Accepted!!! wooooo Now they want a decision in 9 days.

[DaDocStruggle]

Hello All ~

 

I saw a few post regarding this pesky topic but I figured I'd add my own experience in here...perhaps someone can shed some light.

 

So I was accepted into a great PHD program in Counseling. Great funding. Great school. Great faculty. This is a one of my top choices and a school I could see myself attending. Nevertheless, I am also going on 2 additional interviews plus have 3 schools I have not heard from. Many of these programs are locates in places  have never visited and I think it would be beneficial for me to go there and interview prior to making a final choice.

 

I am afraid I will lose the funding. Not sure how to go about asking for an extension...ya'll think I should just take it? Am I being bullied into accepting? Thoughts?!

[tspier2]

Hello All ~

 

I saw a few post regarding this pesky topic but I figured I'd add my own experience in here...perhaps someone can shed some light.

 

So I was accepted into a great PHD program in Counseling. Great funding. Great school. Great faculty. This is a one of my top choices and a school I could see myself attending. Nevertheless, I am also going on 2 additional interviews plus have 3 schools I have not heard from. Many of these programs are locates in places  have never visited and I think it would be beneficial for me to go there and interview prior to making a final choice.

 

I am afraid I will lose the funding. Not sure how to go about asking for an extension...ya'll think I should just take it? Am I being bullied into accepting? Thoughts?!

 

Why would they want an answer already? I was always told that the deadline was in mid-April for making your final decision.

[.letmeinplz//]

Why would they want an answer already? I was always told that the deadline was in mid-April for making your final decision.

April 15th is the usual (Vande specifically has that date on their prospective students page). A few posts here recently have said schools have tried to force earlier though.

 

Is this a school in the US?

Edited January 28, 2015 by <ian>

[DaDocStruggle]

 

Is this a school in the US?

 

Yes this is a US school. I am aware of the April 15 deadline. This is just so bizarre and uncomforting.

[TakeruK]

The general "play nice" rule/agreement (to use the term Eigen used in another post) between many (but not all) graduate programs is that they all agreed to give applicants the same deadline of April 15. This is also known as the "CGS Resolution". But not all programs are part of this agreement and being on the agreement does not legally require the school to do anything.

 

There are some reasons they might want a fast answer. Perhaps they want to know if you are interested so that if you turn them down, they can offer the fellowship to someone else. Perhaps they are not part of this agreement at all. Perhaps they are "playing dirty" and trying to bully you into making a decision. It's hard to tell sometimes.

 

But you have to make the best decision for yourself. From my point of view, you have two main options:

 

1. Take no risk with funding but a huge risk with fit. Accept this offer within 9 days and don't interview anywhere else. Sure, the funding will be secure but you might not find this program to be a good fit for you and/or another program might have been better for you (or give you a better offer, even).

 

2. Take a small risk with funding and no risk with fit. Ask for an extension until you hear back from more schools. There is a chance that this particular fellowship will go away but they might just be trying to gauge initial interest (i.e. maybe they figure all the students that chose them as #1 would accept right away). After all, you are a top choice for them if they are offering you admission and a fellowship--they would want you to come, and they know that taking away funding is a good way to drive you elsewhere.

 

In my opinion, I would go with option #2 because fit is so important to success in grad school. I also think that most schools will realise that unless an applicant already knows they want to go to that school, they are going to ask for an extension. Also, I think asking for option #2 and seeing the school's response will tell you a bit about the school's motives (i.e. whether or not they are trying to bully you / play dirty). And if you know that they are trying to bully you, then perhaps it's not such a loss that you lose a chance to go there. 

 

To ask for an extension, I would be concise and provide a definite timeframe. For example, start with thanking them for their offer and that you appreciate the opportunity presented to you. Let them know that grad school is a big decision and commitment to you and unfortunately you will not be able to make the decision within 9 days because you want to visit their school (if you haven't yet) and/or other schools. Then ask them if they would consider allowing you to decide by X date, where X is the amount of time you think it will take to hear back from other schools. 

 

In order to find out X, you can use the Results Search here to figure out approximate timeframes. ***You can also email the other schools directly and let them know that you have an offer from School A and they are asking for an early decision and you will be asking School A for an extension. So perhaps you could find out what this school's expected decision date is so that you can request an appropriate extension*** (However, this action might be very inappropriate for your field! In my field, this is common and accepted practice, and usually students will even use other schools' financial offers to negoiate a better one. But check with people in your field for field-specific norms).

 

Finding out X might be tough and there might be a delay in hearing back from other schools. Luckily you have 9 days! I'd start emailing early and then send the request for extension at least one day prior to the deadline. But that's just how I would do it!