Extending Decision Deadlines

[DrPepperGuy]

Hi All - had a predicament and wanted to see if anyone had any thoughts/advice on what to do here. 

I have an offer from a University with a deadline of next Wednesday (April 15th).  It's a good program and I think I would attend if my only choice.  I'm also on the wait list for a program that is definitely my top choice.  I've emailed the Department head a few times and while they are excited about my application they just haven't gotten back to me yet.  It's starting to get close to decision deadlines and I'm not sure what else I can do.

Is it rude of me to ask the institution that has extended me an offer to extend the deadline? Is there anything else I can do to give myself time to hear back from the wait listed school?

Any and all advice appreciated!

 

 

[Theory007]

7 minutes ago, DrPepperGuy said:

Hi All - had a predicament and wanted to see if anyone had any thoughts/advice on what to do here. 

I have an offer from a University with a deadline of next Wednesday (April 15th).  It's a good program and I think I would attend if my only choice.  I'm also on the wait list for a program that is definitely my top choice.  I've emailed the Department head a few times and while they are excited about my application they just haven't gotten back to me yet.  It's starting to get close to decision deadlines and I'm not sure what else I can do.

Is it rude of me to ask the institution that has extended me an offer to extend the deadline? Is there anything else I can do to give myself time to hear back from the wait listed school?

Any and all advice appreciated!

 

 

As far as I know, if it is not a rule, then it is at least agreed among universities that their waitlists will all be resolved by April 15th. That is, the university will certainly let you know by April 15th if they have a place for you or not. If you want to be sure, why don't you contact the program where you are waitlisted and ask if they can guarantee that you hear from them by April 15th? I do not think it is rude to ask for an extension, but I wouldn't do it. I do not think they can offer it to you because they too want to sort out their own waitlist. There is another anxious person waiting out there to hear back from the school you are accepted to. And if you get an extension they will also get back to their waitlist at a later date, which makes it impossible to extend all their offers by April 15th.

[DrPepperGuy]

7 minutes ago, Theory007 said:

As far as I know, if it is not a rule, then it is at least agreed among universities that their waitlists will all be resolved by April 15th. That is, the university will certainly let you know by April 15th if they have a place for you or not. If you want to be sure, why don't you contact the program where you are waitlisted and ask if they can guarantee that you hear from them by April 15th? I do not think it is rude to ask for an extension, but I wouldn't do it. I do not think they can offer it to you because they too want to sort out their own waitlist. There is another anxious person waiting out there to hear back from the school you are accepted to. And if you get an extension they will also get back to their waitlist at a later date, which makes it impossible to extend all their offers by April 15th.

I agree - my only real hesitation on asking for an extension was that I'm sure someone is in my boat and I'd hate to do that to them.

I emailed the program I'm waiting to hear from.  I've let them know I have an offer and need to hear back from them before - I'm just getting no indication that they'll respond to me by the 15th.  You make a good point about all schools needing to resolve by the 15th though - gives me a bit more hope that they'll let me know by then.

[Theory007]

Just now, DrPepperGuy said:

I agree - my only real hesitation on asking for an extension was that I'm sure someone is in my boat and I'd hate to do that to them.

I emailed the program I'm waiting to hear from.  I've let them know I have an offer and need to hear back from them before - I'm just getting no indication that they'll respond to me by the 15th.  You make a good point about all schools needing to resolve by the 15th though - gives me a bit more hope that they'll let me know by then.

Yeah I know of people who have heard back on exactly April 15th so hang in there. Good luck

[uchenyy]

Yeah, I heard back from a program on April 14 when I applied in 2017.

[Dwar]

Um, just wanted to jump in and say that hearing back from a waitlist after the 15th isn't unheard of. Last cycle I heard back from my last school (rejection) on the 17th. So like, you may hear after the 15th. If you go through the results page I'm sure you'll be able to people posting after the 15th. While it obviously differs by school and department, it isn't an industry standard.

The CGS agreement is to provide the April 15th deadline for students who received funded offers to provide their response. However, I do not think this means that the school is under any sort of obligation to deliver decisions themselves by that date.

Sorry to rain on the parade  

[DrPepperGuy]

You're killing me @Dwar ?

Nah I appreciate the honesty.  I mean I know it's possible for them to let me know after the 15th - I mean I'm hoping I can get any sort of unofficial notification even just so I can reject the other offer.  It's just not a fun situation to be in and I wish there was a little more clarity on the timelines. I'll likely hang in there and just have to decide what I'm doing on the last day like others ?

