(Untitled)

[alicia666]

 The school I was accepted to wants a decision by March 15, but I probably won't hear from my other schools by then.
Can I ask the school for an extension? Do people normally do that?

Comments

[ambiguously_jer]

One of my schools had a 'three weeks from notification of acceptance' reply request. I called and said that wasn't possible (it was early march) as I hadn't heard back from other schools and the school in question hadn't made a funding offer. They gave me until April 1st.

I think it depends on the school... I didn't have to go through any admin. assistants as the number I was given was right for the dean of admissions.

[tylik]

For most schools (at least for PhD programs) the real deadline is May 15th, I believe. Which is to say that up until that point you can change your mind with relative impunity.

A lot of schools want decisions earlier. For the most part, as long as they know they are seriously in the running, they'll wait. (The polite way of phrasing it is something like "You're really one of my top choice schools, but there's one other that's in the running, and I'm not going to be able to make up my mind for sure until I've interviewed with them..."

(Though when I was saying that it was completely true. Heck, a year later and I still sometimes wonder about one other school when I'm having a bad day...)

[cosmicwonder]

Correction: The official deadline to accept financial aid (per federal policies) is April 15th. You should definitely just ask about getting an extension, I don't see why they couldn't wait a couple more weeks. It's probably just to make their administrative work easier.

[kahlan_amnell]

Check if they are a member of the council of graduate schools, who have an agreement that you don't have to decide until April 15th. If they are not, ask for an extension.

[blueskysrain]

iawtc. This is exactly what I was going to say.

[thepoetophelia]

They probably have a waitlist and want those of us who got stuck on it to have an oppurtunity to know whether or not we have a chance.

Just make a decision as soon as possible. Some of us are not as lucky to get into multiple programs.

[alicia666]

I'm hoping to get into multiple programs. This is my only acceptance so far. But I have 3 more schools to hear from.

[shawbay]

I read somewhere that there's a national deadline of April 15th for funding or something. You can ask for an extension, but I agree with the earlier poster who said you should tell them they're one of your top choices, and you're waiting to hear back from the other school(s). They know they're not the only one.

In reverse, I would call the other schools and GENTLY tell them you've received acceptance to another school, but you'd rather attend theirs. This should show the other schools that you're more interested in that you're serious, and at the very least they should be able to give you a reasonable idea of when you'll hear from them. Don't push them, but just let them know your situation.

Good luck, and congratulations!