Still haven't heard from 5 grad schools...

[shossain]

So, I'm a bit worried since I still haven't heard back from 5/10 of the grad schools I applied to. I received my acceptances from UIUC, Purdue, and UW late January or so, and got my rejections from Berkeley and Stanford sometime in February.

I still haven't heard from: Arizona State, UW Madison, Carnegie Mellon, U of Michigan- Ann Arbor, or Oregon State...

I applied for Ph.D. Electrical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon and U of Michigan, but applied for M.S. programs for the rest.

Is it normal to hear back past mid-March? Does this mean, even if I do get accepted, I probably won't get funding? I wish I could just have some closure, haha!

[DrChops]

I applied to Oregon State (for Mechanical) and a number of other places... and still haven't heard anything back. But I am confident I will be accepted due to my contact there. So don't give up hope! They may wait a little while to send out their acceptances.

[shossain]

Ok, that's good to know! I was a little worried since I know a few people who have already heard back from Arizona, UW Madison, and Carnegie Mellon...and I have heard nothing, haha. Good luck with all your schools!

[silentnoise]

I have not got any response from 12/16 grad schools.

[SixFender]

I'm still waiting for 2 myself :\

[Babar_Suleman]

Did Carnegie Mellon give you a date? Like by when you should be expecting a decision? I applied to their College of Fine Arts with a decision date of March 15 by the latest and only received my acceptance March 14.

If they quoted March 30 or a date in April to you, you could still be hearing from them. Otherwise, go ahead and contact them.

[shossain]

I'm not sure if they gave me a date, I'll definitely check!

[TeaGirl]

I haven't heard back from any school I applied to yet (I'm applying for a PhD). Only had one interview with a POI at CMU, and I should hear back an answer on that in a week or so.

I am worried at the silence, but I'm hopeful. Not hearing back might simply mean that they simply have a lot of applications to go through and aren't done yet.

[spacecase618]

Same here. I havent heard back officially from 3/4 of my schools, although it seems like I just got in one unofficially yesterday which is such a relief. I'm still waiting on UMich Aero though.

What does the silence mean if you know that the programs already had an open house but they tell you that they're still going through applications? Is this an unofficial waitlist or are they just holding onto a already printed rejection letter?

[TeaGirl]

What does the silence mean if you know that the programs already had an open house but they tell you that they're still going through applications? Is this an unofficial waitlist or are they just holding onto a already printed rejection letter?

I don't think so. At least I hope not. I think open house is kind of a preset date, but each department's admission committee works on its own pace/schedule.

Stanford for ex., if I'm not mistaken, has already had their open house, but PhD decisions for my major don't come out till late March/early April, and I checked the results page, no one's got a reply yet. Same with a few other schools.

[spacecase618]

I don't think so. At least I hope not. I think open house is kind of a preset date, but each department's admission committee works on its own pace/schedule.

Stanford for ex., if I'm not mistaken, has already had their open house, but PhD decisions for my major don't come out till late March/early April, and I checked the results page, no one's got a reply yet. Same with a few other schools.

Ah, if thats the case, that makes me feel a lot better. I just hope these committees start to get back to the rest of us by April.

Edited March 20, 2012 by spacecase618

[FoggyAnhinga]

I still haven't heard back from five schools either. But I'm gonna try to wait until the very end with utmost patience...

[shossain]

Yea, I hope we hear from them all by April at least. I just heard back from the U of Michigan today (finally! 4 left...) and got rejected from their Ph.D. program but offered admission to their M.S. program...1/2 acceptance? Haha:)

[spacecase618]

Yea, I hope we hear from them all by April at least. I just heard back from the U of Michigan today (finally! 4 left...) and got rejected from their Ph.D. program but offered admission to their M.S. program...1/2 acceptance? Haha:)

do they offer funding when they do this? I'm asking because I'm still waiting on mytop choice UMich and im afraid theyre either going to reject me or offer me their MS program w/o funding. lol

[shossain]

They said they don't offer funding for the MS program:( But don't lose hope, it could be different for you!

[Psych Student]

Would it be rude or too foward to call the schools for a status update?

[gradguy]

I haven't heard from 5/5 schools. I felt like I needed to hear one way or the other, so last week I contacted each school to ask about the status of my application since I haven't heard anything from anyone in like 2 months. I got positive responses that cuts were made a few times and that my application was still active in the process. Some programs are waiting to see what teir budget will look like and stuff like that, so there is hope still.

I am wondering since my application has made it to the late stages at a few schools, is there something I should be doing or saying to improve my chances or am I better to just stay patient and let them do what they need to do?

Obviously if I contact them and feel I messed up my chances and then don't get selected, I'll be kicking myself

[psychdork]

I am wondering since my application has made it to the late stages at a few schools, is there something I should be doing or saying to improve my chances or am I better to just stay patient and let them do what they need to do?

Obviously if I contact them and feel I messed up my chances and then don't get selected, I'll be kicking myself

Your best bet is to just stay patient and wait while they make decisions. I'm currently waitlisted at 3 schools, so yes I know how hard it is to do this! The only exception would be if you recently found out about something (say a publication or maybe approval for a conference presentation) that could help improve your application, then I might say something about that. But otherwise, just keep waiting.

[hurricane0218]

I still haven't heard back from 6 out of 7. I'm doing my best to stay patient, but honestly it's really hard to do so when everyone I know has already heard back from their schools..

[SixFender]

I called UC Riverside and was told responses should be coming soon, and Northeastern didn't pick up the phone. Went to voicemail. Sigh.

Maybe they're waiting for rejections, to offer any leftover spots to others?

We really need to get someone in here that has been a part of this selection process!

[BrettSD]

I'm waiting on three schools. One of them had an application deadline date of December 15th and a projected decision date in late February! I've checked my mailbox every morning before heading off to work. I finally said "screw it," and emailed a lady I was in contact there about an potential word/status/whatever.

I'd have to say that I'm more anxious now that I know I've been accepted some places and am waiting to hear from others.

[imonedaful]

Your best bet is to just stay patient and wait while they make decisions. I'm currently waitlisted at 3 schools, so yes I know how hard it is to do this! The only exception would be if you recently found out about something (say a publication or maybe approval for a conference presentation) that could help improve your application, then I might say something about that. But otherwise, just keep waiting.

I agree! Just think if you were a member of the selection committee and you were analyzing say 100 applications and every single applicant e-mailed you about status updates! It would probably get annoying and draw the process out longer than necessary. Unless extenuating circumstances try to refrain from pestering anyone.

[mallorn]

Same here. If there's still no word by early next week, I'll probably shoot a quick email to the schools that I'm waiting for. The problem is they are all very strong (one of them is my top choice!) so I'd like to have all of their decisions on the table as soon as possible. Or maybe after all this waiting, they'll all reject me and make my choice easier? Just kidding, I'd love to get into either of them.

[dadofrank]

I haven't heard from any of the school yet~~~

Let's just wait and keep our fingers crossed!~~~

[gradguy]

Do most programs have a deadline for all of this to be over by April 15th? I'm just thinking all of this should be over for most of us in less than a month...right??

I'm just thinking out loud since I figure they would provide some notice to make a decision, so if I am going to hear from a school, I am probably going to hear something in the next couple of weeks. Sort of exciting as the time is winding down.