Deadlines for accepting offers

[moni185]

I am a little bit confused about the deadlines to accept offers. I applied to six different schools, they all had different application deadlines, one wasn't until April 1st. I guess I didn't realize that this would cause problems for me, because I have been accepted at one school and have to accept the offer by April 30th. However, the notification periods for the other two schools, which are my top schools, are not until June. So basically I wasted $100 on those applications. Is anyone else in a similar situation? Maybe it is common knowledge to pick schools that have the same application deadlines, I am not sure. I am also on two waitlists and I was told that they will notify me after April 30th, which doesn't help me much. I'm a bit frustrated with this whole process...

[nustita]

Yes, I've also been surprised by how disjointed the decision-making deadlines are across the different schools (and this for programs in public management, ha!) I would explain your situation to the earliest-deadline school and ask them to give you an extension. It seems that usually they're understanding.