Status Inquiries

[melancholyway]

OK, so it is approaching mid March... I have received responses from some schools, but I am still waiting on three, one of which is my top choice. Is is wise to write one email to inquire on status? If so do you write this to the dept or the graduate school? I know that this should be simple, but I am so nervous that I do not want to botch anything. Does anyone have experience writing such emails? I want to let the dept know that I am still very interested. What a nerve wracking process.

[frankdux]

calm the hell down. write a one or two sentence email to whomever the website suggests you inquire to about your status. most of my inquiries went to graduate secretaries. its not that hard and you wont "botch" anything.

[psychdork]

I emailed the departments of my schools a short email. I wrote something along the lines of:

Dear Grad Admissions Sec,

I have applied to (your university's) (program) back in December. I am wondering when admissions decisions will be made.

Thank you for your time,

Me

Short and sweet, and I got polite responses from all the programs I contacted.

[eastwind87]

I sent an inquiry to some of my schools and surprisingly, I have not heard back from most of them. I was expecting at least a "we're still in the process of deciding" generic email, but instead have been completely ignored. This is strange to me, especially considering I've heard successes of getting a reply from other people who are emailing the same exact people I'm emailing. What could be the problem? Call me sensitive, but I find the lack of response downright rude and unprofessional.

[melancholyway]

Thank you for your advice. I know that I over analyze and over analyze. The wait and the process is driving me crazy. I am looking forward to the end of it.

[habu987]

Don't worry about it. As earlier noted, just write a short, polite email asking when applicants will be notified. As far as I know, it doesn't hurt anything

[poofypoof]

Is it okay to email and ask a professor regarding admission status?

[whateverneveram3n]

Is it okay to email and ask a professor regarding admission status?

I think it's better to write the grad admissions or department coordinator. Usually program websites will tell you the proper address to direct such inquiries to.

[mylstisr]

I sent an inquiry to some of my schools and surprisingly, I have not heard back from most of them. I was expecting at least a "we're still in the process of deciding" generic email, but instead have been completely ignored. This is strange to me, especially considering I've heard successes of getting a reply from other people who are emailing the same exact people I'm emailing. What could be the problem? Call me sensitive, but I find the lack of response downright rude and unprofessional.

if you are talking acolumbia, do not fear- you are not alone. they have been point blank ignoring me for a long time now. it's so much more crueler than just ignoring me.

[illinoisellie]

I sent an inquiry to some of my schools and surprisingly, I have not heard back from most of them. I was expecting at least a "we're still in the process of deciding" generic email, but instead have been completely ignored. This is strange to me, especially considering I've heard successes of getting a reply from other people who are emailing the same exact people I'm emailing. What could be the problem? Call me sensitive, but I find the lack of response downright rude and unprofessional.

Yeah. You know what's crazy?? I KNOW that I have been rejected somewhere, but they still won't reply to my emails!!! :x

So I'm gonna call them instead. I've heard that works. :wink:

Maybe they'll answer the phone, or maybe they'll take one look at the caller ID and be frightened away...

I suppose I'm just too intimidating to receive an answer.

[Leahlearns]

I've thought about e-mailing or calling. In the end I always decide to give them another week. At this point I'm going to be very surprised if it's not all bad news. Somehow it seems less painful to not initiate the pain, even if it seems extremely likely that that pain will come sooner or later. I do think it's a little ridiculous that I haven't heard anything yet from two schools. The applications were due in early January! The fact that they sit on rejection letters really bugs me--those are the letters that should take the least time and effort to prepare.

However, I don't think making an inquiry could in any way negatively influence the outcome.

[melancholyway]

Thanks to everyone's advice I will be writing emails to inquire of my remaining schools tomorrow. Thank you for the confidence boost. Good luck in your application results!

[miratrix]

I called the one school I was really dying to hear from because I figured I'd get an instantaneous answer (or official non-answer), as opposed to waiting for them to have time to take care of email. And I did! Also, calling is a little easier than emailing because it doesn't involve committing yourself to writing, so that's what I recommend.

[yorkshire_terrier]

I wrote a very brief admission status inquiry letter to the graduate recruitment secretary at the beginning of this week, a week after the announced date for contacting applicants. I still didn't receive an answer. As I gather from the results section, they are sending out letters by post/ snail mail. I am an overseas student and I cannot wait until the letter arrives here. On the other hand, I don't want to pester the admission committee or the professor I contacted earlier. Should I e-mail the other secretary (her title is "graduate admissions secretary"), or would that be inappropriate?

[brinswan]

definitely - graduate admissions secretary sounds like her position is more relevant to your inquiry than graduate recruitment.

[t_ruth]

I emailed grad directors from two of the programs I am waiting on - one last week and the other yesterday. Haven't heard back from either of them. Probably a bad sign, eh?

[TulipOHare]

I emailed grad directors from two of the programs I am waiting on - one last week and the other yesterday. Haven't heard back from either of them. Probably a bad sign, eh?

Maybe not -- a lot of schools are on spring break this month. They could be on break, or swamped with pre-break or post-break work.

[t_ruth]

Maybe not -- a lot of schools are on spring break this month. They could be on break, or swamped with pre-break or post-break work.

one is on break this week (the one I emailed last week), the other definitely isn't because they had a faculty meeting an hour after I emailed him.

[yorkshire_terrier]

definitely - graduate admissions secretary sounds like her position is more relevant to your inquiry than graduate recruitment.

excuse me, her title is "graduate administrator". I am so preoccupied with the word "admission" nowadays that I cannot write anything else.

[peppermint.beatnik]

I've thought about e-mailing or calling. In the end I always decide to give them another week.

This is me. Every Sunday night, I always think, "well, this week, at least I'll know," and it never happens, and I never do anything about it. Mind you, all of my schools are known for dragging out the process until the bitter end, so I'm not sure why I expected things to be different this year.

[jferreir]

I recently received notification that I was shortlisted for admission. After requesting clarification, I was told that the shortlist was equivalent to a waiting list, and that things would "work themselves out by mid-April". I then sent one final email requesting my rank/position on the waiting list, but received no response. Both of my emails were short and polite. Is there any reason why I'm being ignored? After reading these forums, most people seem to have positive results from emailing the graduate coordinator.

So, in light of this apparent indifference, should I be preparing for the worst? The waiting list is like limbo - I have no idea what my probability for acceptance is.

[limeinthecoconut]

Maybe they are just busy? I e-mailed my last school a few days ago. And they didn't reply until today. The letter, which took three weeks to get to me, arrived a day after I sent out the e-mail. And it wasn't bad news. Talk about timing.

[zooey]

I know this isn't relevant here but didn't know where else to post... :?: Does anyone know how to check application status at UIUC? I'm expecting a reject anyway, :evil: but I guess I wanna know. The URL provided when I submitted application just lists all my documents and says RECEIVED. Duh. Pls lemme know...