I’m currently in the process of making my grad school decision and found my dream school, a large state school for engineering. The only problem is, they are unsure if funding will be available, and it won’t be certain until other details become clearer, even with the April 15 deadline days away. I plan on going to the school regardless of funding or not, but I haven’t told them that and still want to maximize my chances. Should I hold out on committing to the school and accepting, in an attempt to make them sweat it out a bit more, or would they be more likely to give me funding if I accept and declare my love for their school?
You need to say whether it is for an M.S. and M.Eng or a Ph.D. My answer will differ based on which one you have been admitted to.
I do not think you are under any obligation to accept admission by April 15 unless there is funding involved. The Council of Graduate Schools resolution on this which has been signed on to by many schools is a slight bit ambiguous on this because it mentions “offers of admission and financial aid” and so it is possible that for a program which has a limited number of seats, that an acceptance of simply admission must be received by April 15. This is why it is important what program you have been admitted to. If it is an M.Eng of an M.S. then the university is likely not to offer funding and there may be some limitations to the number of students they want in their entering class. For a Ph.D. you should wait to see if you get a financial aid offer in a second round after April 15. In any case, for engineering, it is not a good idea to go for a Ph.D. program without a funding guarantee.