Asking the institute about the status of the application

Question

I have asked the person who was responsible for the application twice about the status of my application.

First time, he didn't read my email. After a week, I sent another email and this time he answered my email and told me they will send me an email shortly!

For two weeks, I didn't get any answer. I sent another email yesterday and wrote that I am "sacrificing" all other PhD positions for this position (this was really the case). It has taken over two and a half months after deadline.

Today, I have received an email from another person who is a secretary and he wrote me that my application is rejected, because of a close competition.

Do you think the fact that I have asked them several times and that in the last email I wrote "I am sacrificing ..." could have a bad effect on their decision?

Answer 1

I would initially say probably not, however there is no way of knowing for sure.

I am not sure if using strong words is advisable when waiting to hear back. I hope your 'sacrifice' of other positions hasn't left you with nowhere to go.

For what it's worth, I would try explaining in the future your situation in a way that makes it sound like you need to know in order to make a decision, as opposed to sounding like you are upset with them for not informing you yet. There are often multiple people involved in decision making and it can be hard to get everyone together to decide.

In other words, I think it may be better to say something like "I have other offers, and would like to know what your decision is before making my final choice" and giving them a solid date that you need to know by.

Cheers.