Decision Help

  • This has become our largest and most active forum because the physics GRE is just one aspect of getting accepted into a graduate physics program.
  • There are applications, personal statements, letters of recommendation, visiting schools, anxiety of waiting for acceptances, deciding between schools, finding out where others are going, etc.

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DaveDude
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2008 12:20 am

Decision Help

Post by DaveDude » Fri Mar 21, 2008 6:12 pm

So here's the deal,

I was accepted to University of Utah, which I'm very happy about. (I think it's a good school, for me at least.) I have a couple choices that I'd rather go to, but I haven't heard from either of them yet.

U of U has given me an April 4th deadline! Aren't most deadlines on April 15th? What's the deal with this early one?

I'm not sure what to do if I don't hear back from the other schools. Although I have a feeling I will be rejected by both, I don't want to discount anything. If I haven't heard anything by April 3rd, should I:
1. call the schools? (but what if they just say they haven't made a decision)
2. ask for an extension for later than Apr 4th to decide?
3. accept the offer and just give up on the other schools?
4. accept the offer with the implication that I may have to rescind my acceptance?
5. ...

Please help!

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al-Haytham
Posts: 29
Joined: Wed Mar 12, 2008 4:14 pm

Re: Decision Help

Post by al-Haytham » Fri Mar 21, 2008 6:39 pm

you should call/email the other two schools on monday to get an update on your application, no reason to wait till april 3.

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butsurigakusha
Posts: 293
Joined: Sun Oct 07, 2007 8:05 pm

Re: Decision Help

Post by butsurigakusha » Fri Mar 21, 2008 7:04 pm

Also, from what others have said on this forum, grad schools are supposed to allow up to April 15 for decisions. I bet if you asked Utah about this, they would probably let you decide by April 15.

Utah is a good school. If you like skiing and hiking and other outdoor activities, then you will like the location. I think they have a pretty good physics department. It was actually their chemistry department that was responsible for the cold fusion fiasco a while back.

admissionprof
Posts: 369
Joined: Sat Feb 02, 2008 7:50 pm

Re: Decision Help

Post by admissionprof » Fri Mar 21, 2008 8:38 pm

google the words council graduate schools resolution.

You will see that Utah is a signatory to the resolution. They CAN'T make you decide by April 4th. I have a friend who has already contacted two schools this year that violated the agreement (and as soon as they were contacted they changed their letter and contacted everyone changing the date to April 15th). I will tell the friend to contact Utah as well.

If you haven't heard enough to make a decision by April 4th, then accept their offer, and then if you decide by April 15th that you would rather go elsewhere, withdraw your acceptance. This is explicitly allowed by the resolution. They can't do anything to you.



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