Does the early bird catch the prey?

[gradapp2012]

Hi,

I was wondering if the response times for computer science applicants depend on any way on the time at which they apply? I applied really early (October mid) and some of the programs don't have deadlines till Jan 15th for international students! However, I was hoping that I would hear back early if I applied early and so far I've heard nothing. Has anyone any experience hearing back early for some reason or the other? Also in schools which follow rolling admissions, do they inform rejected candidates too, as they make their admission decisions ?

Thanks!

[ANDS!]

As with most things, it all depends on the program. Just call head of graduate admissions, or a clerk assigned to the grad program to see what their admission process is. They'll let you know if they've begun review (some wont have even looked at them) and when decisions start going out. So, just pick up a phone.

[gradapp2012]

Hi ANDS! Thanks for your reply. All my applications are "In Review". So I would assume they have started the review process. I am thinking the people at the admissions office wouldn't be able to give me any more information other than that I would be hearing back from them in a while.

My query was based on some really early admission decisions posted this year, which are not typical response times, going by the results of the past few years (the one from OSU or Wisconsin for example). Since its been 3 months since I submitted my applications, I was wondering what made the universities respond to them first? Could they have applied any earlier? Since its not just admits but rejects also being reported early , was trying to make sense of this phenomenon

[gradapp2012]

I've applied to the following programs , by the way:

1) Ohio State University

2) UCB

3) University of Wisconsin, Madison

4) Purdue University

5) Stony Brook University

[emmm]

I would be surprised if those schools had rolling admissions. As far as I know, they are all pretty competitive and should be able to pick from great applicants, even if they do lose some of the people they'd like in their program to other schools. It's really only lower ranked programs that tend to have rolling admissions.

[newms]

Yeah, I think all those schools do their admissions at a particular time rather than have rolling admissions. Perhaps they use a waitlist system where a few applicants might get acceptances after the majority, but I doubt they use rolling admissions, so the time you applied won't affect when you get notified about your decision.

Edited January 14, 2012 by newms