Funding Deadline vs. Standard Deadline

[Delora]

I'm hoping I didn't make a huge mistake here. The program I applied for (Data Analytics at George Mason) advertises a Funding Deadline of January 15, 2016 and a
Standard Deadline of March 18, 2016. Since I'd be attending part-time and my employer offers tuition assistance, I wasn't interested in being considered for funding, so applied on 3/17 just before the Standard Deadline. I keep reading about the April 15th decision date for applicants, but I haven't heard anything yet on my application. It took the school over a month to review my submission, and now it is in a status of "Out of Decision."

Did I completely ruin my chances by not applying before the 1/15 Funding Deadline?

[GradSchoolTruther]

No. Often schools want your money if they believe you are qualified and have he space, as well as allowing for part-time enrollment. I'd email the department to find out what's going on, but the fact you applied by the standard deadline didn't hurt your chances.

[eternallyephemeral]

Also, many masters programs have later deadlines to respond and they take longer to get back to you than PhD programs do. So it may seem nerve wracking and they may seem to be taking a long time, but this is more common for masters than for PhD.

[Delora]

Thank you, I really appreciate the reassurances.