Priority Application Deadline

[LittleDarlings]

So I put in 2 applications yesterday, one to the MSW program at University of Kentucky and the other at the University of Pitt. I know that I will likely get into Pitt because they have priority admission where they basically guarantee admission and merit scholarship help if you have above a 3.3 and get your application in before Dec 31. My issue is they said I will likely hear from them in 4-6 weeks. Will they expect my response in 2-3 weeks? I will still be waiting to hear from UK because they are not rolling admission, neither is Ohio State or Case Western Reserve. What am I going to do? Was anyone else in this position?

[rachelcl]

I'm in this position with several of my schools being on rolling admission and others not. Unfortunately the only solution I've heard is to enroll in the rolling admissions school if you get accepted and would be willing to go there, then if you get accepted to one later that you like better just withdraw from the first school and lose the deposit. I've heard for Pitt the deposit is $200ish (for occupational therapy at least) which is way less than some other schools so it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to lose it. It's a sucky situation though, I really wish there was a way to respond to all schools around the same time.

[juilletmercredi]

You can ask Pittsburgh if they will allow you to wait until you hear back from other schools, but they may not be willing to do that if they give you an answer by early January and you don't even expect to hear back from other programs until March.

 

You can also use the strategy that rachelcl suggested above, although that will put you out some money. (I wouldn't suggest doing this for doctoral programs, but for MSW programs that should be okay.)

 

I think that you need to make a priority list.  Would you rather attend UK, Ohio State, or Case Western than Pittsburgh?  Rank-order your schools.  If you decide that only Case Western, for example, ranks higher than Pitt for you - then the rest don't matter.  All that matters is whether or not Case Western admits you.  So let's say Pitt accepts you in mid-January and gives you a significant scholarship package. Then you tell Case Western you have an acceptance pending and ask when you can expect to hear back from them (if it's after the deadline).  If they say that it's going to take longer than 2-3 weeks from then, then you can ask Pitt if they can give you an extension on your decision deadline.

 

If they say no, or the extension isn't long enough to hear back from Case, then you need to decide which one you want more badly.  Personally I think a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, especially if that bird is funded.  Pittsburgh is a great university and social work isn't an especially prestige-focused field; even if it were, I wouldn't say any of those schools is necessarily more prestigious than Pitt.

 

What I'm saying is you don't necessarily need information from all of the schools - only the ones you want to attend more than Pitt.

[LittleDarlings]

I want to go to to OSU way more. Honestly Pitt is last on the list especially with their prereq requirements that I would have to fulfill before being admitted. So I am just gonna hope I get accepted to OSU or UK