@kramerismynamer just letting you know that OSU is always slow about communication it seems. Just wait until you’re trying to pay your tuition and your finanical aid doesn’t disperse until hours before it’s due.
Oh my goodness! For anyone getting “frustrated” or “losing interest” because admissions decisions are taking too long, or if you’re upset with the “lack of communication”, how about reading this:
Your admissions decision will appear in your Applicant Center. See decision terms in the callout on this page. Autumn term applicants: If you met Ohio State’s November 1 early action deadline, you will receive an admission decision by mid-January; otherwise, you will receive an admission decision by end of March. Spring term applicants: Admission decisions are released on a rolling basis.
STRAIGHT from their website. END of March if you are RD, mid-January if you’re EA. It is March 14.
And for those of you suggesting a call or email to the admissions office to check your status, perhaps you should think twice about that. Someone has to field those calls and emails. Wouldn’t you rather let the process happen naturally so they can get decisions out quicker? Have a little patience. You will need it in college. Why not start now?
And good luck to all of you still waiting on decisions. It’s tough to wait when you really want something, but if it’s meant to happen, it will. In 2 or so weeks, if it hasn’t already.
FYI - The same goes for housing. It’s a lottery. They won’t be able to provide much information outside of what is in your email. Your contract will come. You will get whichever dorm you get. There are no “increased” chances for one over another. Just be glad you get a bed.
I think your fully missing the point of what college is about. “Just be glad you get bed.” Are you fricken kidding me? 40,000 dollars a year OOS and you’re saying people are lucky to get a bed? People are upset for spending money on an application fee for a school that is meant to retain student who are accepting. OSU is missing out on plenty of talented students, or in college terms, walking money bags, by taking their sweet ass time with a massive lack of communication for students who are wanting to make a decision already, some of which with great colleges on the table that require non-guaranteed housing applications. I seriously cant believe you said kids paying massive amounts of money are “lucky to get a bed”, Sounds like a shitty college attitude to me.
I have to agree with the others who are frustrated. My daughter applied to four schools back in mid-October and three of them have been sending mail and email to us almost weekly since she visited each of the campuses over the Summer trying to convince her to choose their school. Yet we’ve heard absolutely nothing from OSU since she applied other than eventually she was deferred. It was her top pick and we are disappointed. It comes across almost arrogant. When I called a few weeks ago they said the deferred are the last to get a final answer and by then the merit aid is all gone so she would get nothing despite her great scores/grades/extra curriculars, etc. So unfortunate because it would have been a perfect fit but we are done waiting. She has chosen another school instead that seems anxious/happy to have her. Best of luck to the rest of you in your wait.
Every communication I have received from OSU via S has been pretty much on time, from acceptance to aid. Our admissions counselor has been responsive, and although OSU’s policies aren’t always in our favor, they are not out of whack with other large institutions with which we are dealing. We planned ahead and minimized (but did not totally eliminate) the vast majority of frustrations. We applied by the deadlines and received merit aid (not 100% satisfied, but better than most other institutions). We have a FAFSA greater than the remaining tuition and received zero need-based aid. If we accept the offer and put in the housing contract, we do expect a bed in a reasonable dorm. Frankly, (2) other institutions we looked at don’t even guarantee freshman housing, where OSU does.
As for mail, my recycle bin is plenty stuffed with paper, and me & son’s email is busting with friendly notes from every institution (accepted and others) under the sun. Many are nothing more than attempts to keep you thinking about their schools. Pound for pound, OSU has sent more than some, but less than others. Frankly I like their balance - they show interest, wave the buckeye flag a little, but aren’t being a pain. I can live with that versus what another school he was accepted to does - they sends us something every other day. It’s worse than buying a car!
My advice is to just try to be patient and yes, I know that is not always easy. While our S was accepted here, he was deferred from another high quality school. They told us by the end of this month they will make a decision, and provide aid notification at that time. Of course we’re anxious and would have liked it sooner, but that’s the way it goes.
