1st Acceptance but March 15th Deadline...

[CMac]

Hi! This is my first go at applying to grad schools. I was recently accepted to a masters engineering program at Northeastern for Sustainable Building Systems no funding info (I did not think I would be accepted) but they gave me a March 15th deadline to accept or decline the offer. This is the 1st school I have received a decision from. It is my #3 choice which is GOOD but I would really like to hear back from at least my top 2 (Cornell MSc Human-Environment Relations and Carnegie Mellon MSc Sustainable Design).

Previous years Gradcafe result show people hearing back from now until late March for both programs. I'm just a little worried I won't hear back in time. If I wanted to email someone from the programs to inquire on my app and let them know about my other deadline when would be the right time? Maybe a week in advance of the March 15th deadline? And who would I contact, the grad admissions director?

Thanks guys.. I know everyone's stressed..

[RCtheSS]

Conversely, you can email the admissions director of your program at Northeastern to ask for a deadline extension. You can explain that you are thankful for the good news from their department, but are awaiting other admission notifications and financial aid information to be received before making a decision. You don't need to specify which other programs you're waiting to hear back from.

They may grant you the deadline extension, or they might not. For one of the programs I was accepted to, I was successfully able to move one of the enrollment decision deadlines from March 9 to April 11 with a succinct email following the above guidelines. Best of luck!