Should I call them??? Need advice!

[VKBun]

So basically, one of the schools I've been accepted to (which is my second choice, but a distant second), accepted me into my program of choice. Which is wonderful, except their offer expires this Friday. My goal school/program won't give out official acceptances until at least mid-march, although the word is that they may have already decided on their applicants. I spoke to someone in their office about 1.5 weeks ago who was lovely and could possibly help me figure out whether I can let my other offer expire, or whether I'd better accept it. Should I call that person and as about my application? Is 1.5 weeks too soon/would it be perceived as annoying? I know this is such a busy time for them, but I'm in such a tight spot. Basically, my second choice program begins soon and I would need to move 3-4 hours away, so getting a place to live would become the utmost priority.

 

All of your insight is so greatly appreciated.

Edited February 29, 2016 by VictoriaKBun

[dinny]

Almost all reputable schools in the US (is this in the US?) have agreed to an April 15th deadline for accepting/declining admissions offers, unconditionally. Rather than call the school you are waiting to hear from, you should call the program you have been admitted to and seek additional time to decide. If they refuse, you should SERIOUSLY CONSIDER whether you wish to be at a program that refuses to work with you, unethically, before your graduate studies even begin. They're essentially broadcasting to you that the only way they can get people to attend is by unethically manhandling you into deciding before most offers of admission at other universities are released. 

Edited February 29, 2016 by dinny

[VKBun]

5 minutes ago, dinny said:

Almost all reputable schools in the US (is this in the US?) have agreed to an April 15th deadline for accepting/declining admissions offers, unconditionally. Rather than call the school you are waiting to hear from, you should call the program you have been admitted to and seek additional time to decide. If they refuse, you should SERIOUSLY CONSIDER whether you wish to be at a program that refuses to work with you, unethically, before you graduate studies even begin your studies. They're essentially broadcasting to you that the only way they can get people to attend is by unethically manhandling you into deciding before most offers of admission at other universities are released. 

I'm in Canada actually, and there is no such united deadline agreement. This is made more complicated by the fact that I'm applying for a graduate program in education, as well as bachelors programs in education. The graduate program is unique in what it offers to future teachers, hence my desire to attend that school. They have a completely different timeline of admissions and such because it is a grad program, so they know there is overlap and that some of their applicants are in a difficult position timeline-wise. This is why I think it might be okay for me to call?

[ts1493]

13 minutes ago, VictoriaKBun said:

I'm in Canada actually, and there is no such united deadline agreement. This is made more complicated by the fact that I'm applying for a graduate program in education, as well as bachelors programs in education. The graduate program is unique in what it offers to future teachers, hence my desire to attend that school. They have a completely different timeline of admissions and such because it is a grad program, so they know there is overlap and that some of their applicants are in a difficult position timeline-wise. This is why I think it might be okay for me to call?

I think it would be okay to reach out to your top choice school.  How you communicate your message matters a lot, being pushy will work against you but being polite, apologetic, and reasonable is probably just fine.  You could politely explain to them that you've been admitted to another program that has asked for a response this week and while you understand completely that they may not have any new information to provide you with, they are your top choice and you thought you would check in just in case there was already a response on your application.  They are likely very reasonable people and if they've already decided to reject you but just haven't let you know yet chances are they'd be willing to give you some information.

[artsy16]

1 hour ago, dinny said:

Almost all reputable schools in the US (is this in the US?) have agreed to an April 15th deadline for accepting/declining admissions offers, unconditionally. Rather than call the school you are waiting to hear from, you should call the program you have been admitted to and seek additional time to decide. If they refuse, you should SERIOUSLY CONSIDER whether you wish to be at a program that refuses to work with you, unethically, before your graduate studies even begin. They're essentially broadcasting to you that the only way they can get people to attend is by unethically manhandling you into deciding before most offers of admission at other universities are released. 

I echo the advice given by other posters -- contact the school you're accepted to and ask for an extension. I think it may be helpful to contact the nice person at your goal program and talk with them about your situation. 

I wanted to point out something in the quoted post. The mutual agreement to give accepted students until April 15th to decide is only for programs in the "Graduate School" at the institution. While other graduate programs may still use April 15th, they are not bound to it as they are not included in the  Council of Graduate Schools Resolution. So, programs in a School of Education, Public Health, Medicine, etc are not part of the resolution. While many US universities are a part of the resolution, absence from it doesn't mean anything in my opinion. Especially since it's not legally binding and universities won't feel any backlash or receive punishment if they break from this resolution. 

Even though it's not pertinent to the OP's situation, just wanted to clarify that for anyone applying to US programs. Good luck @VictoriaKBun!

Edited February 29, 2016 by artsy16

[VKBun]

31 minutes ago, artsy16 said:

I echo the advice given by other posters -- contact the school you're accepted to an ask for an extension. I think it may be helpful to contact the nice person at your goal program and talk with them about your situation. 

I wanted to point out something in the quoted post. The mutual agreement to accepted students until April 15th to decide is only for programs in the "Graduate School" at the institution. While other graduate programs may still use April 15th, they are not bound to it as they are not included in the  Council of Graduate Schools Resolution. So, programs in a School of Education, Public Health, Medical, etc are not part of the resolution. While many US universities are a part of the resolution, absence from it doesn't mean anything in my opinion. Especially since it's not legally binding and universities won't feel any backlash or receive punishment if they break from this resolution. 

Even though it's not pertinent to the OP's situation, just wanted to clarify that for anyone applying to US programs. Good luck @VictoriaKBun!

Hi Artsy,

Thank you so much for your comment! Tomorrow I will contact both schools and see where the chips fall. Also, I love how you clarified the "mutual agreement" for all the US applicants - I hope it helps some people find peace/calm in this stressful time!!!