Very short deadline to accept offer?

[reinhard]

I just got an offer today and I have been told that I have till the 17th of Feb to accept the offer. Does anyone have the same sort of ridiculously short time to decide? I applied for Masters of Math

[Flandre Scarlet]

I had one month to accept my offer from NYU.

 

and ...

 

two weeks to accept it for CCNY.  Now that's short.

[TakeruK]

I've had short timelines like that before. Sometimes you can ask for an extension though, especially if you give a reason like you know another school will be making their decision on Feb 21 or something like that.

[reinhard]

I've had short timelines like that before. Sometimes you can ask for an extension though, especially if you give a reason like you know another school will be making their decision on Feb 21 or something like that.

Would they take away your offer because of that?

[TakeruK]

Would they take away your offer because of that?

 

I guess technically, they can always revoke your offer (although it might be a lot of work on their part), but practically, they will not revoke an offer because you asked for more time. You should make your request for more time with enough notice that they can think about it and get back to you with a decision before their original deadline has passed. The worst that could happen is that they do not give you more time so then you must decide how to respond before the deadline. 

[reinhard]

I guess technically, they can always revoke your offer (although it might be a lot of work on their part), but practically, they will not revoke an offer because you asked for more time. You should make your request for more time with enough notice that they can think about it and get back to you with a decision before their original deadline has passed. The worst that could happen is that they do not give you more time so then you must decide how to respond before the deadline. 

So ask early; How about something like

 

"Dear [Name of Grad coordinator]",

 

I was recently fortunate enough to receive an offer of admission from University of X and I have till [date] to give my answer, I am wondering if the deadline for the offer could be extended please?

 

Thank you for reading

[TakeruK]

I really just meant like not asking only a few days before. So, you said your deadline is Feb 17, maybe you should ask around Feb 7 or Feb 10 or something. I also think you should at least give some kind of reason and if possible, specify how much more time you would need (so you should contact the other programs you applied to and ask if they know the approximate timeline for their decisions--you can mention that you currently have an offer with a deadline for Feb 17 and that you are trying to ask for extra time to decide).

 

I don't think you should just email them back right now and ask for an extension without any real reason. The reason extensions are granted is because you are waiting for some other piece of information, and if it turns out that all of your other schools get back to you by Feb 17, then you wouldn't really need an extension (or maybe only a few days). But if you know that there is a school that won't be ready to decide until like Feb 20, then it might be okay to ask for a 2 week extension.

[GraceEun]

I thought it was a general rule that decisions don't have to be made until april 15th?

[reinhard]

I thought it was a general rule that decisions don't have to be made until april 15th?

Canadian school, maybe that's why?

[TakeruK]

Canadian school, maybe that's why?

 

Definitely. Canadian schools don't always follow the US-based April 15th deadline. From my past applications, I know that UBC and Toronto (2 of the 3 major schools) do follow the April 15 thing, but McGill (the other major school) gave me exactly 4 weeks to respond! This put their deadline a whole week before the application for another school was even due (March 1). So, I asked McGill for an additional 2 weeks, and notified the last school that McGill was giving me the deadline. Overall, some Canadian programs do a "rolling admissions" type thing, so the last school ended up making a decision about my application 3 days before the application due date, so everything worked out.

 

I thought it was a general rule that decisions don't have to be made until april 15th?

 

Here is the actual agreement: http://www.cgsnet.org/ckfinder/userfiles/files/CGS_Resolution.pdf

 

Although most schools will give you until April 15th, it's important to notice a few important caveats:

 

1. The agreement/resolution is for offers of financial aid only, not for admission, although these usually go together (except for unfunded programs).

2. There are no real penalties for breaking this resolution, thus a program can violate the resolution all they want!

[K80laf]

I just received an acceptance letter with only 11 days to accept/reject their offer! I haven't even recieved the formal letter in the mail yet... Anyone else ever have an offer with that short of a deadline?

 

It would be great to attend the school that offered me admission, but I want to make an informed decision before I accept anything. A former professor advised that I inform the other schools about the acceptance and ask when they will make a decision. He said it's good to be honest about this process, and he even suggested that I request a decision from the other schools sooner. (I was too afraid to ask for a speedy decision, but I did inform them about the offer and ask if a decision will be made before the other school's deadline.) So far the other schools didn't seem to mind my e-mail. They thanked me for the update and said they will check with the division. Hopefully it all works out.

[reinhard]

I just received an acceptance letter with only 11 days to accept/reject their offer! I haven't even recieved the formal letter in the mail yet... Anyone else ever have an offer with that short of a deadline?

 

It would be great to attend the school that offered me admission, but I want to make an informed decision before I accept anything. A former professor advised that I inform the other schools about the acceptance and ask when they will make a decision. He said it's good to be honest about this process, and he even suggested that I request a decision from the other schools sooner. (I was too afraid to ask for a speedy decision, but I did inform them about the offer and ask if a decision will be made before the other school's deadline.) So far the other schools didn't seem to mind my e-mail. They thanked me for the update and said they will check with the division. Hopefully it all works out.

This may not be true for all programs?

[TakeruK]

This may not be true for all programs?

 

I think what K80laf said is true for many Canadian programs, in my experience from applying for my first graduate program.

[reinhard]

I think what K80laf said is true for many Canadian programs, in my experience from applying for my first graduate program.

So you think i should ask other school to "speed it up"?

Edited January 27, 2014 by reinhard

[K80laf]

So you think i should ask other school to "speed it up"?

I don't know if that short of a deadline is that common anywhere. It certianly caught me by surprise. Anyway, I wouldn't ask them to speed it up. But if you inform them of your situation and ask if they have established a plan for timing of decisions, you could then use that information to negotiate an extension with the school that gave you the short deadline.

