When Will Schools Begin to Respond?

[jujubea]

Average 4:17pm, local time of university. This is based on my sample size of n = 2.

 

Hahahaha.

 

That's how I feel with the Results Search - there are literally about 6 or 7 results EVER posted for one of my programs and schools. How do you average nothing?! 

[jacket24]

That would be a useful feature for the results search. Imagine if they had a timestamp for each posting that you could sort by program and average by day/time, year, season, or all results. Not sure how much coding that would require but it would give us one more thing to obsess over while waiting.

[jujubea]

That would be a useful feature for the results search. Imagine if they had a timestamp for each posting that you could sort by program and average by day/time, year, season, or all results. Not sure how much coding that would require but it would give us one more thing to obsess over while waiting.

 

Nah I like having to do the work - gives us one more thing to do and obsess over when we're done doing it..

[grad_wannabe]

My acceptance email for my master's arrived on a Sunday evening. 

[-hermes-]

My acceptance email for my master's was sent out at 9:15AM and had the most deceptively worded subject: "Decision on your application." But luckily, the first word of the actual email body was "Congratulations!" so I didn't have too long to freak out.

[constant_wanderer]

Grad school notifications all arrive at 12:03pm sharp ET on Feb. 29th, hand-delivered by little elves, and are only written in green ink!

Any other letter from any grad school is a cruel joke, meant to push anxious applicants over the edge and into the abyss of insanity!

Seriously, folks, this is my third time applying, and I think by now, I've seen it all. All sorts of notifications (including admits) come in every possible way, at any possible time.

Best of luck to everyone: don't let this process grind you down.

[12345678900987654321]

I'm pushing my committee to have everything decided by Feb 1. 

 

Here's the thing about faculty: they move at a glacial pace. Their usual work of research, writing, and revising is a SLOW process. I find that their slow pace spills over into everything they do. 

[Ineedgradschool]

A couple of grad students told me that it's a good sign when you aren't hearing back right away because you didn't get automatically rejected, have passed the first round, and are still being considered...but of course I'd prefer just getting accepted right away! ...Also, it depends on the program you are applying to.  I applied to a lot of I/O schools and from the looks of it most schools contact students around feb-march. Definitely check out http://www.thegradcafe.com/survey/index.phpto see when students were contacted in previous years at your specific programs!

[jacket24]

A couple of grad students told me that it's a good sign when you aren't hearing back right away because you didn't get automatically rejected, have passed the first round, and are still being considered...but of course I'd prefer just getting accepted right away! ...Also, it depends on the program you are applying to.  I applied to a lot of I/O schools and from the looks of it most schools contact students around feb-march. Definitely check out http://www.thegradcafe.com/survey/index.phpto see when students were contacted in previous years at your specific programs!

 

There is probably some merit to this line of thought, but a lot of schools will not even start to review until February according to my interactions with some professors. There really is no telling.

[braindump]

There is probably some merit to this line of thought, but a lot of schools will not even start to review until February according to my interactions with some professors. There really is no telling.

 

Even for schools with December deadlines? That seems kind of silly.. why wait til Feb? I feel like, after the (presumably) several weeks (at least) it takes to review all the apps, by the time you send out interview invites or acceptance emails, it will be so close to the end of the semester that your top choice students may already be booked, or even accepted offers. 

[msgrad2015]

I'm coming into this conversation a little bit late but I have heard decisions can take as long as mid March. The process is dynamic to say the least so it's really hard to lay down a specific date holistically. It depends largely on your school because they have to look at things like space (number of applications), funding, assistantships, and of course vetting what applicants fit their research/study criteria. Also, there is some inner working on their end. For instance, they may have a committee and so all members must be present or at least get eyes on the pool of applicants. Some profs may have scheduling issues, etc. to get this properly set up. On occasion, some grad schools will also give students who need to update or correct pending information a little bit of time to do so before making decisions. Now, I am not saying this is the case with EVERY school, but these are some of the issues that determine response times. These are just some things I have seen or heard about when I from my previous chair (Masters) and from working in and around the graduate office at my previous campus. Still, I am just as nervous watching the clock and calendar tick by as I wait...lol. Hope this helps.

[jacket24]

Even for schools with December deadlines? That seems kind of silly.. why wait til Feb? I feel like, after the (presumably) several weeks (at least) it takes to review all the apps, by the time you send out interview invites or acceptance emails, it will be so close to the end of the semester that your top choice students may already be booked, or even accepted offers. 

 

Yes, one of the programs that I'm talking about had a December deadline but that doesn't mean it's the case across the board. In this instance, they said that Master's applicants are reviewed first and then PhD applicants shortly thereafter. I'm not sure why they do it in that order, as it seems that the PhD review process would be more intensive with funding offers and whatnot. The moral of the story is that each field and program have their own nuances that make the process difficult to predict.

[braindump]

Oh, yeah I guess I hadn't considered that. This just makes the waiting game all the harder! I'd hate to have to turn down an interview or visit from say, my dream school, or something, because I'm already booked for another school that weekend. 

 

In regards to time, there really is no way to tell. I got an acceptance email last night at almost midnight (while out at a bar!)

[msgrad2015]

You may be over-stressing  a bit here...lol. You can usually reschedule an interview or visit as long as you don't make them wait too long. At the same time, be cautious about slow rolling schools who do want you. I have talked to students who became so enamored by the "dream school" that they missed out on good opportunities. This doesn't seem to be the exact case with you, but I always give fair warning when I hear the term "dream school" because the reality may not be as fantastic once you are in. Several students report the second, or even third choice, turned out to be the right one. Without being preachy, evaluate all the schools who accept you with the same enthusiasm as your first choice. Do keep track of deadlines and take some solace in the fact that most schools will won't drop an interview/visit date on you all the sudden. You will have some wiggle room.  

[urvidesai]

When will u of windsor start sending out acceptances?

[FoggyAnhinga]

A couple of grad students told me that it's a good sign when you aren't hearing back right away because you didn't get automatically rejected, have passed the first round, and are still being considered...but of course I'd prefer just getting accepted right away! ...Also, it depends on the program you are applying to.  I applied to a lot of I/O schools and from the looks of it most schools contact students around feb-march. Definitely check out http://www.thegradcafe.com/survey/index.phpto see when students were contacted in previous years at your specific programs!

I try to think about this too to stay as positive as possible - this is also my second time applying for PhDs, and yeah, some programs with deadlines as early as December don't even start reviewing until late January or February. I've had some schools not getting back to me until as late as late April or early May (that's ridiculous I think). From my past experience, some staff (not faculty) working in the admissions/student affairs department don't particularly enjoy their jobs mainly because their office is understaffed and they are overwhelmed with emails from students, and I guess the overall duties of responding to grad students about housekeeping issues gets boring. Hence that could contribute to late replies by some schools...