Has anyone ever gotten a decision by checking your app portal before getting an email?

[literalturtle]

I regularly check my emails (that’s really an understatement, actually...) but I’ve also gotten into the habit of checking the application portals to see if an update was made without an email being sent out/before the email has time to be sent out. Am I just wasting my time? I’m sure the answer is yes, but wanted to know if anyone has ever seen their status change on their admissions portal before getting an email! 

[MoynihanBreakerBurkina]

I watched my status change for a program, and then received an email almost immediately afterwards 

[amyvt98]

I received an acceptance via the portal in the early morning and an automated email a few hours later.

[Loveleen]

11 minutes ago, literalturtle said:

I regularly check my emails (that’s really an understatement, actually...) but I’ve also gotten into the habit of checking the application portals to see if an update was made without an email being sent out/before the email has time to be sent out. Am I just wasting my time? I’m sure the answer is yes, but wanted to know if anyone has ever seen their status change on their admissions portal before getting an email! 

I got portal update on Monday and Email on Friday  so keeping check of portal is a good habbit

[scthorne]

I checked a portal last week and found a rejection. Still haven't gotten an email from that school

[literalturtle]

5 minutes ago, scthorne said:

I checked a portal last week and found a rejection. Still haven't gotten an email from that school

Ouch, I'm sorry. That's my biggest fear, which is probably why I should stop checking portals without email...but I can't stand the waiting

[Pierre de Olivi]

I also got rejected from a program (Stanford, Religious Studies) via their application portal a couple of days before receiving an email. Strangely, the letter was dated about a week before it was uploaded, and people in my same area of specialization got accepted a week before that.

[literalturtle]

15 minutes ago, Pierre de Olivi said:

I also got rejected from a program (Stanford, Religious Studies) via their application portal a couple of days before receiving an email. Strangely, the letter was dated about a week before it was uploaded, and people in my same area of specialization got accepted a week before that.

That's really strange. I got my rejection from Stanford via email, and the letter on the decision portal was dated the same day as the email. But interview invites for that program were sent out weeks before that so I already assumed my rejection. Sorry that happened to you

[scthorne]

1 hour ago, literalturtle said:

Ouch, I'm sorry. That's my biggest fear, which is probably why I should stop checking portals without email...but I can't stand the waiting

Honestly it wasn't that bad for me (probably because I wasn't expecting to get into that school). And I think I may not have received an email because I checked the portal - this is just a hunch, but someone else who was rejected from the same program posted on the results page about it the day after I found out. So I think maybe they could see that I already checked the status and I wasn't sent the "update to check portal" email because of that.

 

Waiting sucks worse than knowing it's a rejection. I'm still checking the portals for the other schools I've applied to haha

[historygeek]

I got rejected from Columbia through the portal, without an email being sent.

[Guest]

Yup, I found out I was rejected from one of my top choices by randomly checking the portal for a generic rejection letter... This was 10 days ago, and, at the moment of posting, I still haven't received an email... 

[literalturtle]

5 hours ago, scthorne said:

Waiting sucks worse than knowing it's a rejection.

God, I couldn't agree more. I just want to have all my options out on the table, not wonder if a school is just slow to decide or if I'm not worth their time to reject.

[blahblah_girl]

Before reading this thread, I was checking the portals only every few days, now I will be doing that few times a day! Dammit >_<

[Adelaide9216]

19 hours ago, amyvt98 said:

I received an acceptance via the portal in the early morning and an automated email a few hours later.

Same!

[Jenny01]

I checked the portal and saw the acceptance, I received an e-mail almost 12 hours later and heard from my POI the next day.

[literalturtle]

8 hours ago, blahblah_girl said:

Before reading this thread, I was checking the portals only every few days, now I will be doing that few times a day! Dammit >_<

Ahhh I'm so sorry to create more anxiety! It wasn't my intent  

[brightorangesocks]

I was accepted to Lowell and saw it on the portal around 2pm one day, got an email around 8:30pm that night.  So yes, it's worth checking both!

On the other hand, I believe the Rutgers portal only updates once a day, so I wouldn't be surprised if I get an email/phone call well before the portal is updated.

[blahblah_girl]

2 hours ago, literalturtle said:

Ahhh I'm so sorry to create more anxiety! It wasn't my intent  

No worries! At least now I will have more things to do (I mean other than checking the email).

I saw you got admitted to the University of Michigan - did they email you or did you see the notification on their portal(Wolverine access)?

[CherryBlossom_]

A heads up for University College London applicants... when the status bar changes to “Currently being processed by Admissions” one might expect a decision by midnight (UK time)...

That’s the only time I feel grateful for not living in the US... my timezone is closer to the UK than to the US hahaha.

(Yeah I follow a forum just like The Grad Cafe, but from the UK haha don’t know if it was a good thing for me... now I check the portal every 2 hours haha)

 

Edited February 19, 2019 by carolina89

[literalturtle]

1 hour ago, blahblah_girl said:

No worries! At least now I will have more things to do (I mean other than checking the email).

I saw you got admitted to the University of Michigan - did they email you or did you see the notification on their portal(Wolverine access)?

The department (School of Environment and Sustainability) itself emailed me a congratulations/acceptance notice with my program advisor information included in the email. I didn't get accepted through the portal (Wolverine access) until today, and that acceptance was just through Rackham. Best of luck for you and your application there! 

Edited February 19, 2019 by literalturtle

[Ternwild]

Yep.  That's how I learned about Wisconsin. 

[BioCook]

I've seen it happen for previous application cycles in my program, so I try to go to the portals every once in a while. Of note, it looks like people are VERY quick to post on the results page of TGC so tbh, I always check there first!

[yeahsouh]

Got a portal acceptance from my top choice today but am having a lot of trouble believing it until I receive an email. 

[bandanajack]

I check my email constantly, and have the portals bookmarked and check them throughout the day. I only got one response so far and I got en email saying my portal would change in 1-2 business days with a decision (it was like 1 a.m. on Saturday). 12 hours later the portal presented a generic rejection letter. On Sunday it said denied.

[yeahsouh]

19 hours ago, yeahsouh said:

Got a portal acceptance from my top choice today but am having a lot of trouble believing it until I receive an email. 

It was real! Got the official letter today.