[reinhard]

I don't know if that short of a deadline is that common anywhere. It certianly caught me by surprise. Anyway, I wouldn't ask them to speed it up. But if you inform them of your situation and ask if they have established a plan for timing of decisions, you could then use that information to negotiate an extension with the school that gave you the short deadline.

So basically TakeruK's suggestion.

 

Thanks for your input anyways.

[TakeruK]

So you think i should ask other school to "speed it up"?

 

I am not sure what you are asking for now. Feb 17 is very far away--3 weeks away! I don't know much more about your situation so it could be hard to give more specific advice, but here is some advice assuming that you are Canadian and living in Canada and you've applied to Canadian schools. Let's call "School A" the school that has accepted you with the Feb 17 deadline.

 

First, you need to decide if you want to even take School A's offer. This might involve setting up some Skype calls to talk to various professors. Normally, the best way is to visit the school--ask if they will fly you out and give you the tour etc. 

 

In my opinion, once you have all of the information about the school (i.e. through the visit), you should not need much time to decide "yes" or "no" to the school. If you can't decide after all of the information, I don't see how having an extra 2 months (to April 15) will really make a difference.

 

However, although the first decision is easy, the second decision is hard--once you have decided all the schools to say "yes" to, you have to then determine which one of these schools you actually want to accept. This is the only part where the deadline can pose a problem--what if you don't have all the information about the other schools (i.e. the visits) before Feb 17? I think this would be a valid reason to ask for an extension so that you can get all your information. 

 

The first 2 weeks of February are usually very active in terms of decisions. You might get all of your decisions back by then. I don't know how many more schools you've applied to. If they are other Canadian schools, then they should be aware of each others deadlines, and you'll probably hear back soon. Like I said before, maybe send a polite email to the other schools around Feb 7 saying that School A has given a Feb 17 deadline and you were wondering what their timeline is (i.e. not telling them to speed it up, but just letting them know about School A). After you hear back (or a few days later if you don't hear back), send an email to School A asking for whatever extension is necessary to cover all of the other schools' decision timelines.

 

However, Feb 7 and Feb 17 is far away. Spend the next 1-2 weeks researching your offer and seeing how you feel about the school, the research fit, the personality fit, the city. Contact the program to ask about a visit date (if they haven't already invited you). Contact profs and students and talk to them. If you end up not wanting to go to this school at all, then you don't even need to worry about extension, you can just decline the offer.

[reinhard]

I am not sure what you are asking for now. Feb 17 is very far away--3 weeks away! I don't know much more about your situation so it could be hard to give more specific advice, but here is some advice assuming that you are Canadian and living in Canada and you've applied to Canadian schools. Let's call "School A" the school that has accepted you with the Feb 17 deadline.

 

First, you need to decide if you want to even take School A's offer. This might involve setting up some Skype calls to talk to various professors. Normally, the best way is to visit the school--ask if they will fly you out and give you the tour etc. 

 

In my opinion, once you have all of the information about the school (i.e. through the visit), you should not need much time to decide "yes" or "no" to the school. If you can't decide after all of the information, I don't see how having an extra 2 months (to April 15) will really make a difference.

 

However, although the first decision is easy, the second decision is hard--once you have decided all the schools to say "yes" to, you have to then determine which one of these schools you actually want to accept. This is the only part where the deadline can pose a problem--what if you don't have all the information about the other schools (i.e. the visits) before Feb 17? I think this would be a valid reason to ask for an extension so that you can get all your information. 

 

The first 2 weeks of February are usually very active in terms of decisions. You might get all of your decisions back by then. I don't know how many more schools you've applied to. If they are other Canadian schools, then they should be aware of each others deadlines, and you'll probably hear back soon. Like I said before, maybe send a polite email to the other schools around Feb 7 saying that School A has given a Feb 17 deadline and you were wondering what their timeline is (i.e. not telling them to speed it up, but just letting them know about School A). After you hear back (or a few days later if you don't hear back), send an email to School A asking for whatever extension is necessary to cover all of the other schools' decision timelines.

 

However, Feb 7 and Feb 17 is far away. Spend the next 1-2 weeks researching your offer and seeing how you feel about the school, the research fit, the personality fit, the city. Contact the program to ask about a visit date (if they haven't already invited you). Contact profs and students and talk to them. If you end up not wanting to go to this school at all, then you don't even need to worry about extension, you can just decline the offer.

The other schools I have applied to don't send out admissions till late February (one school confirmed this, the other ones have not replied to my email).

 

Should I even mention the name of "School A" or just cover it up?

[TakeruK]

I was open with all of the schools about other decisions since I had no reason to withhold/hide that information. So, when I contacted Schools B and C, I told them School A had given me a deadline of X. But I didn't add extra emphasis on the school name or anything, it was just easier to say "School A has given me a deadline of X" instead of using generic words to avoid saying the school name.

Edited January 28, 2014 by TakeruK

[reinhard]

So I jsut sent an email to the grad coordinator and he hasn't responded to me in a week....not looking good. Should I call him?

[iit_chem]

Can we accept the offer and withdraw later before April 15th ?

[reinhard]

Lol nvm, I got the extension.

[argo360]

Hi

 

From my own experience, if you email your department as well as the admission office asking for an extension based on reasons not related to waiting for other admission (unable to pay for deposit due to financial reasons, for example), then you can definitely be allowed for an extension. Also for those who are a little anxious about the schools that are yet to respond, if you email the department that's making the admission decision saying that you are accepted elsewhere and is under a deadline, they will consider expedite your application.

 

Be sure to word it carefully.