Admission Decisions Packets in the Mail

[whereiscarmen]

Just trying to prepare myself for when I get some of these decisions in the mail first...

Are acceptance packages typically big, fancy, and thick?

Rejection = regular thin envelope?

Wait-list = medium sized package?

[digits2006]

I would think you would get an email first. But who knows!

[whereiscarmen]

A couple of my programs said they will not be sending decisions by email or phone, only mail.

[peppermint.beatnik]

I think the consensus is that there's no consensus. Acceptances can come in small, thin envelopes, too, apparently.

[PastHistory]

I haven't heard back from my programs yet, but the acceptances I've received from the various Graduate Schools have been a couple of pages in a regular envelope.

I've heard the "fat envelope = acceptance, thin envelope = rejection" theory for undergraduate applications, but my undergrad acceptances came in regular envelopes in the regular mail.

[tem11]

So far, most of my acceptances have just been single letters in an envelope followed by a thick packet a few days later.

[Timothy Vallier]

Anyone willing to post some pictures?

[joro]

So far, most of my acceptances have just been single letters in an envelope followed by a thick packet a few days later.

Wow, accepted to pretty much every single program you applied to. Congrats!! Although, I'm jealous at the same time!! But since we're not in the same program, I'll let it slide.

[fuzzylogician]

My acceptances were all announced via email/phone call from an adcom member. These were followed by:

- From the department: a regular sized envelope containing the acceptance letter and some funding info;

- A few days later, from the graduate school: a larger envelope containing some general info on housing and such like, a form to sign+send back to let the school know if I accept/decline the offer, and in some cases, student visa forms.

[Pamphilia]

I've heard the "fat envelope = acceptance, thin envelope = rejection" theory for undergraduate applications, but my undergrad acceptances came in regular envelopes in the regular mail.

Ditto. I would imagine that for grad school, too, it varies wildly so we won't be able to predict anything.

[rchild]

Hello,

I recently checked my application status at one of the schools I applied. The message said that a decision has been made and will be mailed to me. It said that under no circumstances would the graduate school notify applicants via phone or email of their decision. I subsequently looked on this page under "results search" to find that one person was accepted via phone today, and many others were accepted via phone or email last year. For my specific program, at least on this particular site, one person was offered an interview via postal service, and one person was rejected via postal service, but those were the only posts that were notified by way of regular mail. Does this mean I am most likely, if not definitely, rejected? If anybody has any experience with this, I would love to hear your opinion. I am wondering if I should start accepting that this school is not an option now!!!! The program is art history and the school is Maryland at College Park if anybody knows anything!

Thanks and good luck to all of you.

[tem11]

Wow, accepted to pretty much every single program you applied to. Congrats!! Although, I'm jealous at the same time!! But since we're not in the same program, I'll let it slide.

Thanks! If it makes you feel any better, acceptances are one thing, decent funding for MSW programs/international programs are quite another .

[UnlikelyGrad]

My acceptances were all announced via email/phone call from an adcom member. These were followed by:

- From the department: a regular sized envelope containing the acceptance letter and some funding info;

- A few days later, from the graduate school: a larger envelope containing some general info on housing and such like, a form to sign+send back to let the school know if I accept/decline the offer, and in some cases, student visa forms.

This was my experience too. All four of my acceptances started with an email. (They might have tried to call, but I'm notoriously hard to get a hold of over the phone.) In two cases, the email included a PDF of the actual acceptance letter which was later sent in the mail. Any time a letter showed up without previous notification, it was a rejection.

[rising_star]

This was my experience too. All four of my acceptances started with an email. (They might have tried to call, but I'm notoriously hard to get a hold of over the phone.) In two cases, the email included a PDF of the actual acceptance letter which was later sent in the mail. Any time a letter showed up without previous notification, it was a rejection.

My current department accepted me in mid-March, with no prior contact whatsoever. The emailed acceptance (with PDF attached) came as a bit of a shock, because I assumed since I hadn't heard I was either on the waitlist or about to be rejected. But, I got in with funding. They just took a long time to make decisions.

Depending on the department, I either heard via website/email first or via phone call from POI. But, way back when I applied to master's programs, not as many schools had online sites for you to check. So, I actually got an acceptance via snail smail, in a thin envelope. Given that it came within a month of the deadline, I assumed it was a rejection and, to make matters worse, my school's mailroom had put a sticker over part of the envelope. Over which part? The part that said "Accepted" on the front, presumably so people wouldn't panic about the contents of the thin envelope.

[profound_g]

The answer to the original question is that it depends.

If that's an admission offer the sky gets cloudy, then a single sun beam shines through at your house. There's this divine aaaah sound first, then a messenger with a trumpet gives you your letter.

If it's an admission denial then too the sky gets cloudy, only there's no sun beam, and a lightning strikes in your yard leaving a scorched ground with a message: "NO".

The envelopes don't sound so bad now, do they?

[intextrovert]

The answer to the original question is that it depends.

If that's an admission offer the sky gets cloudy, then a single sun beam shines through at your house. There's this divine aaaah sound first, then a messenger with a trumpet gives you your letter.

If it's an admission denial then too the sky gets cloudy, only there's no sun beam, and a lightning strikes in your yard leaving a scorched ground with a message: "NO".

The envelopes don't sound so bad now, do they?

Actually, yes they do - they sound so much more boring now! If I'm going to get rejected, I would love it to be from the hands of an angry God. Then I could also reevaluate my agnosticism!

[UnlikelyGrad]

The answer to the original question is that it depends.

If that's an admission offer the sky gets cloudy, then a single sun beam shines through at your house. There's this divine aaaah sound first, then a messenger with a trumpet gives you your letter.

If it's an admission denial then too the sky gets cloudy, only there's no sun beam, and a lightning strikes in your yard leaving a scorched ground with a message: "NO".

The envelopes don't sound so bad now, do they?

LOL.

If I get a fellowship this year I will be the single sunbeam, I will be glowing so much. And if I get across-the-board rejections, I will rage through the house like a thunderstorm. Don't believe me? Ask my husband.