Is there a reasonable point in time when you can say that you won't get accepted?

[ucdude]

Looking to cut my losses to some programs. I've been looking under my major at the gradcafe-->survey, and it seems like a lot of the schools that I have applied to, I haven't heard back from. Which makes me incredibly anxious, even though I already got into a grad school. At what point in time can I start cutting my losses? I was thinking mid february or even late january that, if I didnt hear back from a university by now, I wouldn't hear back from them with an acceptance.

 

I feel like you guys will tell me to just wait it out, that theres a chance I can get in late march, maybe. But really, I just want to have a couple solid programs to choose from, and its not use for me to hope that I'll get into some place when the likelihood is that I won't, based on the fact that they already accepted a few people, based on gradcafe, which is probably a small sample.

[biisis]

By "cutting your losses," do you just mean psychologically? I get how the potential of news, good or ill, can make your life seem terribly suspenseful. But there is always the potential that your name is on a B list and could get bumped up to an offer for admission (often in the frantic week of April 15th). So it's a question of short term (sweet relief and clarity!) vs long term (last minute offer) gains, and while the latter isn't guaranteed, it's still a relatively short period of agony compared to a decision that has the potential to steer the years to come. My advice is to put the decision, and all its complex possibilities, out of your mind as much as is possible until you've heard back from everyone. Sure, the department that's already admitted you may badger you will calls and guilty demands for a decision, but you don't owe them that, not until the last hand of poker is played.

Edited January 18, 2015 by biisis

[rising_star]

I mean, this really depends on your field and your programs. My PhD department is relatively notorious among grad applicants for not giving out any decisions (admit, waitlist, reject) until the last week of February or the first week of March. For that program, not hearing anything by mid-February is basically meaningless since the adcom doesn't even meet for the first time until around then. But, for my MA department, if you hadn't heard by mid-February, it meant you were on the B list and weren't getting a first-round admission. Given these two experiences of mine, I find it hard to say when you should "cut your losses", Sorry, ucdude.

[Chubberubber]

I'll try to answer straight and not give you a "poster answer" (not that biisis or rising_star did that by any means!).

 

If you know these programs you were waiting for have already sent out interview invitations/ acceptence letters, and you didn't get one it's safe to assume that at best you've been waitlisted and in that case- if I were you I'd go ahead and commit to another program. However, I would do that only if I had a good, rational, reason to. Meaning- if your only reason for wanting to cut your losses is to avoid the mental anguish of waiting than there are other ways to put it out of your mind. On the other hand, if you need to make a decision now because there's a lot involved in it (i.e- needing to move your family/ significant other needs to find a job in the area etc.) then I definitely understand the need to make a decision now, and would probably do so. 

[FinallyAccepted]

I'll try to answer straight and not give you a "poster answer" (not that biisis or rising_star did that by any means!).

If you know these programs you were waiting for have already sent out interview invitations/ acceptence letters, and you didn't get one it's safe to assume that at best you've been waitlisted and in that case- if I were you I'd go ahead and commit to another program. However, I would do that only if I had a good, rational, reason to.

I agree with chubberubber about interviews. Last year, I applied (9 programs), but didn't get in. By the beginning of February, I already was certain I wasn't getting in although I'd only gotten one official rejection. I paid attention to the Results Search and communicated with people who HAD gotten interviews with the POIs I had applied with. In a sense, it was comforting psychologically, so that the waiting limbo was finished. Additionally, it was no shock when I got each subsequent rejection. It became kind of a joke between my husband and I when I got each one, because we had already known it was coming.

That being said, interviews were done for each of my schools, so not getting one pretty much showed right then that I was not being considered. Could they have decided against each person they interviewed, and called me out of the blue to schedule an interview? Sure. Likely? Not really.

So nothing's really over until it's REALLY over- official rejection and all. What I described before was the case with the schools I applied to and the program I was applying to. Don't take advice from everyone on here. Make sure you look at what field they are in before you judge how well it might apply to you and what you should expect.

Edited January 18, 2015 by shana.teacher