Does this sound bad

[PoliSciGirl]

Does this sound bad when the secretary says "we can't give decisions over the phone"... that sounds like a rejection to me :-(

[Riotbeard]

Not neccessarily. I was rejected over the phone... I have since been accepted over the phone.

[Katzenmusik]

No, that is not necessarily bad. I got the same answer once (over the phone), and it turned out I was accepted (over the internet).

[origin415]

They mean they can't give decisions over the phone. Its a department or university policy and it has nothing to do with your application.

[Postbib Yeshuist]

Phone calls are not "official" unless they're recorded. E-mail and paper at least have a verifiable trail. "No decisions over the phone" is a fairly common policy.

[shakespearebro]

Why not just ask, over the phone, to have them update your status by email?

[SVN]

All it means is that they won't give decisions over the phone. They can't verify who you are by just your voice, so it's a safety precaution.

[nycrican2]

I agree with everyone else. A lot of colleges will this say to comply with the Ferpa law which prohibits the release of information to anyone else but the student him/her self. Over the phone, it is nearly impossible for the college to really know who they are speaking to so a lot of colleges will have this kind of policy to protect student privacy.

[lily_]

I can understand why you would interpret that negatively, I probably would too! But the rest of the posters are right, it's probably a department policy, and besides, most acceptances come from the desk of the head of whatever department you're applying to - not the secretaries answering the phones.

Hang in there, I'm waiting it out too!