<p>Biosci, Its very late in the application cycle. Already got a fellowship at one school. Still waiting on an answer for another school. I'm not particularly attached to one school over the other. The school I'm still waiting for an answer on is somewhat more prestigious and has faculty a bit better of a fit but I know others have already gotten in and this late in the process I don't think I'd get anything other than a regular offer if I even got in at all plus it will be quite a move away from family and friends. The school I already got into is decent itself and is much closer to the point where I'm only going to be a short distance away from where I am now. But I have reoccuring residual doubts over whether the other school is better and the location.</p>
<p>The school that I've gotten into has emailed me a few times urging me to make a decision. On the one hand I don't want to get off on the wrong foot with the school I'm likely to attend. On the other hand I'm wondering if I should just stick it out to see what the other school will say.</p>
<p>I hope you get some answers here from some of the great regulars, check back tomorrow–, that sounds like an uncomfortable position to be in. Is there a formal deadline? I wonder if it is okay to let them know you are a strong likely but awaiting one offer and you will let them know without delay. Have you contacted the one you are waiting on? I think faculty fit is not to be dismissed.</p>
<p>The school you have an offer from can’t force you to make a decision until April 15. All graduate programs have agreed to have that as the sort of “National Decision Day”. If the school is pushing you to make an earlier decision, you have every right to tell them that you are going to let them know by April 15. Of course it is in their interest to get an earlier decision from you but you have 2 weeks to see if the other program will tell you something. The likelihood is that you are on the backup list, if at all, with the other program and in any case they probably won’t make you any offers until after April 15 anyway.</p>
<p>Well, most graduate schools. Only those schools that are in the Council of Graduate Schools have agreed, and it only applies to offers of funding, not to acceptances. Check here to see if they are included - chances are good that they are: <a href=“The National Voice for Graduate Education - CGS”>http://www.cgsnet.org/april-15-resolution</a></p>
<p>You don’t have to wait, if you don’t want to; it’s really up to what you want. If you would rather go to School A for a variety of reasons, there’s no reason to wait on School B. But you won’t annoy School A if you make them wait another 2 weeks. School A wants you to make a decision so in case you decline them, they can try to nab the good students off the wait list before they accept other offers elsewhere, but you don’t have to let them push you if you indeed have until April 15.</p>
<p>I’m assuming this is for a funded Ph.D. program. If you are entering a non funded master’s program, and they give you a deadline of June 15, will you decrease chances of later funding if you don’t respond before April 15? Some schools my son applied to have an application deadline of May 1, so I think he’ll want to wait to hear from them before accepting a nonfunded offer.</p>
<p>Potentially. This is something that varies school by school. Some schools may dangle some funding to get non-confirmed students to come, while other schools see it as a waste to offer their best funding to students who may not join their program.</p>
<p>But for a non-funded master’s program, here’s what I’d do - if there’s a confirmation deadline of April 15, I’d go ahead and confirm with my first choice program while still applying to the others that have May 1 deadlines. If one of those offers comes along with funding in June or July, I’d just tell the non-funded program I was no longer coming. While this is considered shady and even unethical to do for funded programs, for a non-funded program it’s much less of a “deal.” You don’t have the same kinds of obligations to unfunded programs.</p>