Do all schools send out a decision, regardless of whether it's positive or negative?

[NewDex]

Hi everyone,

I applied to 12 programs total this year. I was already taken by 3 and rejected by 4 of those; however, I am still waiting to hear from 5 of them (2 of my favorite programs included). It's March 23 and at this point I'm wondering - is there a chance I may never hear back from those programs? Do all schools have the commitment of telling you either "yes" or "no"? Any thoughts on this one?

Thanks for the feedback!

[TakeruK]

All 8 of my schools got back to me (accepts and declines) around mid-March. However, I know that some of my friends never heard back from some schools (like jobs, you might only hear back if you're accepted). For many other schools, the system automatically sends a decline when they close down the software for the application year (could be as late as the summer). 

However, for schools that admit students in waves, March 23 (today) is certainly still fairly early in the game since the common deadline is often April 15. So, at this point, not hearing something might mean 1) they haven't made a decision yet, 2) they might make you an offer later if there are still room after the first group decides or 3) they have already rejected you but haven't told you yet (or may never tell you).

You already have three offers, so out of the 5 outstanding schools, my advice is for you to follow up with the schools that you remain interested in given that you already have three offers. So, for those two that you describe as your favourite, it would be a good idea to follow up with these two schools (and whatever else you would consider over your current offers). 

When you follow up, the standard thing to do is to let them know that you are interested in their program and that you currently have offers from other places with a deadline of X date. You could then ask if they have any updates to your application and whether they know when they have a timeline for decisions. 

When you do this, if you are in the case 3 above, you will probably get a rejection right away. Sucks to get but you need to know in order to make a decision. If it's case 1, then they might be able to give you an expected date for a decision. And if it's case 2, then they might either say something vague like "we are still in the process of making decisions" or they might be more direct and say "we already made some decisions but we have not yet finished the process".

[NewDex]

On 3/23/2017 at 7:07 PM, TakeruK said:

All 8 of my schools got back to me (accepts and declines) around mid-March. However, I know that some of my friends never heard back from some schools (like jobs, you might only hear back if you're accepted). For many other schools, the system automatically sends a decline when they close down the software for the application year (could be as late as the summer). 

However, for schools that admit students in waves, March 23 (today) is certainly still fairly early in the game since the common deadline is often April 15. So, at this point, not hearing something might mean 1) they haven't made a decision yet, 2) they might make you an offer later if there are still room after the first group decides or 3) they have already rejected you but haven't told you yet (or may never tell you).

You already have three offers, so out of the 5 outstanding schools, my advice is for you to follow up with the schools that you remain interested in given that you already have three offers. So, for those two that you describe as your favourite, it would be a good idea to follow up with these two schools (and whatever else you would consider over your current offers). 

When you follow up, the standard thing to do is to let them know that you are interested in their program and that you currently have offers from other places with a deadline of X date. You could then ask if they have any updates to your application and whether they know when they have a timeline for decisions. 

When you do this, if you are in the case 3 above, you will probably get a rejection right away. Sucks to get but you need to know in order to make a decision. If it's case 1, then they might be able to give you an expected date for a decision. And if it's case 2, then they might either say something vague like "we are still in the process of making decisions" or they might be more direct and say "we already made some decisions but we have not yet finished the process".

Awesome! Thanks for the feedback. I'll try to get in contact with those two schools this week and see what they say. Wish me luck!