rosekeet Posted March 31, 2011 Posted March 31, 2011 I have been accepted to three schools so far. I have not made a decision. I have received several emails from one school (a "prestigious" school, very highly ranked) requesting that I make a decision soon. I replied that I wanted to carefully consider my decision and I would let them know by April 15. Today, I check my email at 11:45 am. I have an email from the program coordinator saying that if I do not accept their offer by 3pm today, my spot will be given away. I am on the West coast and this school is on the East coast, so it basically means I had 15 minutes to make a decision! I was freaking out, but responding in the affirmative because this school is at the top of my list. I reread my admissions letter and it clearly says that I am NOT OBLIGATED to respond before April 15. I emailed the head of the adcomm and he said he did not know anything about this email and that I would not be held to that email. Now, I'm confused and angry. I really liked this program and the faculty. However, I do not appreciate the harassment or this kind of email. I got the email at 9am, my time, so I basically had 6 hours to respond. What if I hadn't checked my email? I could have been working, or in class, or out of town, or anything. It also seems shady that the program coordinator is sending emails like this without the head of the admissions committee knowing! I don't know what to think... The program is a good match with my interests and I liked the faculty and research. The students seem happy. It's very highly ranked. It was my first choice, but I wanted to hear from all my schools before making a decision. Thoughts?
etale Posted March 31, 2011 Posted March 31, 2011 It is completely unfair to the applicants to require them to reply earlier than April 15th after initially stating a reply deadline of April 15th. If I were you, I would call (not email!) the director of admissions and have a discussion about the email you received. latte thunder and LJK 2
Xero735 Posted March 31, 2011 Posted March 31, 2011 If you like the school and it is your TOP choice, why is there any decision? I'm surprised you haven't said yes yet. O1O11OOO1O1 1
farnsworth Posted March 31, 2011 Posted March 31, 2011 (edited) The rule of thumb I had alway heard was to hold no more than 2 acceptances at one time. Once you receive a second acceptance, then start deciding which of the two you do not want to go to and let them know so they can move to another person. Just what I was told. You may be doing this, I obviously do not know. I would not think you would have to make a decision before April 15th, but it would probably be nice for those on the wait list if you do (wait list is no fun). Edited March 31, 2011 by farnsworth repatriate, orst11, grlu0701 and 2 others 5
mechengr2000 Posted April 2, 2011 Posted April 2, 2011 The rule of thumb I had alway heard was to hold no more than 2 acceptances at one time. Once you receive a second acceptance, then start deciding which of the two you do not want to go to and let them know so they can move to another person. Just what I was told. You may be doing this, I obviously do not know. I would not think you would have to make a decision before April 15th, but it would probably be nice for those on the wait list if you do (wait list is no fun). BULL. It is 110% illegal for them to make this demand. Don't buy it. mscongeniality1, lewin, Eigen and 5 others 4 4
Eigen Posted April 2, 2011 Posted April 2, 2011 BULL. It is 110% illegal for them to make this demand. Don't buy it. It's a very good rule of thumb, and the polite way to do things. There's no reason not to compare two schools as you have them, and tell the "loser" that you won't be attending so they can move on and give someone else a chance. There's nothing to gain from "hoarding" your admission offers. Generally, schools won't ask you to reply before April 15th, and I think it's not right that some pressure applicants to do so. I think it's definitely worth having a talk with the admissions director about the e-mail, but if the head of the adcom said the e-mail wasn't supposed to be sent, I wouldn't let it effect your decision too much. As to it being "illegal" for them to require you to make the decision early, legality in no way enters into it. The only thing the school has to lose by requiring an early decision is reputation, or if they've signed the agreement, perhaps being removed as a signatory if it happens consistently. But there is question that they can "legally" require you to decide early. grlu0701, repatriate, lewin and 1 other 3 1
kaykaykay Posted April 2, 2011 Posted April 2, 2011 This is terrible, but I would not hold a wild running administrator against the program . Get assured by official sources that your offer stands till the 15th of April and decide in your pace. Also I am not sure about the rule of thumb mentioned above, it may take you some time to decide.... mscongeniality1 1
truc Posted April 2, 2011 Posted April 2, 2011 It is 110% illegal for them to make this demand. Don't buy it. The April 15th deadline, though signed by most US schools, is more of a guideline. If a program violates it, all they risk is a rather light slap on the wrist by CGS. The Pierre Menard 1
Liliki Posted April 3, 2011 Posted April 3, 2011 They cannot do that there's a resolution that says no university can force you so accept or decline an offer of admission before the deadline. I quote the CGS (counsil of graduate schools) resolution. "Acceptance of an offer of financial support *(such as a graduate scholarship, fellowship, traineeship, or assistantship) for the next academic year by a prospective or enrolled graduate student completes an agreement that both student and graduate school expect to honor. In that context, the conditions affecting such offers and their acceptance must be defined carefully and understood by all parties. Students are under no obligation to respond to offers of financial support prior to April 15; earlier deadlines for acceptance of such offers violate the intent of this Resolution. In those instances in which a student accepts an offer before April 15, and sub- sequently desires to withdraw that acceptance, the student may submit in writing a resignation of the appointment at any time through April 15. However, an acceptance given or left in force after April 15 commits the student not to accept another offer without first obtaining a written release from the institution to which a commitment has been made. Similarly, an offer by an insti- tution after April 15 is conditional on presentation by the student of the written release from any previously accepted offer. It is further agreed by the institutions and organizations subscribing to the above Resolution that a copy of this Resolution or a link to the URL should accompany every scholarship, fellowship, traineeship, and assistantship offer. The following list includes CGS member institutions that indicated their support of the Resolution. This Resolution was renewed October 2009." If you need to you can contact them: Council of Graduate Schools One Dupont Circle, NW, 230 Washington, DC 20036 202-223-3791 202-331-7157 (fax) know your rights that guy can't tell you to make an early decision.. good luck mate
