BellaOnline Forums Education Distance Learning Waiting for your Acceptance Letter

I'm still waiting to hear back from both Northeastern and Penn State about my applications. I'm on pins and needles but I haven't heard a peep out of either one.

Don't you wish they had some sort of online tracking system so you could see how far in the process your application was? Heck, even at Domino's when you order a pizza you can see if it's in the oven or out on the truck

I'm getting a little discouraged. I was assigned a "buddy" at Northeastern but even though I wrote her she didn't get back to me for several weeks and even then I think she was prodded by a friend of mine. I haven't heard anything at all from Penn State.

Am I naive to think I should get at least a status update at some point?

Lisa
Do you already know that you can check the status of your application on the Penn State website? Or is it just that they don't really give you much information on that page?
I know that here in Canada they don't usually give you much information until they have made the decision and it is just a waiting game (but not a very fun game). It seems you almost have to put your life on hold waiting for them to decide. Maybe you can give them a call to at least find out if there is a date you should hear by. I know they probably don't want everyone calling but they should at least give you a date that will allay some of your frustration. Hope your "buddy" gets back to you again.
Don't get too discouraged and I hope you hear something from both universities soon.

Elizabeth - the status on the Penn State site just says "pending"

Northeastern has sent me two emails now, one telling me how my transfer credits were applied, and one asking if I'm coming to the orientation in April. So it seems like they *might* have accepted me but just not actually told me yet

OK I wrote Penn State and asked them how long it typically takes for a response. They responded promptly and said 4-6 weeks. So I should find out from them shortly, I hope. It was Feb 18th I think that I applied. But I don't think they got my high school transcripts until March 1st because of a glitch at my high school, so maybe it won't be until mid-April.

To catch up, I finally got acceptances from both schools. Northeastern took about 1 month, Penn State took about 6 weeks

Fantastic news Lisa!!!
Thanks for letting us know. Since that is the most important first step, you can now move on to the next one of deciding between the two schools. I hope that won't be too difficult but it may not be too easy since you applied to both schools because they had the courses that you were most interested in. But what a fantastic problem to be working on!!

As you might guess from my other posts, I went with Northeastern. Both had awesome courses which I adored, which was my primary deciding factor. Secondary is that Northeastern only has 4 courses at a time, on a quarter format. So you focus on 4 courses, you take your exams, and you're done. You move on. With Penn State you take 6 classes at a time for a whole semester. The thought of trying to juggle 6 classes simultaneously (six final exams at once!!) on six different topics was just too much for me. I'm already stretching my limits very tightly here trying to squeeze these classes in. Four classes at once is right at my max, I think.

Yes I did discover that you had chosen Northeastern. And with good reason! You are a very busy person and I admire your ability to make such good use of your time. Even the 4 courses will be a full load for you but I am certain that you will do extremely well.

I appreciate the encouragement I'm only starting with 3 - the 4th gets added in after a month - so I'm ramping in slowly. So far it's all just discussion board "say hello" stuff so it is going well!

Interestingly I want to add that I **JUST** now got a welcome packet from Penn State. This despite the fact that I emailed them saying I was turning them down weeks ago - and I'm already in my second week of classes at Northeastern! They are far behind the ball ...

This all sounds like typical bureaucratic process. Sorry to be cynical! :-)

I think actually it's that I'm spoiled. My sister applied to Tufts for a graduate program last **December** and she still hasn't heard back. There are many colleges that still take months and months to let you know!