Acceptance deadline dilemma

Question

I submitted my application to a number of schools between Dec-mid Jan and am very excited to have received my first admit after completing most of my interviews with those schools. My dilemma now is that I've been given a deadline in early March to accept my admission offer, whereas most of the remaining programs I have applied to have a admit notification date between mid to late March.

My question: Is there an accepted protocol for either asking for an expedited response from the programs from which I have not yet heard from? Perhaps letting them know of my situation? Would it be rude or uncouth to ask the program who offered me admission for an extension on my decision?

I am incredibly interested in the program which offered me admission, both in terms of their reputation and my interactions with their staff, as well as the financial aid offered, however I would like the chance to evaluate all my options. I feel it would be rude to ask for more time, but I am inexperienced in all of this. Anyone who may be able to share input from their experiences or knowledge, please do so!

thisisatestonlyatest · Answer

There is alot of information left out on this post. Are the schools you are waiting on better or worse rating wise? Is it the best school? What is financial aid? Is the school a good fit for where you want to end up?

bb · Answer

You most likely will have to pay the deposit if you want to keep your admissions offer (there is a reason for the timing of the decisions and deposits due :wink:

)

soccerman22 · Answer

Thank you both for your responses, I surmised there might have been a reason behind the deposit deadline.

Was admitted to Simon, very excited about the possibility of attending, was offered 60% in aid. Awaiting response from Tepper, McCombs, Kelley and Owen. If no aid is offered from those schools(except perhaps Tepper) I would have to take the offer from Simon. Even if aid IS offered, may still attend Simon. My focus is Finance and certainly Simon has a great reputation in that arena and i have very much enjoyed my interactions with the school. But as I said in my initial post, I'd like the chance to at least evaluate those options. As I briefly mentioned, aid is important to me as I do not have much in the way of savings and the prospect of putting down a deposit and losing it is certainly not optimal.

To reiterate my main question, has anyone had experience or success in conveying this information to the Admissions offices of schools from which they have not yet received a response? Will schools generally consider this or simply shrug off your request? Any other thoughts or advice are certainly welcome.

chromium73 · Answer

Schools wont extend their deadline. Pay the deposit and renege if you get into a better school. Its 2% of the tuition cost.

bb · Answer

To reiterate the answer - No

Acceptance deadline dilemma

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards