thank you for your information. May I know how your friend was informed, via phone or postal letter or Email? The admission decisions were released by the department or the Grad School?
I emailed the Grad School for the information about my application status, and they answered me like this:
It is the policy of the Graduate School to notify applicants of their admissions status by written correspondence only. Unfortunately, we are unable to answer requests for this information by phone or email. We expect that all admissions letters will be mailed to applicants by March 15, 2009.