Asking other US universities about the status of my PhD application after the April 15 deadline has passed

Question

I have received an email from a US university asking if I am still available to accept an admission offer to their PhD math program. They mentioned that I was in the "top group" on their waitlist and they might have a spot open up in the next few days.

My understanding is that things move rather quicky after the April 15 deadline and hence I would not be given a lot of time to make a decision. My question is that would it be appropriate for me to contact the remaining 6 schools from which I have not heard yet to know the status of my application, and my position on their waitlist, if any, before receiving an offer from this school? I feel like I might not have enough time to wait for their responses after an offer is made. Do I need to include any details about the offer I'm expecting in my email to these universities? Similarly, is it okay for me to contact their current grad students pre-emptively to gauge their level of satisfaction with their program to help me decide? Roughly how much time is an applicant allowed to make a decision for offers made after the April 15 deadline?

Answer 1

It is entirely appropriate to contact these remaining schools.

Hello Professor [Grad Coordinator],

I am looking to make a final decision on graduate programs for the coming fall. Could you let me know the status of my application with your program?

Sincerely ZSMJ

Do bear in mind that if they have not let you know by now, you are likely soft rejected or waitlisted. We rarely gave waitlisted students more than a week to make a final decision once they were elevated to a full offer.

As to contacting current students, I am not sure what would stop you. There is nothing wrong with reaching out to current students to ask about their experiences. We actually tried to put potential students in contact with current students on purpose when I was doing graduate admissions.

Answer 2

Frankly, I'm not sure what there is to decide. It is now past April 15 and it sounds like all your schools have either rejected you or ghosted you except this one. While it's not impossible that some of the schools you haven't yet heard from could end up accepting you, the odds are against you at this point. So it sounds to me like you either accept this offer (it it comes) or you don't attend grad school at all (at least for now). And if you choose the latter option, then I'm not sure why you applied to this school in the first place.

My question is that would it be appropriate for me to contact the remaining 6 schools from which I have not heard yet....Do I need to include any details about the offer I'm expecting in my email to these universities?

If you haven't heard anything by now, it's almost certainly not good news. But sure, nothing to lose at this point, reach out if you like. There is no need to provide details; you can if you like, but keep your mail concise (1-2 sentences).

Similarly, is it okay for me to contact their current grad students preemptively to gauge their level of satisfaction with their program to help me decide?

Sure, nothing wrong with this.

Answer 3

I am someone who is professionally informed on this topic. I would send them emails and/or call every day until they give a status or accept you. Ridiculous to make you wait. Just keep contacting them over and over, that's what they get paid for sitting at their desk all day.