Most programs have
set April 15 as the deadline for applicants to make a decision
either to accept or reject an offer of Fall admission and
financial aid. Typically, during the weeks before this date,
programs will notify those applicants they are most interested
in accepting. Here are some hints for dealing with the
acceptance process. First, as soon as you have two offers,
decide which one is better and politely refuse the other.
Repeat this process each time you receive a new offer. As soon
as you get a satisfactory offer from the program of your
choice, accept the offer and advise the other schools of your
decision. This will allow the other schools to make an offer
to another student. If you are pressured into accepting an
offer before April 15, realize that you are within your rights
to change your mind and accept another offer before this date.
If, however, you have voluntarily accepted an offer, either
before or after April 15, do not take your obligation lightly.
Attempts to be released from an agreement can harm your
reputation and that of your references as well. Finally, if
you have no offers by April 15, you still may have a chance
for admission to a program. Vacancies occasionally appear
after the deadline for a variety of reasons (e.g., a change in
career plans by another student or a new grant is funded). If
you have not received any information from a program by the
deadline, feel free to inquire about the status of your
application.