Eigen Posted April 4, 2011 Posted April 4, 2011 They cannot do that there's a resolution that says no university can force you so accept or decline an offer of admission before the deadline. I quote the CGS (counsil of graduate schools) resolution. "Acceptance of an offer of financial support *(such as a graduate scholarship, fellowship, traineeship, or assistantship) for the next academic year by a prospective or enrolled graduate student completes an agreement that both student and graduate school expect to honor. In that context, the conditions affecting such offers and their acceptance must be defined carefully and understood by all parties. Students are under no obligation to respond to offers of financial support prior to April 15; earlier deadlines for acceptance of such offers violate the intent of this Resolution. In those instances in which a student accepts an offer before April 15, and sub- sequently desires to withdraw that acceptance, the student may submit in writing a resignation of the appointment at any time through April 15. However, an acceptance given or left in force after April 15 commits the student not to accept another offer without first obtaining a written release from the institution to which a commitment has been made. Similarly, an offer by an insti- tution after April 15 is conditional on presentation by the student of the written release from any previously accepted offer. It is further agreed by the institutions and organizations subscribing to the above Resolution that a copy of this Resolution or a link to the URL should accompany every scholarship, fellowship, traineeship, and assistantship offer. The following list includes CGS member institutions that indicated their support of the Resolution. This Resolution was renewed October 2009." If you need to you can contact them: Council of Graduate Schools One Dupont Circle, NW, 230 Washington, DC 20036 202-223-3791 202-331-7157 (fax) know your rights that guy can't tell you to make an early decision.. good luck mate Actually, they still can. The Resolution is not legally binding, and the worst that will happen to infractions is a loss of reputation/slap on the wrist from CGS. This assumes that the school is even a signatory of the resolution, not all are. And even if they are, they are in no way "forced" to follow it. None of this makes pressuring early right (and in the case of the OP, the head of the adcom at the school said it was wrong and shouldn't have been done), but people need to realize that the graduate schoools "can" require you to make an early decision, revoke your offer, etc. It's not right, but there is nothing that prevents them from doing so and accepting the possible consequences. There are certainly no legal prohibitions to doing so. Having an offer held until April 15th isn't a "right", it's a general courtesy that most schools consistently extend to the applicants. Equating the former with the latter just leads to confusion all around. The Pierre Menard 1
ktel Posted July 3, 2011 Posted July 3, 2011 Eeek reminds me of my undergrad experience. I had been accepted to all the schools I applied to, however one offered me a very large scholarship and required that I accept it VERY early, so early in fact that I did not know the scholarship offers from any of the other universities I had applied to. This made me uncomfortable because I felt like they were pressuring me and I couldn't make an informed decision. So I accepted the scholarship offer, but later declined it citing "personal reasons", as I felt another university would be a better fit for me, and they also offered excellent scholarships.
JSmoove Posted March 30, 2012 Posted March 30, 2012 While it might be nice for people on the wait list, don't decline an offer if you're not ready to do so yet just because it's the "polite" thing to do. Now if you're absolutely certain that you wouldn't attend a school, then you should absolutely let them know as soon as possible. But don't feel any pressure to commit yet: grad school is a huge decision and you need to be able to live with your choice. Don't let one program coordinator sour you on the entire program. You still don't have to decide until April 15th, so just continue as you were before. LeSenateur and DeeLovely79 2
grlu0701 Posted April 4, 2012 Posted April 4, 2012 (edited) BULL. It is 110% illegal for them to make this demand. Don't buy it. First of all, a "rule of thumb" is never a legal matter. The term is certainly not synonymous with "law," so I'm not sure to what exactly you are objecting. Second, I agree with farnsworth and Eigen that hoarding offers is bad practice. By all means, if you are completely baffled, do not reply immediately, but normally people that have 3 offers can choose at least one that is significantly less appealing the others. Edited April 4, 2012 by grlu0701
LeSenateur Posted April 10, 2012 Posted April 10, 2012 Being on a waiting list for my top choice and also having an acceptance, I think schools really can not demand students to make a decision before April 15th. Even though I have been suffering, waiting to hear back from my top choice, I still think those accepted should be given the opportunity to compare their choices. I also got a similar letter from my acceptance saying I had two weeks to make a decision or I had to request an extension. As I was requesting an extension, they asked me to commit to attending if my waitlisted school did not give me an offer. Although this was my initial plan, I resented the request! There is a resolution about this !! Schools cannot demand commitment before the April 15th deadline, and that is final. Also, if I may say so, even if it's after the April 15th deadline, if your top choice gives you an offer after the 15th, I would still take it and drop any other offers I have accepted. Graduate school is 5-7 years. What would you do? Actually I have a question about this. If you want to accept an offer after the 15th and you've already accepted another offer, do you have to get written approval to decline the offer before accepting another? I remember reading this in the graduate school resolution. spunkrag and Eigen 1 1
ktel Posted April 10, 2012 Posted April 10, 2012 Schools can do whatever they want. This "April 15th rule" is not a law, it's a courtesy, and it is evident that many schools do not wish to abide by this. That's up to them, and if you don't like it, perhaps consider not attending that school
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