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I applied for PhD programs starting from the fall of 2015 at several universities and I was waiting very eager to hear from them, because I just finished my MS last spring semester and don't want to waste time.

However, in the mid of this month, I received email from one school telling me that the admissions committee has decided to move my application for review to the 2016 - Spring semester. In the letter, it didn't mention any acceptance/rejection. They moved my application for the next review which doesn't mean I have been accepted.

I'm really wondering why and how did they decided to delay my application. Moreover, What would you advise in this situation? Can I ask them the chances of acceptance or the reason for the delay? Or should I just wait?

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  • ~Which country?
    – Franck Dernoncourt
    Jul 26, 2015 at 4:48
  • I forgot to mention, I'm in KSA.
    – AlFagera
    Jul 26, 2015 at 5:01
  • Are you applying to schools which are also in KSA, or somewhere else? If the latter, where?
    – Nate Eldredge
    Jul 26, 2015 at 13:37
  • @ Nate Yes in KSA.
    – AlFagera
    Jul 26, 2015 at 13:39
  • Also, maybe an obvious question - did you submit your application before the school's deadline for Fall 2015 admission? I ask because for US schools, the application deadline for Fall 2015 admission would typically be January 2015 or earlier, and you would get a decision in March or April 2015. So the fact that you are asking now makes me wonder if perhaps you submitted your application after the deadline, and so they are treating it as an application for the next cycle instead.
    – Nate Eldredge
    Jul 26, 2015 at 13:41

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I think given the amount that I know from your post, I don't think we can give you more advice than to ask for clarification. This isn't a standard procedure that I know of, though I could imagine various reasons this could happen. Since I'm just imagining (and I'm sure you are too), just write a polite email to the director of the graduate program, or whichever faculty member seems to be the correct contact, and ask them precisely what this means for you.

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When I applied to start my MS, I failed to get my application in before the fall deadline.

So I went to the University I wished to attend and took the graduate level classes I needed as a non-degree student.

Half-way through the term, the University accepted me as a student for graduate studies starting the next term. They also accepted all of my non-degree credits towards my degree program. The fact that I was performing very well in the graduate level courses may have been a factor in them accepting me.

This worked very well for me but I recommend speaking to a counselor at the University that you wish to attend prior to attempting this course of action.

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