So Rude - schools that don't bother to notify

[Penny10]

I finally lost patience and called one of my outstanding schools today, only to be told that I had been rejected a while back. Umm, OK, were they expecting me to pick that up by mental telepathy or something?

With the amount of time I spent reviewing their program and working on my application, not to mention the hefty fee they collected for the priviledge of having my application reviewed, I would think least common courtesy would dictate that they should notify me of my result, rather than sitting on their hands waiting for me to get irritated enough to call.

Seriously, such behavior is unprofessional and reflects poorly on the entire institution. I know I'm not the only one to whom this has happened. Why do schools behave so?

[theguy]

I agree...I haven't heard back from 4 schools yet..I'm beginning to wonder if they'll even notify me.

[Optimyst]

Well, sorry to hear about your particular case since they rejected you a while back, from what you're saying.

Still, in a sense, a reason why they sometimes keep people waiting so long is, they're waiting for the superstar candidates in the pack to give up their offers to go elsewhere, at which point, they'd admit you if you're not too low on the waiting list(usually without funding). Of course, Mr/s Genius put in a lot of work to get this far and won't give up his/her slot on receipt, even if they know for a fact that they won't be going there--also partially cos he/she's likely to be on a waiting list at some OTHER slightly-higher school...and on and on...one must remember, it's a life-choice not to be taken lightly...unless you're choosing between Harvard and Admit-all University.

Thus, it might be(might be, not is) a good idea just to wait it out instead of call them next time. Who knows? I mean, if more people than expected decline at the last minute--somewhere in April, you can bet they'll be going down their list a lot lower, and you might be one of the lucky ones. But if you put pressure on them, they may feel like they have to give you a decision on the spot, and it's a lot easier to say "you're out" instead of "we don't know yet" especially since people all over the world are likely to be calling like crazy. It might (again just might) also give the impression that you already have somewhere, and just wanna compare...

This could be why the NRC's rumored to be ranking schools in "tiers" instead of in raw numbers for '08--so lessen the appetite for some schools while raising ones for others when they're similarly ranked...

Yeah, it sucks. Especially after the hefty application fee they take each year, like you said. Think of it as an investment though--there are so so many people now, from all over the world-no less-that some level of randomness is in the soup.

Personally, I blame the almost extreme importance put on rankings, but that's just me.

Look on the bright side though: it'll all be over soon. Not "soon" as in "my bread's in the toaster soon" but "soon" like in "the new Indiana Jones movie is finally coming soon" "soon".

Disclaimer: I'm a fellow applicant with no knowledge of how adcoms work-this is just speculation and should be treated as such. I'm curious to see what you think though.

Good luck and hang in there!!! ALL U NEED IS ONE!!!

[shootermcgavin7]

Originally Posted by Optimyst

Thus, it might be(might be, not is) a good idea just to wait it out instead of call them next time.

This is definitely true. In the majority of cases, the situation which you mentioned with a pseudo-waitlist occurs........ especially in business schools where funding is tight and incoming class are 2-3 students per department.


Further, in a small minority of cases, applicants destroy their future career by reneging on an offer that they've already accepted.

While this is career suicide for the original applicant (due to the small academic communities of each business subfield), people who have quietly waited without hearing from a school might be a beneficiary.

[Ancalagon The Black]

I have not heard from 8 universities yet.

[Prawler]

Still waiting for outcomes. Some schools on their websites say that they would announce in mid-march. Well we are moving towards the end of the March but still no news? How should I perceive this? Well confused. Hope that I am waitlisted at least...

[AstralTraveller]

Originally Posted by Penny10

I finally lost patience and called one of my outstanding schools today, only to be told that I had been rejected a while back. Umm, OK, were they expecting me to pick that up by mental telepathy or something?

With the amount of time I spent reviewing their program and working on my application, not to mention the hefty fee they collected for the priviledge of having my application reviewed, I would think least common courtesy would dictate that they should notify me of my result, rather than sitting on their hands waiting for me to get irritated enough to call.

Seriously, such behavior is unprofessional and reflects poorly on the entire institution. I know I'm not the only one to whom this has happened. Why do schools behave so?

My experience exactly with Sloan. Shame on them. Still haven't received official notification, in fact.

Simply they told about my rejection to one of my recommenders after an email inquiry.