Have hear nothing for almost THREE MONTHS. This can't be normal.

[tiredofwaitingforever]

I applied early January for an applied statistics masters at a Canadian University. Deadline for applications was Feb 1. We are now into the third week of April and I have heard NOTHING. They won't accept me, they won't reject me, they won't put me on a wait-list. Department's website says that they do not respond to emails regarding the status of applications. I emailed them anyways a few weeks ago and sure enough I was ignored.

I'm so stressed out and depressed checking my status every day. Everything is riding on this school's decision. I've been working really bad minimum wage jobs since graduating with my bachelors and this program is my opportunity to develop skills for a better job and pull myself out of poverty.  Even if I'm accepted, it'll be really tough to find housing for September at this point now that we're almost in May. Family and friends are asking me for news everyday and I feel awful. How is it possible that they have made NO DECISION by this point? There's not even an interview process for the program so I have no clue what's going on. It's not ethical to leave someone in the dark for this long.

[DD94]

I'm really sorry that you're in this position. I'm not sure how Canadian schools function, so I can't say if this is normal or not. I also applied to a program on February 1st (in the US as a US citizen) and they didn't get back to me for two months. They didn't tell me anything, didn't ask me any questions, no interviews, and didn't ask for any additional information other than what I sent to them in my application. Then I got an acceptance letter in my inbox. At that point I had written them off as a rejection, so that was a surprise.

It probably wasn't a great idea to email them after they explicitly said that they wouldn't respond to emails soliciting information about application statuses. I also wouldn't suggest calling the department either, you may be pushing them towards a rejection with that type of behavior. I know that this is frustrating, but the best, and only, thing to do is to wait.

Also, if you can, try to limit the amount of times you check the application. Tell you family and friends to stop asking you, and that you'll let them know when you know. Ruminating on this isn't doing you any good at the moment, and it isn't going to change the decision or when it's made.

[TakeruK]

Usually, for STEM fields in Canada, applying to grad school is more like a job process than how grad admissions typically work in the USA. Although every school and program is different, what typically happens is when applications are received, a department committee may review it for completeness and whether the applicant meets some department level standard. After that, all valid/vetted applications are forwarded to the faculty and professors decide whether or not they want to extend an offer. 

Usually, a student is funded through at least two sources: the department and the faculty member. The faculty member pays for the student with their research funds. The department provides some fellowship money (if they have any) and/or a TAship. So, deciding on extending an offer is a give-and-take process, because ultimately, the professor benefits the most as they will get a student to do research for them that is partially subsidized by the department. Also, the department funds where the TAs and fellowships are paid are earned by the work of the other faculty members (e.g. University pays department because they offer classes [taught by the profs] and the department may have some overhead from the prof's grants). Therefore, the give-and-take is to ensure all faculty do benefit from getting students funded on dept. money since all faculty contributed to the money. Therefore, in some sense, unless a faculty member is willing to fund you 100% from their grants (most grants in Canada are not big enough to do this), the prof has to fight for you / make a case to admit you.

Anyways, this is not a quick process and if you haven't heard by now, the most likely scenario is that you were not on any of the professors' first choice lists for departmental funding. You might get a later offer from one of them if after everything gets resolved, there is still leftover funding (i.e. enough other people turn down the offers). Because a lot of Canadian schools give students until Apr 15 to decide (to line up with the USA system), you're more likely to hear back now. I know some Canadian students who get offers in May or June. You'll still have plenty of time to move though. Even in Quebec, with the 90 day / 3 month notice to vacate, that is not until June 1 for Sept 1 start.

What I would recommend is actually to reach out to the school more. Yes, they said not to contact them, but it's been almost 2 months since their deadline (count from the deadline, not from when you submitted the application since most places just let the applications sit until the deadline has passed). In my field, we generally contact some profs we'd be interested in working with before or while we apply to the school, so I would normally say you should reach out to that person. But maybe that is not the norm in your field? 

I think a polite email at this point to the contact person for admissions is appropriate. Instead of asking about your specific application, you could instead just ask whether all offers have already been made. If you have made contact with a prof there, definitely email them. If not, consider emailing anyone you might have stated that you were interested in working with in your application.

This line of action is potentially risky. As @DD94 pointed out, you might indeed be pushing them towards a rejection by not following the website info. However, because funding is very professor-driven (at least in my field), reaching out to the faculty members you are interested in will show that you are more serious. For example, if I were a faculty member in my field in Canada and I read in a student's application that they were interested in working with me, I would be expecting an email from them! However, I don't know your program and your field, so take this advice at your own risk. I might think that at this point, the risk is worth it but each person has their own preferences.

[canecao12]

This is nearly the exact same situation I am in, but in the US. Applied a few months ago, and still no update or word. I keep calling every few days and get the same response - something that doesn't actually confirm an answer and just keeps me waiting. At some point they should just say something, whether it be waitlist, rejection, whatever. I understand your pain!

[dandandee]

I am in the exact same situation. I (canadian) applied for 2 different programs at the same university (SFU) and haven't heard back from either yet! Applied in January, applications were due early Feb. Have not heard a single thing. 

[dandandee]

update. I had emailed both departments.. just heard back from one. It's a no.