<p>Sorry if this has been asked before, but...if you are notified that you are accepted from the waitlist, how much time does Harvard give you to make a decision? I know that the chances of this are very slim, but I've really been falling in love with Cornell, and if a Harvard acceptance did come it'd take me a while to figure things out.</p>
<p>I have the same question!!
But, according to my school guidance counselor, adcoms want to move quickly to solidify the freshmen class. So, she said that last year, kids at my school were getting phone calls telling them they’d been offered admission - at which point they were expected to give their decision on the spot.
I’m kind of skeptical about that though - I feel like they’d give you at least a couple of weeks to decide, take care of business with the other school that you registered at, and send in your deposit.</p>
<p>I think it’s a very short window, just a couple of days at best.</p>
<p>I knew a girl 2 years ago who was wait listed at Swarthmore, so she enrolled at Ohio State while staying on the wait list. On June 30, she got a phone call telling her she got in, and she needed to give them a response by the following day (July 1). So, in her case, she only had one day.</p>
<p>I think 10 days at best. Cornell on their acceptance coupon say that the deposit has to come 10 days after the decision or May 1, whichever that is earliest.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies, everyone. 10 days would be ideal for me! I have no idea what I’d do if I got a phone call and had to answer on the spot. Actually, I think I’d probably decline :/</p>
<p>I don’t know how long Harvard gives, but I think in general colleges give about 3 days at most because they want to finish creating their incoming class, and the longer they wait before inviting people off the waitlist, the greater the possibility that student will have fallen in love with the schools that they have agreed to attend. I’ve hard that some colleges want a decision within 24 hours.</p>
<p>It doesn’t take long to take care of business with the school you’ve already accepted. You just notify them that you’ve changed your mind. They keep your deposit. That’s it.</p>
<p>Four years ago, my son was waitlisted at Cornell. Mid-June while we were in Alaska, Cornell left a phone message asking him to call (I don’t is the acceptance was on the phone message). About a day later, we called home and found the message. My son called Cornell. He was required to make his decision on the spot. He decided to decline. Cornell followed up by sending him a rejection letter to the house.</p>
<p>smoda, when your son called Cornell, did they let him know what his FA package would be? I’m currently being offered a 19k grant from Cornell, and money would be a factor if I had to decide between this and Harvard.</p>
<p>We never qualify for financial aid, so that was not addressed. But I would assume that no school would expect you to make a decision without all the facts.</p>
<p>Yes, schools provide you with financial aid info when they offer a waitlist acceptance.</p>
<p>Should you get accepted from the waitlist with a smaller grant, let Harvard know immediately. Odds are they will work with you and match Cornell’s package.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone!!</p>