All in all we all face some unfavorable circumstances when it comes to college…whether it be a deferral, a denial, or late communication/correspondence. Everyone please just keep in mind when you have a university that is dealing with 50k+ students and other matters, not everything will always turn out 100% perfect! Constantly calling/emailing the school/admissions office will start to clog everything up. I know it is hard to deal with something that you are not expecting…but if you are dealing with a rejection or a deferral, there are still plenty of other schools out there and this is not the end of the line. If you are STILL waiting on a decision you will hear by the end of the month. If that decision is not what you hope for, I think the best thing to do is to come to that realization and try and move on. I am not trying to sound like a bad/know-it-all type of person. I’m just trying to say that we cannot change OSU’s decisions or what will happen.
For those of you who are concerned about the lack of communication, I was admitted in the first round and almost all of the correspondence I’ve been sent has been a couple days late, but this is happening to everyone so please don’t freak out! Housing has not come out yet, but we are not supposed to get that until mid to late March. Everyone please take a deep breath and just relax 
Good luck to all of you. & please keep in mind that there are some people on here who are just trying to help, so please do not take out your frustration on them!
@afluffymuffin - saying be lucky you got a bed was in reference to the kids who are aiming for new north campus dorms, suites and singles. There is a HUGE shortage of housing BECAUSE so many talented students are applying and being accepted. I’m sure there are quite a few transfers and upperclassmen who wouldn’t be so picky.
As for spending a ton OOS - I get it. But they say decisions will be out by the END of March. Get frustrated when they don’t meet their stated deadline. Otherwise, YOU risk sounding like a college *****.
People need to learn to be patient and see the bright side. The dorm you look down on may be a blessing to someone who didn’t get one in the lottery. The acceptance you’re freaking about taking too long to get may be welcomed by the rejected or waitlisted kid.
Keep it in perspective and have some patience.
And I’m not a student. I’m a parent. My first college app was filled out on paper and mailed in. And admissions was GREAT - I even got a call on vacation letting me know I was accepted to tOSU. They may have more time to communicate if people didn’t blow up the phone lines!
And trust me - communication will be forthcoming. Once May 1 hits and all acceptance fees are paid, you’ll have more emails than you can stand! They are BUSY working to meet deadlines. I’m sure they would love to do all this stuff, but their seams are bursting trying to get things done as it is. Have faith - it’ll all work out!
bucks724, enough with your blaming the applicants for complaining. A certain level of communication is expected by the consumer, and if it is not received then they have the right to go elsewhere, and they are. If you care as much about OSU as you say then it should bother you that they are losing out on qualified candidates. Instead, all you can do is defend the admissions staff, because they are so BUSY. Perhaps they are. But one solution to that is to HIRE MORE STAFF. And most of the communication that everyone is receiving from other schools is automated. Once established, it would cost very little to maintain and would prevent a lot of the phone calls that you feel applicants are not allowed to make. In my experience more communication actually leads to less work in the long run, as then your customers do not feel the need to initiate conversations from their end.
@iamnotsure - I totally get what you’re saying about hiring more staff. They may be in the process of doing so. 2016 and 2017 have been the largest applicant pools OSU has seen. And they’re among the strongest ever. At this point, there are only so many spots for all the talent. So they’re taking their time and trying to get the best of the best. I think that’s a GREAT problem to have. I LOVE OSU (of course). I just think the complaining is a little premature.
If OSU fails to notify all RD applicants by the end of the month, there is certainly something to complain about. As I’m sure you are aware, hiring more staff is not as simple as it sounds. It’s a state job. There are space issues. I am sure they don’t WANT it to be this way, but the fact of the matter is, these are some bright kids applying and there are only ____ spots available for them to fill.
Questions about the process should absolutely be directed to the appropriate office, but calling admissions to find out when you will get your decision once you’re in evaluation seems counterproductive for all involved. Just my $.02.
I hope all of the students that are still waiting for a decision receive good news. Waiting isn’t fun for anyone.
Oh, and welcome. Nice first post!
I don’t think it would be a bad idea for tOSU to send a blast email saying “hang in there and be patient” to those still waiting.
It’s the little things…even at mega-universities.
^^ Agreed. I wonder if there is a suggestion area where that can be communicated to them? For me (personally), I wouldn’t want the reminder that I still hadn’t heard anything, but for some, it may be comforting knowing that they’re still working on your application.
