<p>So as the decisions time approaches (or it has already passed for some) I started thinking if I should check the admissions decisions online or wait for the actual letter to come in my mailbox.</p>
<p>Online: Fast, easy, no more anxiety over "admitted or not" but when the envelope arrives in the mail, you already know your results so opening it kills almost all the fun.</p>
<p>Letter (snail mail): More time to wait, being tempted to check online (especially if you check back on CC and see everyone's results), anxiety grows more, BUT there's this once-in-a-lifetime movie moment of opening the envelope that will reveal where you'll possibly be (or not) next year. (by "once in a lifetime" I don't mean only one envelope but just that one period in your life)</p>
<p>I'd really like to have the movie moment and feel my heart pounding in expectation while I open the envelope and finally read the decision, but then again, online quick&easy decisions seem to cut down on stress a lot.
So I might wait for the first decision to come in my mail and then check the rest online or... I don't know.</p>
<p>Right now I'm telling myself I'll wait for the letters to come. First, because then I won't have to go through the painful decision of which order to check the schools in. Second, so when my friends are all freaking out about being accepted/rejected I'll be able to look at them smugly and be like "I'm just waiting for the letter :)". Third, and probably most important, I've forgotten two of my online application checking password things. So that's kind of embarrassing and I don't want to email to ask for new ones :) It'll have to wait.</p>
<p>I kind of want to wait for the letter, but since I live abroad it might take a long time to get here, and I want to know so I can start planning visits. Anyway, only a few of my schools have online decisions, so I guess I have both the nice and quick answer and the wait for the letters. Ugh. I don't like this... It's only the beginning of March and I'm already freaking out!!</p>
<p>It didn't matter to me, for one school I found out online, while for another I found out from snail mail. And I was very excited for both times when I found out I got accepted. So I guess it depends on what you prefer.</p>
<p>It was a no-brainer for me, considering that the letter arrived two weeks after the decision came out online. Waiting for decision to load, however, felt like nine lifetimes. I almost died.</p>
<p>i know in theory, many people would rather not find out how they did than to know that they were rejected. However, just knowing often lets you let go of your anxiety, accept the reality, and move on (to hopefully better things). Like it's often better to find out that a person who has gone missing for years is dead instead of missing so you don't have to worry anymore.</p>
<p>& also, that movie moment from opening the mail would only happen if you were accepted. Have you considered the other outcome? What if you've waited all those weeks/days for the letter only to open it up and find out you were rejected?</p>
<p>...personally, I would check online because the mail here isn't that reliable.</p>
<p>Getting the fat envelope is, like you said boho_girl, more satisfying than just reading it online. For the ones that are available online, however, I'll probably just cave and read them, just because I'll be too impatient.</p>
<p>I am sure that all of my schools except for one have decisions online (and I think that one has it, too...) so I can't simplify it like that, I'm afraid :(</p>
<p>And yeah, I'd like to know, but I want to feel that nerve-wracking moment of truth (is it masochistic? :p)
[quote]
& also, that movie moment from opening the mail would only happen if you were accepted. Have you considered the other outcome? What if you've waited all those weeks/days for the letter only to open it up and find out you were rejected?
[/quote]
Well, even if I get rejected, I'd still consider it (depressive) movie moment :D
I don't want to put my hopes up too high and end up terribly disappointed, so I have to work on being prepared for those negative outcomes as best as possible.
Still, it's easy for me to say now that there is still some time left till the decisions; works in theory, but we'll see how practical part goes... :-S</p>
<p>I just want to find out at least one school's decision on paper, rather than on screen so I know how it feels like.
Only that I'm an international, and as psychgirl said, it will take long time before the actual letter arrives so I will still have to see if it's worth it...</p>
<p>I haven't gotten to see any admissions decisions online yet. The thing that seems really nice about it that no one's mentioned yet is this: I know exactly when the two decisions I'm expecting to see online will be there. A couple of the letters I've received came later than I expected, and it was nerve-wracking to run out to the mailbox every day, wondering if the envelope would be large or small...and realizing it wasn't there yet; I'd have to wait another day.</p>
<p>The thing is, though, an online decision seems like it would feel a bit impersonal. When I got acceptance letters in the mail, it was an incredible feeling to see it sitting there with the bills and catalogs, and to read through every bit of info each school sent me...but on the other hand, I'm not sure if my elderly neighbors have forgiven me for swearing aloud when I opened my mailbox and saw a very thin envelope from Boston College.</p>
<p>At this point, I just want decisions. I don't care much if they're online or in the mail; I just want to know.</p>
<p>A friend of mine applied early action to a university in Boston The decision was made only through mail. She found out her decision by February. Accepted. </p>
<p>The people at this university basically refused to say anything by email. So she was doing like 6 applications in February, but right then she received her acceptance letter.</p>
<p>Waiting two months versus immediate communication ?
I think I know the answer</p>
<p>A handful of the schools I applied to ONLY notify you by mail, so I have to wait for those. I figure that's enough of the letter opening experience for me, so I've been rabidly checking all my online accounts. </p>
<p>I hate waiting for things, and our local postal service is REALLY slow (i.e. my acceptance letter from Mills took a week and a half to arrive, even though I live only four hours from Oakland). Soo, online accounts all the way.</p>
<p>I'm probably going to wait for my letters. Only a couple have online checking and they aren't my top choices, so I'll just chill. </p>
<p>I've had one rejection and one acceptance- rejection from ED school and acceptance from uber-safety. The rejection was definitely scary- running to mailbox, going back to my driveway, dropping all my stuff and ripping open the letter. Read first words. Stared for a little bit. Went inside. Started other applications.</p>
<p>Acceptance was like that except I read it, went: "YES!" (with a little skip) and then texted a friend who's going to that school. It wasn't as extreme as the rejection, but that's probably because I knew I'd be accepted to this school...</p>
<p>I think both acceptance and rejection are more 'real' with a letter- that can be good and it can be bad... I'd rather have a rejection online.</p>
It all depends on a particular school.
Some schools, like ivies, have online decisions, some do it by e-mail, some have a website where you can login and check status. Some other schools only notify you through snail mail (such as aforementioned example of a college in Boston), while some other will notify only the internationals through e-mail because it takes a lot of time for the actual letter to reach oversea countries, so the citizens have to be more patient. So I'd say, check with your school.</p>
<p>
[QUOTE=brillar]
I think both acceptance and rejection are more 'real' with a letter- that can be good and it can be bad
</p>
<p>
Good point.
When I was a sophomore, I applied for a selective program that I reaaaally wanted to attend (it sort of had a similar application process like for the colleges, only more simple), and I can't forget the feeling of finding out that I was accepted on paper. If I weren't accepted, I think I'd just be depressed for the whole week, month, or even a year.
Still, I think that personal feeling's worth it. I could always go check online, but clicking a "login" or "view decision" button will never feel the same like opening the actual letter.</p>
<p>I just found out one of my schools will have decisions out by the end of next week! I am thinking maybe I should not go check it online and wait for the letter... Especially since I'm leaving for my spring breaks to a place where there is no internet in two weeks so it might not feel that bad not knowing until the end of March when I get back home and (hopefully) see the envelope...
But then again, if they decide to send decisions e-mails, I'll be so tempted to open it while it's sitting in my mailbox... hmm</p>