That way, you will avoid sounding like you are trying to leverage them and/or rush them. Quick followup: does that apply for MS programs as well? I am in a similar situation as the OP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MathCat Posted January 30, 2015 Author Share Posted January 30, 2015 If you don't want to appear as if you are leveraging them, then just email to say that you got accepted at XYZ (don't mention the financial offer) and that XYZ wants you to respond in 2 weeks. Then tell them that you will try to ask XYZ for an extension and would like to know what date their school would make decisions by, so that you can ask for an appropriate amount of time. That way, you will avoid sounding like you are trying to leverage them and/or rush them. I will probably take this route, thank you. By good offer, I was not actually referring to the money (which is pretty good), but rather that it was a place I could see myself being happy. Any ideas for the subject line? I'm never very good at that... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TakeruK Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 I am not sure if it would apply to MS programs the same way -- I don't have experience to help you, sorry Subject line could be...."Decision timeline inquiry" or something like that? I wouldn't worry about the subject line too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MathCat Posted January 30, 2015 Author Share Posted January 30, 2015 Well, I just realized all the programs list when they expect to make decisions on their webpage (I knew this already, but it just occurred to me). So I don't want to send an email that only asks that, but I'm worried that specifically asking about my status might come across as pressuring/rushing them. Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TakeruK Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 In that case, you should look at the school decision deadlines and add 2 weeks to the last date listed and ask your first school for that extension. Unless your top choice is the last school and you are afraid that they might release their decision a little late (then maybe add 3 weeks). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MathCat Posted February 3, 2015 Author Share Posted February 3, 2015 Well, after emailing, one program emailed me an unofficial acceptance, one told me I'm still in the running, and the third was a terse response telling me to wait until the date listed on their website - which is after the deadline for me to decide on my current offer (even after an additional extension). The fourth has not responded yet. I didn't inquire about the deadlines - I just told them that I had an offer with this deadline, and was wondering if there was any news about my application status. Thank you all for the advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TakeruK Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 Well, after emailing, one program emailed me an unofficial acceptance, one told me I'm still in the running, and the third was a terse response telling me to wait until the date listed on their website - which is after the deadline for me to decide on my current offer (even after an additional extension). The fourth has not responded yet. I didn't inquire about the deadlines - I just told them that I had an offer with this deadline, and was wondering if there was any news about my application status. Thank you all for the advice. Sounds like it went well then Can't expect all the schools to be helpful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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