[Dwar]

41 minutes ago, DrPepperGuy said:

Nah I appreciate the honesty.  I mean I know it's possible for them to let me know after the 15th - I mean I'm hoping I can get any sort of unofficial notification even just so I can reject the other offer.  It's just not a fun situation to be in and I wish there was a little more clarity on the timelines. I'll likely hang in there and just have to decide what I'm doing on the last day like others ?

Lol I totally understand. So I'm not sure if this has been brought up yet, but one obvious choice is to accept the offer you have, and then if you get off the waitlist to simply withdraw from the accepted school. I know that that is a mega grey area ethically, but it is an option that you may consider. 

From what I've read on forums and reddit, it isn't that uncommon of a practice. 

[Theory007]

16 minutes ago, Dwar said:

Lol I totally understand. So I'm not sure if this has been brought up yet, but one obvious choice is to accept the offer you have, and then if you get off the waitlist to simply withdraw from the accepted school. I know that that is a mega grey area ethically, but it is an option that you may consider. 

From what I've read on forums and reddit, it isn't that uncommon of a practice. 

Well in these times schools may withdraw offers they have extended to you. So I would worry about that less than usual

[Paulcg87]

19 minutes ago, Theory007 said:

Well in these times schools may withdraw offers they have extended to you. So I would worry about that less than usual

^^^This. Rome isn't quite burning yet but the Germans are at the gates of the city. @DrPepperGuy there have been several departments that have either revoked funding (see UArizona) or admission (see Loyola Chicago) for incoming PhD students so far this spring. We don't know if things will pick right back up in a few months or if we're in for a prolonged recession. The economic pain is unpredictable at the moment. What seems clear right now is that funding is fleeting in the minds of at least some academic administrators. I'm not trying to tell you what to do, but if I were in your shoes I'd go with your own advice, accept the offer I have immediately, and wait to see if the waitlist works out. I know that's a crappy thing to say given there must be people on the waitlist at the school you've received an offer at, but the alternative is to risk having your offer of admission revoked before you accept it and then not getting off the waitlist and being SOL. 

[sad pepe]

The DGS of a program I'm still waiting to hear from told me he'll "definitely get back to [me] before the April 15 deadline" in mid-March when I inquired about it. So I'll take it as he actually means it?

[beerpooh]

I'm in the same situation as you. One waitlist and one offer. DGS from waitlist school said I should wait as long as possible and there's still hope.

However, the school I got an offer from is still figuring out funding right now so I asked them to extend my deadline. They got back to me and extended my deadline to 4/30. 

[DrPepperGuy]

43 minutes ago, beerpooh said:

I'm in the same situation as you. One waitlist and one offer. DGS from waitlist school said I should wait as long as possible and there's still hope.

However, the school I got an offer from is still figuring out funding right now so I asked them to extend my deadline. They got back to me and extended my deadline to 4/30. 

This is good to know - I'm still considering sending out an email Monday Morning and requesting an extension. Glad to hear someone has done it!

[munch22]

22 hours ago, DrPepperGuy said:

This is good to know - I'm still considering sending out an email Monday Morning and requesting an extension. Glad to hear someone has done it!

Requesting an extension while waiting for funding is one thing. Requesting it does nothing for the school - think about it. If they grant, all they are doing is increasing the probability you don't go there. Wait until April 15th to accept the offer if you don't hear back. If you hear back from your waitlisted school after April 15th, it is up to you to decide if you want to cut ties/lose the deposit if there is one (this happens occasionally, you wouldn't be the first person to do it). By asking for an extension, you are more or less implying to the school and faculty you were accepted at that they are not your first choice. Not all, but some faculty will take that personally as you thinking they are not a good enough advisor/researcher. It sounds stupid, but that is how a lot of people in this field work. Don't ask for an extension unless you are waiting for funding information. 

[DrPepperGuy]

Thank you all for the advice!  I decided not to request an extension and opted to pester the wait listed department one more time this morning - hopefully something comes of it by Wednesday.

[DrPepperGuy]

Thanks everyone for the support/feedback - I did have the wait listing institution give me a call today at literally the last possible minute. Sometimes things do work out ? 

[CeXra]

On 4/14/2020 at 2:08 PM, DrPepperGuy said:

Thanks everyone for the support/feedback - I did have the wait listing institution give me a call today at literally the last possible minute. Sometimes things do work out ? 

Do you have an update?

 

[DrPepperGuy]

On 5/23/2020 at 2:29 AM, CeXra said:

Do you have an update?

 

Hey - they extended me an offer of admission and I accepted it. Last possible day but I really was excited about it!