Should you 'poke with an email?'

wannabgrad · Post by **wannabgrad** » Wed Feb 22, 2017 2:30 pm

Regarding the schools I haven't heard back from, is it smart to 'poke them with an email?' If I send them an e-mail asking about my acceptance, will that hurt my chances or boost them?

Foobanana · Post by **Foobanana** » Wed Feb 22, 2017 2:39 pm

Gee, I wonder who's terminology you're using there

Foobanana · Post by **Foobanana** » Wed Feb 22, 2017 2:51 pm

wannabgrad wrote:Regarding the schools I haven't heard back from, is it smart to 'poke them with an email?' If I send them an e-mail asking about my acceptance, will that hurt my chances or boost them?

This is just my opinion, and I have no basis for supporting this, but I think that it (on average) might only speed up response times. I would guess that if places know that you have different offers, then they will just send out your rejection / acceptance sooner rather than later, as was the case for U Oregon with me; if anyone reading this disagrees fully, definitely let us know what is wrong with my train of thought, and why it's bad!

verysweetjuices · Post by **verysweetjuices** » Wed Feb 22, 2017 5:31 pm

wannabgrad wrote:Regarding the schools I haven't heard back from, is it smart to 'poke them with an email?' If I send them an e-mail asking about my acceptance, will that hurt my chances or boost them?

Yes, do it.

topologyandtacos · Post by **topologyandtacos** » Wed Feb 22, 2017 6:58 pm

Any suggestions on how to phrase my 'poke'?

studsmckenzie · Post by **studsmckenzie** » Wed Feb 22, 2017 9:07 pm

Hello ____,

My name is ______. I have applied to (program) at (school) for Fall 2017. I have begun to hear from other schools, and I was wondering if you could let me know the status of my application, if possible.

My appplication number (if applicable) is ______.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
_________

This is roughly what I used when inquiring at Oregon. I got a nice response the following day saying no decision has been reached yet. So I guess this format is basically fine.

Foobanana · Post by **Foobanana** » Wed Feb 22, 2017 9:17 pm

topologyandtacos wrote:Any suggestions on how to phrase my 'poke'?

I think the aforementioned format is pretty good

I think it helps to show interest in the program, since they don't want to admit people who don't care, you know?

omhk · Post by **omhk** » Wed Feb 22, 2017 9:19 pm

It definitely doesn't boost your chances of admissions. Maybe if you incessantly send emails, it could hurt your chances if no decision has been reached yet, but that's just a guess.

I do agree that it may expedite you hearing back from them, though. I called Brown's applied math division since lots of people got rejected and accepted already and they usually don't send out decisions in spurts. The secretary didn't tell me anything when I called, but 15 minutes later I received an email from the grad studies director asking me for a phone call, which is how I found out I was admitted. Turns out my app was still awaiting approval of the graduate school which I why I hadn't heard anything yet. So I would say it couldn't hurt to email or call once.

wannabgrad · Post by **wannabgrad** » Thu Feb 23, 2017 10:10 am

verysweetjuices wrote:
wannabgrad wrote:Regarding the schools I haven't heard back from, is it smart to 'poke them with an email?' If I send them an e-mail asking about my acceptance, will that hurt my chances or boost them?
Yes, do it.

Why do you say that?

verysweetjuices · Post by **verysweetjuices** » Thu Feb 23, 2017 11:58 am

wannabgrad wrote:
verysweetjuices wrote:
wannabgrad wrote:Regarding the schools I haven't heard back from, is it smart to 'poke them with an email?' If I send them an e-mail asking about my acceptance, will that hurt my chances or boost them?
Yes, do it.

Why do you say that?

Because asking with an e-mail is a good idea if you want to know something.

spablo · Post by **spablo** » Tue Mar 21, 2017 6:34 pm

Poking with emails let me know whether or not I was still under consideration/waitlisted by some programs, and in some cases that I was unlikely to receive an offer. In the best case, I was told that checking in lets the department know that I am still interested in the program, and the coordinator even asked if I was given other offers. I told the coordinator that I had not, making acceptance to an offer from this certain program more likely. A couple weeks later I was given an offer from the program and invited to the visitation day! So I would say if anything it could help your chances, and not hurt them.

But I will say that you should read any FAQ before doing so. For example, UC San Diego says they do not respond to email inquiries regarding application status, and to be patient and wait for their email notification. So this was one of the few programs that I did not email regarding my status. Their program website is particularly clear about what they want/don't want you to do during the process, so it is good to always look through the information that they provide before you poke with an email.

verysweetjuices · Post by **verysweetjuices** » Wed Mar 22, 2017 10:50 am

wannabgrad wrote:Regarding the schools I haven't heard back from, is it smart to 'poke them with an email?' If I send them an e-mail asking about my acceptance, will that hurt my chances or boost them?

Don't do it! If you do, there is an exactly (I calculated this) 62.45% chance that they will reject you!

wannabgrad · Post by **wannabgrad** » Thu Mar 30, 2017 8:28 am

^ Wish I would have known this before I poked ^

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