<p>I do agree that students ought to make every effort to look up easy to find information on the school website, and be considerate if the school asks for time to process the files before calling to check, however, if enough time has elasped and you still haven’t gotten a confirmation, people are well-advised to contact the admissions office. One of my H’s grad school apps ended up having slipped behind a file cabinet - it does happen!</p>
<p>With all the phone calls these offices handle per hour, nobody is sitting around and marking people off on such things. I sat in the admissions offices while S had on campus interviews and can vouch for the many hundreds of calls they receive - and stupid questions like you wouldn’t believe were well represented! Admissions staff unfailingly were gracious and polite and never once marked anything down of this nature that I saw. Of course if it’s a question they have to refer to your own regional rep it’s a different story, and they certainly may note a specific call of that nature. At some schools that kind of contact can be a good thing, as it displays that all important demonstrated interest. It’s probably not a good idea to constantly bug one’s regional admissions rep with questions easily answered elsewhere, though.</p>
<p>On the other hand, I don’t fault posters here who are comparing notes with one another so far as such things are concerned. Sometimes you CAN avoid excessive phone calls of this nature if you know, for example, that no one else has received that little postcard either, or that last year, they got theirs in late November. Hearing from others involved in the same process at the same time and comparing notes can be helpful, IMO and can give you a better sense of when you should be making that call.</p>