<p>I hope I'll receive an email today. It's approaching 3:00 pm now--nearly 24 hours after the notification date.</p>
<p>I've already been waiting since I was deferred in December and it seems like I'll have to wait a while more. That doesn't matter to me. What is truly upsetting is Stanford's lack of customer service. I paid sixty dollars and spent hours on my application. If Stanford cannot give me a decision within the timeframe that they themselves set, I at least expect them to publish a single sentence on their website saying that they are working on the problem and aren't just sipping margaritas on the beach.</p>
<p>I know this would never happen at a rival institution like MIT or Princeton, but I'm not surprised that it happened at Stanford. It is not just this incident but rather a trend that permeates their admissions process. Stanford's policy of discouraging extra materials, refusing interviews, being very difficult to contact through phone and email, and being very opaque about the admissions process in general has muddied my perception of the school significantly since I applied in October. On the other hand, the very open, informative, and encouraging admissions councils of Princeton, Columbia, MIT, and Brown have really elevated them in my eyes. I know Stanford's campus is very attractive so they can get away with some things, but in my eyes nothing excuses terrible customer service. </p>
<p>The admissions committee is really the face of a university to potential students, and after these six months I think that Stanford just isn't my Jessica Alba anymore. I'm still anticipating this email, but right now I'm much more worried about those bigger ones coming April 1st.</p>
<p>This is some interesting insight. Just want to say I read it and it's starting to validate some of the less-than-stellar opinions I'm beginning to have of the school.</p>
<p>ohh, cry why dontya... sheesh... if ur gonna pick or drop a school based on the "service" that the admssions office gives, u probably shouldn have applied in the first place... all that "customer service" as you call it, that admissions gives u is precisely for u to go ther... </p>
<p>if ur gonna fall into the trap of hollow interviews that say nothing and seding in a littleextra info that will probably hav no say in admissions (ohh, i upped my sat by 20 pts. will u take me now?), u deserve to be slapped back to reality.</p>
<p>Stanford's original deadline for sending out decisions was April 1st, not March 28th. They simply started sending out decisions early. They aren't late for anything. If April 1st rolls around and you still haven't gotten your decision, then you may complain. But as for now, they are still two days early.</p>
<p>i agree; and even if they're a few days late, big deal. they have a huge task, and i dont think its fair to be upset over a few days' notice. they're trying to do their job the best they can, and even though i got waitlisted i think the right group of people got in.</p>
<p>Wait a minute. We have a right to be upset with Stanford over this. OK, they originally said April 1st, but they changed it to March 28th. They themselves set that date. And like poopinator says, they haven't acknowledged the mistake at all -- leaving many of us in the dark. Online decisions are fine, but they shouldn't be sent through e-mail because there will always be problems with spam filters. Furthermore, they aren't going to send letters to rejected applicants, which is obviously a ploy to save money, not be environmentally conscious as they say.
I too am irritated right now. I remember going to a regional meeting last year at which the rep. spoke for over an hour about how hard it is to get in. The meeting was so discouraging I almost didn't apply. At Princeton and Harvard, on the other hand, they were welcoming and accessible.</p>
<p>You either want the truth, or you want what sounds the best. Stanford told you the truth. It's supremely hard to get in -- as proven on this board. Irrespective of what Stanford may say about their decisions, there deadline was April 1st, anything before that must be considered early.</p>
<p>iii agree. they never notified me that they hadn't recieved my fall grades, now even though i paid $60 and applied EA i don't have a decision one way or another. i don't really care too much since i got into usc (fingers crossed for pomona!)</p>
<p>Somebody else raised the question:
If every one of 25,000 applicants is supposed to use 9x12 envelopes to send all materials and use Stanford-specific address labels (each one on its own 8.5x11 sheet instead of all on one like Harvard uses), do they really expect us to buy that they aren't sending letters to be environmentally friendly?</p>
<p>I mean, even though it's frustrating not knowing when I had expected to know, I'm not too too angry. I'm pretty chill about most things. The only thing that kind of bothers me is that if I wasn't on CC, I would have no idea that there were other people who are in my same situation, so I would be freaking out thinking that they lost my information or forgot about me or I deleted it accidentally or something. It would be kind of nice to have a simple message on the undergraduate admissions site to reassure those of us still waiting.</p>