As a student who applied to OSU this year, I think everyone needs to calm down. They stated the reply dates on the website so you knew what you were getting into by applying RD or getting deferred. Hiring more staff won’t fix the problem. They receive tens of thousands of applications and each is reviewed carefully so they’ll make the best decisions for their school and notify when possible. Just have some patience.
bucks724, you posted:
[QUOTE=""]
Your admissions decision will appear in your Applicant Center. See decision terms in the callout on this page.
Autumn term applicants: If you met Ohio State’s November 1 early action deadline, you will receive an admission
decision by mid-January; otherwise, you will receive an admission decision by end of March. Spring term applicants:
Admission decisions are released on a rolling basis.
[/QUOTE]
You keep saying “don’t complain until the deadline passes”. But, in fact, a deadline has already passed that OSU did not meet. Namely, the EA “mid-January” deadline. Check back on the pages of this thread to see that that was indeed the case. There were many who were declined or deferred later than advertised. So part of the frustration you are seeing is as a result of that. They already have a track record of not meeting deadlines, so forgive our lack of willingness to give them the benefit of the doubt.
I have only noticed deferred and RD students talking about the lack of decision. Any EA I have seen received a decision (even if it’s a deferral). Can you show me an EA that has heard nothing? I can’t seem to find one.
I have followed this thread since October. My son was admitted in November. As far as I have ever seen, anyone who applied by November 1st(EA) received some sort of decision by then(admitted, rejected, deferred). There were a couple who hadn’t, but it turned out they didn’t have everything in on time and called and had resolution. I have not seen anyone who applied by that date who has not received an answer. My son also applied and was admitted early action to University of Wisconsin. They don’t release in waves, but rather all on the same day. They didn’t release their early decisions until a Friday in the end of January. The regular decisions still haven’t been released. The level of communication between both of these large Big Ten universities has been the same. The difference has been that we waited WAY longer for the UW admission, so then we received a ton of communication all at once from them. OSU was much more spread out since that admission came quickly. Those were the only two schools my son applied to, so those are my only comparisons. Some of the kids who go to his school applied to small schools. Their communication has almost been over the top. One kid gets a phone call almost every week asking him if he is coming there. That is a college of less than 1,000 students. Totally different.
I would rather a university take it’s time and properly evaluate each and every student than to make decisions quickly and without proper investigation. I think having some students decisions brought right up to the deadline shows the seriousness in which the school takes the process. My son got in EA last year and found out I believe on December 10th. We know a couple of other kids from our small town in MA who applied RD this year and are still waiting. I get the part about being impatient but you should really appreciate the amount of time the school puts into the process to make sure the students are the right fit for the university.
I was one who posted out of a handful of posters that daughter applied EA and did not hear back. My daughter’s paperwork WAS submitted on time but the school took over 1-1/2 months to download her transcript. Then added her to RD. We only found out after I called to inquire and they realized they made the mistake and moved her back to EA and said she should hear something in 2-3 weeks. Then got deferred and automatically put back in RD.
bucks724 said:
[QUOTE=""]
I have only noticed deferred and RD students talking about the lack of decision. Any EA I have
seen received a decision (even if it’s a deferral). Can you show me an EA that has heard
nothing? I can’t seem to find one.
[/QUOTE]
That’s because that’s not what I said. I said they missed the “mid-January” deadline, which I interpret as Jan 15. (Which is, surprise, the middle of January.) As you can see from posts 1082, 1159, 1175, … The decisions came on Jan 20-21. Now, of course you will say that this meets the criteria since it is off by only a few days… But by their own admission, as you can see from posts 1037 and 1045, OSU was behind schedule, telling some that results would be out by “end of January”.
Regardless, all of this is only to give y’all some perspective on the frustration people are feeling. For anyone who applied RD or already received a definitive decision, I can see why you feel all is well. Perhaps you can show some compassion and understanding for those that applied before Nov 1 and have received minimal information since then. Other schools appear to be managing it better. That’s all we’re saying.
I fully understand that OSU will send their decisions whenever they send them, and I can do nothing to change it. That doesn’t mean that the process they are following cannot be criticized. Many people are about to spend upwards of $100,000 to attend their institution, so they can factor whatever they want into that decision. And based on comments on this thread, many have already decided to go elsewhere as a result of the delays and poor communication.