Bennet Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 I've applied to several graduate schools with varying deadline dates from January to March, and I didn't expect to hear back from any until April at least. However, University of Central Florida (deadline was January 15) has already informed me of my acceptance, and sent a letter explaining that I should contact them to set up an interview for an assistantship as soon as possible. This letter also ended by saying: "Finally, in accordance with national guidelines, we are asking for your acceptance or rejection of this admission offer within fourteen days of receipt of this letter." I only have fourteen days to let them know whether or not I'm going there? How can they expect that of me? I haven't even heard back from any other schools yet and I have no idea if I'm going to get an assistantship from them, which will be the biggest factor in making my decision where to go. How exactly do I handle this? I don't want to reject the offer because I might want to go there, but I can't accept it without knowing all my options either. Help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktel Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Ugh I know the feeling. I had a similar experience with a scholarship offer when I was applying to schools for my undergrad. It made me feel totally overwhelmed and ticked off at the school for imposing such an early deadline. I felt like they were trying to trick me into picking them before I knew my options. This may be not the best etiquette, but I accepted their offer and later declined it after receiving other offers. This makes me sound like a bad person, but I didn't accept it knowing for sure that I would decline it later. I accepted it to give me more time to weigh my options, and when I was able to give the proper amount of time towards making a decision, I could be confident that I was making the right one. Andsowego and jbriar 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guttata Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Contact them and point out that in accordance with the Council of Graduate Schools, YOU are under no obligation to inform them of a decision before April 15. I don't know how they can even get away with trying to force that deadline on you. scubaduba 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eigen Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 (edited) Just as an aside, the council of graduate studies line on April 15th is completely non-enforceable, and pulling that card with a school will not help matters much. It's a loose agreement, and a school loses nothing by not following it. Schools sign the resolution in general support, but it's not a binding agreement. Even the wording of the resolution is quite vague. It's also worth noting that the same resolution prohibits students from withdrawing an acceptance to attend another school without obtaining written permission from the school in question, and also prohibits any school from accepting a student without obtaining that permission. This is another part of the resolution that a surprising number of schools (and grad students) don't follow. On the other hand, telling them that you really can't make an informed decision until all your offers are in, and asking for an extension might work out quite nicely. Edited February 7, 2012 by Eigen jbriar, zillie and sacklunch 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillary79 Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 If it's any consolation, I was given approximately 8 days... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyberwulf Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 Schools sign the resolution in general support, but it's not a binding agreement. Even the wording of the resolution is quite vague. How is this wording 'vague'? "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." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eigen Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 How is this wording 'vague'? "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." I think you missed the part at the bottom of the page, asterisked, where it says "This resolution applies to offers of financial support only, not to offers of admission". A school can give you as little time as they want to decide whether to accept an offer of admission or not, the only thing the resolution refers to is the financial part. And as to vague, in my mind any sentence that ends with "intent", or speaks to a "general spirit" is deliberately vague. It's a loose agreement and set of guidelines, not a specific and binding legal document. That, combined with the fact that it only covers a portion of the admission game (financial offers, not admission), and the fact that it's a resolution and not a binding agreement make it vague. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyberwulf Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 I think you missed the part at the bottom of the page, asterisked, where it says "This resolution applies to offers of financial support only, not to offers of admission". A school can give you as little time as they want to decide whether to accept an offer of admission or not, the only thing the resolution refers to is the financial part. Yes, you're right. But it's still a pretty crummy thing to do, given the agreement. I wonder how many schools are simply ignorant of the agreement, and have never been called on it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eigen Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 (edited) You're assuming that the school is a signatory of the agreement. There are a fair number that aren't. But yes, it does put students in a difficult situation. The best way to handle it is to ask for an extension without putting any pressure on the school, and see if they grant it. You want to get results with as little "fight": as possible, ideally. Edited February 8, 2012 by Eigen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hungryhungryhipster Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 Personally, receiving such a letter would pretty much guarantee that I would not be accepting their offer. Honestly, it makes them look terribly shady. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ANDS! Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 You can always pull out; sure it sucks, but if they are forcing you into a corner. . . kaykaykay and wangqi 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComeBackZinc Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 You can always pull out; sure it sucks, but if they are forcing you into a corner. . . Be very, very careful. Academia is a small world, and many departments will look at your withdrawing an acceptance after you've committed quite poorly. I'm not saying it will happen every time. But it's certainly not unheard of for a department to pull an offer if they find out that one of their admits accepted another offer and dropped it late. Seek advice for faculty you trust. Eigen and wangqi 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ANDS! Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 Something tells me that the cases of that happening in the entire modern history of graduate acceptances is so small as to be considered insignificant. Obviously not a null event, but not something I would lose sleep over, especially considering the ridiculousness of requiring an acceptance so early in the process. Eigen and wangqi 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyberwulf Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 Agree with ANDS! here. The Agreement says that you're allowed to "de-commit" at any time before April 15th. It's not something I would generally recommend, but if an institution isn't playing by the rules it's unlikely that others which do care about such things would hold a late withdrawal against you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComeBackZinc Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 (edited) Something tells me that the cases of that happening in the entire modern history of graduate acceptances is so small as to be considered insignificant. Obviously not a null event, but not something I would lose sleep over, especially considering the ridiculousness of requiring an acceptance so early in the process. Depends. Before April 15th? You're probably alright. Afterwards? If you think people haven't been penalized for withdrawing late, you're engaging in wishful thinking. Don't take my word for it. Ask around. Edited February 11, 2012 by ComeBackZinc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaykaykay Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Depends. Before April 15th? You're probably alright. Afterwards? If you think people haven't been penalized for withdrawing late, you're engaging in wishful thinking. Don't take my word for it. Ask around. I am actually and sincerely curious. Could you tell a general example of a punishment? I only talked to people who asked for, and were granted a release from their contract. Of course the schools were not happy but they did not try to force them to attend (and there was really no way for them to do so). This happened with people choosing between very high level institutions so there may be other examples out there that I do not know of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juilletmercredi Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 FWIW I've never heard of anyone getting "in trouble" for withdrawing either before or after April 15. We're all adults, and typically what happens is they ask for a release and the school grants it. No PhD program wants a student that doesn't want to be there or would rather be somewhere else. The chances of a school refusing you a release at any point in time are slim to none. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComeBackZinc Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 I keep forgetting that people only want to hear what they want to hear, on this forum. an_internet_person and Megan 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaykaykay Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 I keep forgetting that people only want to hear what they want to hear, on this forum. Just give some examples, of course without names! I am really curious and you answer with this deep "I know it better" nonsense. cool story bro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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