Waitlisted but Accepted at Other Schools

[psyche132]

Hello!!

I am currently holding onto an offer and am waitlisted for my top choice program. My POI at my top choice told me I am #1 on the waiting list. How should I handle correspondence with my other program during this time? I will attend this school if I don’t end up getting in to my top but I am starting to receive pressure from them to make a decision...

Thanks!! 

[Mickey26]

They're not allowed to pressure you to make a decision before the April 15th deadline--they will try, but it's not allowed. Know that you are 100% allowed to hold that offer if you're waiting on your top school.

If they keep pressuring you to accept your offer, simply state "Thank you again for the generous offer. I am currently taking my time to consider all factors before deciding on a program." Good luck

Edited March 16, 2019 by Mickey26

[MaybeTheFutureDrKHopefully]

You might want to let the Prof know you'll be taking your time in case the Prof is trying to communicate back to their waitlisted students

[Joegeo]

I, of course, don't know the school in question so I  can only guess why they are putting pressure when they shouldn't (At least this early on a month before the deadline). It could be that that school is lower ranked so this is their way of "pressure" top students to go there. Or the admission team is just hoping you make a decision as early as possible because they know they have a lot of interested applicants on the waitlist who really want to go there. Or it can be the unlikely event that the professor is being a jerk about this. 

Who knows but you just have to look out for yourself here. Yea it might get awkward with the other professor but it's your right to wait to see all possible offers before deciding and you should not feel bad about it since it's the smart thing to do.

Best of luck though!