Got another offer

[attrapereves]

I received my third funding offer in the mail today. It’s not from one of my top choices, but I would have no problems accepting their offer and attending this school. The only reason it’s not my top choice is because it’s much further away than most programs I applied to. The good news is that it’s about $600 more per month than my other two offers. The cost of living is a bit more, but not by much. It might cost me about $100 more for an apartment over the two other options.

Here’s the bad news… I received the letter in the mail today, and the program needs my decision by next Monday, March 5. I would probably go ahead and accept their offer, except for the fact that I am still waiting on three other programs to get back to me. One of the programs that I am waiting on an offer from is my top choice.

It’s a bit of a dilemma because I am still waiting on other offers and only have a week to give them a response. I asked for an extension on the date to notify them by, so I’ll have to see what they say. I don’t want to accept this offer without seeing the other offers, however, if I receive offers after the deadline and they are less than this offer, I will be somewhat irritated.

What gives? Has anyone else received a letter from a program that wanted a response a week later? What would you do?

[Semester Photon]

In your position, I would probably email my top choice program and ask how their evaluation of my application is going.

You might even go as far as to tell them that you got a good offer from your second choice, and you need to know what their offer is (if anything) because your decision is wanted right away. You may even try to flatter them a bit by saying that if you weren't interested in their program for such and such reason that you would've taken the other offer right away.

[xxcheshirecatox]

I would check and see if they are part of the group of schools that abide by the April 15th deadline. Since there is an offer of funding with your admissions, they might be a part of this group, and therefore, cannot ask you for a decision prior to April 15th.

[coonskee]

Why don't you just email the DGS and ask for an extension on the decision? Say you're relaly interested in their offer, but waiting on notification from other schools and want to make the most informed decision you can.

[attrapereves]

When I sent an email to the department head asking about the TAship, I also asked if I may have an extension. I haven't received a reply yet...

However, I discovered that moving costs to the West will cost a LOT more than the other schools that are within a 20 hour drive of my current town. I expected it to be more, but not $1000 more than the other places. I could sell some things to make moving cheaper, but that just means I will have to re-buy the same things again. Also, I'd have to rent a car and purchase a plane ticket to go out there and visit, raising my costs even more. The other programs are close enough to make a long drive out of it.

As of now, I am still considering their offer, but only if they give me an extension. If I receive no extension, I will probably wait until the end of the week for any other potential offers, and then politely decline the offer.