Pre-April 15th deadline on fellowship offer?

[Wander]

Hi everyone,

 

I understand that most offers of acceptance are open until April 15th, so I was surprised to receive a letter stating that I need to respond within one month before my funding offer expires. Is this common? I am slightly worried because the school is a very good option for me, but other schools to which I've applied have in past years not sent admits to students until late Feb or even mid March? This would mean that my funding for this school may expire before I even hear back from other schools. 

 

I certainly don't want to rush the decision of the other schools as I'm sure this process is hectic enough as it is, but at the same time I would need to hear from them before making a final decision.

 

Thanks all in advance for the advice.

[ANDS!]

April 15th is a magical number that is agreed upon by a lot of school, but is by no means binding.  At best - if you REALLY need that much time to decide - you can contact the school and let them know what is what.

[Canis]

What they're trying to do is get an answer from you so that if you say no, they can offer it to someone on the waitlist. If you still need more time after one month has passed, you can ask them for an extension. The idea isn't that you hold onto every offer until April 15, and then make a decision. And in 3 weeks if you still haven't heard from your other top choices, tell them that you have an offer and you'd like to know when you can expect to hear from them so you know how much of an extension you'll need on that offer.

[Wander]

Thanks for the advice. I completely get wanting to have people make a decision so that they can turn the offer around if need be. And I certainly have no intention of holding onto offers until April 15th, or in fact holding onto any that I know I won't accept. I suppose I'll give the other schools a few weeks before requesting an extension.

[ASG2014]

Thanks for the advice. I completely get wanting to have people make a decision so that they can turn the offer around if need be. And I certainly have no intention of holding onto offers until April 15th, or in fact holding onto any that I know I won't accept. I suppose I'll give the other schools a few weeks before requesting an extension.

Congrats on all your admits!! Mind if I ask where you have decided to join? I have also applied to PhD programs in Hydroclimatology

Edited March 21, 2014 by ASG2014