Admit call: How to respond?

Question

How should I respond  IF/when  I get a phone call from an adcom notifying me that I have been admitted? Do I say,"I accept! or should I say "Thank you, that's great" and be more vague? Obviously I don't really want to 'accept' on the phone, since I would like to hear from all my other R1 schools before I decide.

How have you, or, how are you planning to handle your admit phone call?

09App · Answer

I accepted immediately on the phone, having been a loyal gmatclub reader and understanding how closely they track yield. It didn't take me long to realize that's incredibly stupid if you're going to try and leverage another admit to get some financial aid. Other than that, I don't see a downside if you're set on going there.

NFT500 · Answer

The admitting school is well aware of the fact that we have all applied to other schools, so, wouldn't they view your enthusiastic "I ACCEPT" as both premature and contrived?

Given the fact that they know I've applied to other (better) schools, I don't want to come off as fake (or worse, dishonest) by 'accepting' their admit over the phone --- again, the ~20's school I've applied to knows I would rather go to Duke or Yale if admiited.

What to do?

dabots · Answer

id definitely go with the "Thank you, that's great" and be more vague" option. its like getting a job offer, you dont accept until you "review the package in the mail" and "discuss it with your family."

bsd_lover · Answer

I second dabots. Yes admit is a wonderful thing, but you ARE allowed to take a step back and think about it before you decide. After all they did make you wait a fairly long time before they admitted you didn't they ?

kryzak · Answer

I don't think any school would realistically expect someone to accept over the phone when they call them up about the good news (except maybe HBS and Stanford). They know that most people will need some time to evaluate, attend the admit events, and talk it over with people. 

I don't think they even ask you whether you accept or not on the phone, right?

riverripper · Answer

They dont ask you if you are going to show up. They just congratulate you on getting in and tell you stuff. You can ask questions if you want too. But they dont expect a decision.

olderguy · Answer

That senario probably is never going to happen in this day and age. You will get an email about the decision and then followed by a US mail package(thick if admitted, thin if rejected).

riverripper · Answer

Sorry but you are 100% wrong on that. I got a phone call when I got into Kellogg. Most top schools call admitted students and email dinged students. Once they decide to accept you the process of making sure you matriculate begins. Calling you personally is all part of that.

olderguy · Answer

sorry I stand corrected. I guess I was never reachable then. :oops:

riverripper · Answer

It varies from schools. This year Cornell became a great example for why a school woudl want to call. They sent out emails but they had huge system problems during the day.

I know Kellogg, Chicago, MIT, and Tuck all call...those are the schools I applied to so thats all I am sure about.

kryzak · Answer

Stanford also calls. I think Haas and UCLA do emails.

olderguy · Answer

You are ABSOLUTELY correct! I just went back to check voice messages in my cluttered mail box and I was shocked to find out they did leave me messages. Now I just need to figure out how to apologize for not promptly returning their call. Not a good first impression for sure.

riverripper · Answer

where did you get admitted?

aaudetat · Answer

Cornell called. Duke and UNC were online. And UNC actually had tech issues that day, too. Not as bad as Cornell -- they didn't give you the wrong answer, you just couldn't access it until later in the day.

Admit call: How to respond?

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