I am still waiting ...

[hkmousey]

Hello all:

It's May 9th. I am still waiting for my PhD admission decision from the University of Toronto iSchool. It is my first choice - I have been accepted to another school. ... BUT Ut is my dream school.

I am wondering whether I am the only one who is still waiting - no acceptances and no rejections. I really do not know what that means. I have sent an inquiry to iSchool, School of Graduate Studies, and Admission Coordinator on April 14th. I was told that a letter will be sent out to me the following week. But there is still no signs of the "letter." And I am very hesitated to bother them again - I am afraid that the admission and iSchool staff think I am too "pushy."

(1) Did anyone receive the acceptance from UT iSchool yet?

(2) If so, when did you receive the letter?

(3) Did anyone receive the rejection letter yet?

(4) If som when did you receive the letter?

I welcome any advice and thoughts - What should I do? Should I continue waiting or should I give up hope? - I will move from US to Canada. So I cannot afford to wait much longer - I need to prepare to move and attend other Canadian school soon.

sigh:)

[Bumblebee]

Did the other schools give you a deadline to make a decision? If they didn't or you still have time, maybe you could wait until the end of this week. And if you still haven't received anything by then, then perhaps you can get in touch with them again. That way a month will have passed and you won't risk sounding pushy (although I don't think you would be pushy anyway).

[hkmousey]

Did the other schools give you a deadline to make a decision? If they didn't or you still have time, maybe you could wait until the end of this week. And if you still haven't received anything by then, then perhaps you can get in touch with them again. That way a month will have passed and you won't risk sounding pushy (although I don't think you would be pushy anyway).

[hkmousey]

Thank you very much for your response.

Yes the deadline for accepting other school is over - I have put down "deposit." But as I said, University of Toronto is my dream school. I don't mind "wasting" a few hundred dollars if I get accepted at UT - I know I know it sounds so silly.

I agree that I should wait another week before I contact UT again.

I am still hoping that some readers who applied to the same program will be able to give me some information about UT's admission decision.

Still waiting ...

[Squawker]

I would call them if I were you. This is an unacceptably long time to make someone wait for a decision, especially since they already said it would only be a week. In fact, since you were expecting a letter a couple weeks ago, it's entirely appropriate and not "pushy" at all to call them and say, "Hi, I was told to expect a letter a couple weeks ago but think it may have been lost in the mail because I have not received anything. Can you give me any information about my application?" UofT seems pretty minimalist in their contacting of applicants, so I wouldn't expect them to get back to you on their own accord. You should definitely call, as emailing doesn't guarantee any response.

During the application process, I waited weeks for a response to an urgent email I sent to a UofT department. When waiting any more would have made it impossible to complete my application in time, I tried calling the department's admissions office. I quickly learned that they have some kind of policy of never answering this phone, as each time I called I was directed to their voicemail. However, since the message inbox was full, was not able to leave a message. I was very angry about this. So I just decided to call again and again, continuously, hoping someone in the office would answer just to stop the ringing. It worked after about 10 minutes of calling, and the woman on the phone actually recognized my query from my email! She had read the email, but had not bothered to respond. Lesson learned: Never depend on UofT (or any department, really) to get back to you on something. Call and ask them directly, or else you may never get any response at all. Also I should note that I was accepted, so they don't seem to have taken much note of my forwardness.

[jadeL]

I am also waiting for a reply from UfT for a PhD. My status changed last Tuesday and so according to their website rules we should expect a letter to follow. I am overseas so it would probably take minimum of 2 weeks to get here. Note I said minimum of 2 weeks. I e-mailed the department last Thursday of course there was no response to my email since then. It has been a frustrating time for us waiting of them especially since this is where I want to go but would need to make decisions based on an acceptance or rejection. If you get through on the phone let us know as we all anxiously check our mail boxes daily...

[hkmousey]

I am also waiting for a reply from UfT for a PhD. My status changed last Tuesday and so according to their website rules we should expect a letter to follow. I am overseas so it would probably take minimum of 2 weeks to get here. Note I said minimum of 2 weeks. I e-mailed the department last Thursday of course there was no response to my email since then. It has been a frustrating time for us waiting of them especially since this is where I want to go but would need to make decisions based on an acceptance or rejection. If you get through on the phone let us know as we all anxiously check our mail boxes daily...

[hkmousey]

My status on SGS DID not change, it is still said "under review"????? I am guessing I will receive a rejection letter. sigh:) By the way the Faculty of Information eventually replied my email message. It is only one sentence - a letter has been sent to me.

I am NOT impressed how UT handled my application. Oh well ... I am going to other Canadian school (BETTER!) Good luck on your wait.

[jadeL]

Thanks very much, hkmousey I will update if there are any changes. I have to say this was the worst interaction with a university ever for me. I wish you the best in your studies. All Canadian universities aren't the same, most are pretty good and helpful.

[saturday]

My status on SGS DID not change, it is still said "under review"????? I am guessing I will receive a rejection letter. sigh:) By the way the Faculty of Information eventually replied my email message. It is only one sentence - a letter has been sent to me.

I am NOT impressed how UT handled my application. Oh well ... I am going to other Canadian school (BETTER!) Good luck on your wait.

I applied to the University of Toronto iSchool as well; however for the MI program. It's almost June now and I still haven't received a decision regarding my application. I was asked to submit my final marks for the winter semester, which I did, and my average actually went up. I'm getting really frustrated because I've given up so many opportunities. We'll see what happens.

[thepoorstockinger]

UofT's grad programs are notorious for responding to applicants super late because lots of people will accept their offer even if it includes no money and comes in the mail in June.