How long should I wait for admission decision?

Hi all. This question is not for me but for my cousin from India. She has applied to CSUN as an international grad student in the public health department. My dad is her sponsor. The application and all supporting documents were completed by the deadline of March 2. She still has not heard anything from CSUN. Upon emailing, she found out that Dr. Yi (the graduate coordinator) is away and will review the application after coming back. The only problem is we don’t know when Dr. Yi will be back. After emailing some other faculty, I found out that they are also away and will return in July. This worries me as the ‘intent to register’ deadline is July 1. We are trying to get in touch with any faculty that might be in-charge but seems almost everyone is away. I will personally visit the office tomorrow and see what they say. I don’t know how long she should wait to hear a decision considering many people are already admitted. This is very discouraging and disappointing. Is there still hope for her to get admitted?

My niece went to Northridge for public health and from what I understand, it is a very busy department. They don’t admit everyone but do tend to focus on regional and local undergrads for admissions to their programs.

Oh, I forgot to mention that this field, MPH is a saturated field in the US, and the schools are getting complaints from former students who can’t find jobs years after they’ve held degrees (look online at Indeed). People have extreme difficulty in finding jobs unless they are registered nurses. My niece could not find a job in our city or in LA because most MPH jobs want nurses. She opted to go to the desert and lucked out. So hopefully, there is a better market in India for your cousin’s degree.

My understanding is that CSUN is not accepting any applicants outside the local in-service area. Not sure if this pertains to International applicants or Graduate students in general. I know it pertains to Freshman admits. I would have your cousin follow up with the department until they get an answer. Was there a date given when decisions were made?

@Gumbymom They told us decisions will be made starting May 15. However, I have been able to get in touch with a MPH faculty member. They said to expect a decision by the end of next week.

@“aunt bea” Thank you for your insight. My cousin has a background in nursing from India and currently works as a nurse over there. She has opted for MPH to better her education and career and land a better job. So, I am sure she’ll be fine.

Is she a US citizen? Immigration has become very strict about employing citizens first.

@“aunt bea” no, she is not US citizen.