Still waitlisted....?

[Ilikekitties]

I was waitlisted by my top choice PhD program back in February, and I was told that I would receive a final decision by early April. As it is now mid-April, I'm wondering what the "hold up" might be.

Any thoughts?

Edited April 14, 2017 by Peanut

[nobraintrain]

One of the schools I applied to won't give any offers to the waitlisted until 4/15. Some people are getting offers as late as May. Don't give up!

[thelionking]

It's likely that they are still waiting on final decisions from one or more applicants. This might be a sign you are high on the waiting list. If you don't hear anything by the 15th then I'd given them a call first thing next week and follow up on the situation. Good luck! The wait is almost over now so you can find out the answer and plan your next steps.. 

Edited April 14, 2017 by thelionking

[ThousandsHardships]

You can't trust the estimated dates that they give if your offer depends on someone else's decision. Your program has no control over when the person is going to decide. They might do an estimate based on the average of previous years, but everyone is different. When I was first informed that I had been nominated for a fellowship, I was told I'd know around mid-February. By the end of February, I asked about it and was told that I was ranked second for this fellowship with only one recipient (i.e. first on the waitlist). From then on, they kept telling me "maybe two more weeks." Well, you know what? My lucky day was April 10th. It wasn't in two more weeks, it wasn't even four more weeks, but I got it nevertheless. That said, it's getting late in the timeline. The 15th is a Saturday, so you should call them today to find out what the situation is and if they plan to send out any offers after the 15th.

Edited April 14, 2017 by ThousandsHardships

[Ilikekitties]

So, accepted applicants would wait until the 15th to give a decision? And the 15th is on a Saturday (where I am it's already Saturday). Does this affect things?

I'm just getting so anxious because I was certain that I would have heard by now. So, should I contact them on the 15th in local time? Or wait until Monday?

[Necrovex]

10 hours ago, Peanut said:

So, accepted applicants would wait until the 15th to give a decision? And the 15th is on a Saturday (where I am it's already Saturday). Does this affect things?

I'm just getting so anxious because I was certain that I would have heard by now. So, should I contact them on the 15th in local time? Or wait until Monday?

I personally plan to call the university on Tuesday if I don't hear anything today or Monday. 

[hhy]

I'm also going to email them Monday afternoon/evening if I don't hear back from them.

I'm waitlisted to my top choice and the program said they're planning to hear back from accepted students by the 15th and let us know afterward.  I'm slightly nervous about it since there will be 6-7 students attending this year and it's a great, competitive program.   Although the email said I'm high on the waitlist, I'm afraid everyone has accepted the position.  

Good luck to all and I hope we get in!

[Ilikekitties]

The wait is over! I got rejected....5/6 this year (one program left to hear from) and 10/11 last year  

[steve3020]

Is it normal that they are taking this long to respond after the 15th?? Why are they not telling me what's happening?

[nobraintrain]

Apparently. Just got and email asking if I'm still interested. Well, faculty have other things to do besides informing applicants.

[shrimble]

4 hours ago, steve3020 said:

Is it normal that they are taking this long to respond after the 15th?? Why are they not telling me what's happening?

I don't know what's normal, but I called the program for which I was waitlisted, and she said that the graduate director was out of town, so they had yet to solidify admissions decisions. I think it varies by department, but some people never respond or wait until the last minute to accept or reject, so some programs consult the waitlist after the 15th. Best of luck!

[steve3020]

10 hours ago, nobraintrain said:

Apparently. Just got and email asking if I'm still interested. Well, faculty have other things to do besides informing applicants.

I still think that the lack of communication is quite bad. It doesn't take more than few minutes to send out a simple email to a couple of waitlisters... Good luck to you anyway - which programme are you waiting for?

[steve3020]

9 hours ago, shrimble said:

I don't know what's normal, but I called the program for which I was waitlisted, and she said that the graduate director was out of town, so they had yet to solidify admissions decisions. I think it varies by department, but some people never respond or wait until the last minute to accept or reject, so some programs consult the waitlist after the 15th. Best of luck!

Good luck to you too!

[shrimble]

I called the department of the program for which I am waitlisted a week ago to ask about what was happening with the waitlist, since the accept/decline deadline had passed. She said the graduate director was out of town, and she would give her my name. I still haven't heard anything, and I've got a sinking feeling. I'm not sure what's holding them up from at least letting the folks on the waitlist know if all spots are filled or if they are currently consulting the waitlist. I am fighting the urge to pester them some more. I hope things are going better for everyone else!