When Is It Okay To Contact Them

[Scarlet A+]

It seems like everyone has received all of their responses, whether positive or negative, and have moved on to the final school decisions/planning for a gap year. 

I was feeling okay when no one had posted any results on here about the MA programs that I'm still waiting to hear from (Syracuse, Ole Miss, Purdue), but now that someone has posted about getting accepted into SU's MA program, my heart is broken. 

I want to contact them, just to get an answer, but I don't know if that's a good idea. Can it hurt anything this late in the game? 

If I contact them, what should I say? 

Extra info: I got into Alabama U, with a great fully funded offer, and Villanova accepted me, but still hasn't contacted me about funding (another joy to obsess over). Do I mention this in the email, if I send one? 

Is it abnormal to wait this long to send answers? Should I just assume I'm rejected? Not even wait-listed T_T

[tennesseewilliams]

I've been wondering the same thing... I'm waiting on one more school for an MA, and I think if I don't hear from them by the Monday of the last week in March (the 27th) I'm going to call the office and ask if they've made decisions yet. I wasn't planning on mentioning any of my offers.

[greenhousegoth]

I was in a similar position and I emailed the DGS saying something along the lines of "when can I expect to receive an admissions decision" and I even mentioned that I knew decisions had been sent out already because I had seen results on the board weeks ago. A few days later I got an acceptance email, so I say go for it, as long as you take care to be respectful! I wouldn't assume anything yet. 

[Bumblebea]

You can definitely email them to ask when you will know. I wouldn't recommend emailing them to know "the answer." They probably aren't equipped to give you the answer right now, and asking them straight out for the answer might come across as pushy or demanding.

I will say that MA acceptances tend to be later than PhD acceptances, so it's not necessarily weird to have heard nothing by mid-March. 

In an email, you might want to just say that you're currently weighing offers to other programs (I personally wouldn't mention where) and would like to know an approximate date when you can expect to get an answer from their program. Just short and polite like that. 

[anxiousphd]

10 minutes ago, Scarlet A+ said:

It seems like everyone has received all of their responses, whether positive or negative, and have moved on to the final school decisions/planning for a gap year. 

I was feeling okay when no one had posted any results on here about the MA programs that I'm still waiting to hear from (Syracuse, Ole Miss, Purdue), but now that someone has posted about getting accepted into SU's MA program, my heart is broken. 

I want to contact them, just to get an answer, but I don't know if that's a good idea. Can it hurt anything this late in the game? 

If I contact them, what should I say? 

Extra info: I got into Alabama U, with a great fully funded offer, and Villanova accepted me, but still hasn't contacted me about funding (another joy to obsess over). Do I mention this in the email, if I send one? 

Is it abnormal to wait this long to send answers? Should I just assume I'm rejected? Not even wait-listed T_T

Since you have other offers, I would suggest contacting the programs. You can use your other offers as a justification for contacting them: you need to know if you're accepted or not because you want to accept/reject your other offer. From what I've heard and in my own opinion, that's one of the best reasons for contacting a program to which you applied. 

[steve3020]

I don't understand what's the big fuss about not contacting them as if it were some kind of serious offence, especially at this point. I mean, they aren't gonna go, 'OK, let's reject him now cos he annoyed me.' Am I wrong? Because nothing bad has happened to me from asking them about the timeline. 

[Silabus]

Well, I know I was waiting for IU to get back to me---I'd already seen them sending out acceptances. So I waited until I'd heard from every other program I applied to and then I just shot the Admissions Chair an email. He got back to me that day.

It's not going to hurt your chances or anything to email them. You've waited a  while. It would also be good to check and see what dates their website might say they get back to students. I know some MA programs are still accepting applications so it would make sense for them not to get back to anyone yet.

[Bumblebea]

46 minutes ago, steve3020 said:

I don't understand what's the big fuss about not contacting them as if it were some kind of serious offence, especially at this point. I mean, they aren't gonna go, 'OK, let's reject him now cos he annoyed me.' Am I wrong? 

That's not what anyone said, though.

But it's always good advice to be respectful and polite in these situations, especially if you're dealing with administrative assistants and people who have many other things to do on any given day besides answer emails.