Haven’t heard anything yet. I called for the first time today, transferred once, put on hold, then prompted to leave a message. That was at around noon. I at a different accepted students day today and when people would ask where I was deciding between they were all astounded to hear I hadn’t even heard back from UMass.
Astounding is the right word. April 16. Under review. After the way @slaymartha was treated, my D has no desire to call.
Everyone can understand a few blunders but many, many other universities got just as many applications (or more), and it was a bubble-year for all. The others may have been two or three days later than normal, but their communucation to applicants was very reasonable, their websites were kept up to date/matched the letters received, etc. At the end of the day a university is a business with business objectives to meet, and a brand to present just like any institution. If UMASS is top notch for all aspects of business and computer engneering, and demands excellence from its applicants, it should set an organizational example. Many universities are staffed by its own graduates, so the example being shown to the world from this process is not one that any organization would consider optimal as a representative example of their own teachings. If you are running a well ranked culinary school, the food you serve has to be good, as it represents who you are in every way. It’s only a matter of time that your sub-par food will begin to affect admitted students’ decisions, and hiring managers that need to trust that your students can deliver excellent culinary results. I know more than a few great, well-rounded, in-state, full-pay or nearly full-pay students that have finally been accepted at UMASS and unfortunately their hearts have simply already moved on. Not having these full pays, nearly fill pays makes it harder to help the excellent students that need a bit more financial help. Despite some added cost, many from all categories will be going to other strong places like UCONN, Penn State, Ohio State, UDelaware, private colleges, etc. Nowhere is perfect, and we can all banter back/forth about rankings, etc, but many schools are considered strong for various reasons. As a tax payer I hope UMASS can fix their issues so that their admissions notification process matches both the excellence they demand in applicants, the excellence they demand from current students, and the excellence they tout regarding the relevancy of the education they provide. When they fix their ‘admissions product’ it will be a positive for Massachusetts.
@kjhoyt Congrats! I heard back from them back in March, but glad you were admitted. Just out of curiosity, which major did you apply for?
@sreya124 Couldn’t be test scores cause like I said, we all have similar scores (Within 100 points apart). As for ECs, that might be it. I did state that I had a strong musical background (which no-one else in my group did). However, I did hear that admissions this year is very spotty, as in some people who you wouldn’t expect getting in, and those who you would expect to get in not being admitted.
@BladeHunter That’s interesting. I got in their EA with 4.05 GPA and 2330 SAT and several ECs…
@sreya124 3.5 W with a 1990 SAT and 30 ACT here…Just curious, but did you apply to any Ivies as well? With scores like that, it would put you in the upper-middle of schools like Harvard and Yale.
@BladeHunter I only applied to one Ivy - Upenn and didn’t get in. I got accepted to UMich Ann Arbor, Emory, BU, Babson, Bentley, North Eastern. I got wait listed at CMU (priority), NYU and UVA.
April 18. Anybody else still waiting? My D just sent an email.
@supergirlsmom At this point you might just want to call them and ask for the decision over the phone. Be firm! It’s ridiculous that you haven’t heard yet.
I just called again, first time was Friday. Then there was an option to leave a voicemail, but today it just basically said “we can’t answer your call now, bye.” Also, nothing in the mail or online today.
Wow, that is crazy. Hopefully you guys have a backup plan and other schools to commit too. That is ridiculous and I would not have been that patient and have committed somewhere else because they cant expect people to wait like this. Very unprofessional.
Just FYI UMASS is closed today 4/18/16 as it is Patriot’s Day here in Massachusetts. Hopefully you will have better luck getting in touch with someone tomorrow when they reopen.
@zipstermom thanks, I was wondering that. And @CGumass I’m one of the lucky ones, UMass is my safety and I’ve already gotten into Skidmore, and it is 99% certain that I’m going there, but I’d just like to be done with this process.
@sreya124 Ahh, you made it into some pretty prestigious schools then. Similarly, I applied to Babson and BU, but got waitlisted to both of them. However, I did get into Bentley (with the presidential award nonetheless). Have you decided on where you’re going yet?
@BladeHunter Not yet. Visiting schools now. Did you decide?
@sreya124 Just visited Amherst, gotta say, the school is HUGE. But it’s really nice and the food is no slouch either lol. Tour guide was pretty nice and peppy, answered any question she could. The typical stereotypes about housing seems to be true (southwest is where the party scene’s at, center is full of hipsters, northeast is quiet and somewhat introverted). Orchard Hill seems to be the best bet housing wise (having the biggest rooms, best view, and best mix of students from all the majors), only problem is that hill itself. CHC has the best dorms though since they’re AC’d, but that’s only if you’re in CHC in the first place. As for Bentley, I’m visiting there tomorrow. No decisions yet, but UMass seems a lot better than I initially would have imagined and seems like a real contender at this point.
Hi guys I posted here once before. I am an international applicant who applied in December. I STILL HAVEN’T received a decision. I called them up and was told that ‘due to a record number of international applicants we haven’t come to a decision yet.’ I was shocked and asked when could I know my decision by as may 1st is approaching. The person then said that ‘you will know your decision before May 1st, thank you for calling.’ I am just astounded, I am not sure what to do as UMass Amherst is my top choice.
April 19. My D got an answer to her email. They are looking into it. I also contacted them on their facebook page and was told that they never received her transcript. Both Spire and Naviance reported the transcript sent before January 15. They also said she will probably be waitlisted because of her grades and that the average GPA of accepted students was 3.9.
Just got an email back that they need to ask my guidance counselor about the application. @supergirlsmom did you mail the app through snail mail or submit it online? I had to mail mine because of various problems with Naviance, but I hope mine didn’t get lost as well. Also, I can’t believe they didn’t say that they didn’t receive her transcript until now! You would think they wouldn’t have waited until the last possible minute to tell you that!
She applied via the Common App, @andover2016 . I’m not convinced they would have let her know at all if she hadn’t asked.