The most anxious part of applying to universities is the waiting. The silent passing-by of time without a response is definitely scary enough to get your heart pounding faster than it ever has. Most universities usually reply within 2-4 months after you’ve sent your complete application in. The most you can do right now is ensure that you apply to as many potential universities as possible so that you can get the maximum number of best possible outcomes.
While you wait “patiently” for universities to get back to you, you need to reflect very thoroughly. Understand that if you don’t get an offer from your desired university, or an offer at all, then it’s not the end of the world. It’s just a temporary setback and that shouldn’t mean you stop trying. You can always apply for courses in the next semester or the next year in the same program or maybe, even a different one.
You could use this time to figure out your short-term and long-term goals and figure out where you want to end up and what you want to achieve. Be realistic of all possible outcomes, and try to think more about yourself and your goals, and less about your pending applications. You could also take up a job to fill in your time, and learn skills that you implement into your life.
If a university is taking too long to respond and reach out, it could just mean that your application is taking longer to process than others. This could be for a variety of reasons. Some courses receive more applications than others which leads to longer waiting times.
You could use this time to complete campus visits and do as much research as you can on each school so that you can make smart decisions once the acceptance (and rejection) letters start to come in.
Reach out to universities after 3 weeks of sending in your application IF they haven’t emailed you an application receiving receipt, to ensure that they have received your application.
While this time may seem chaotic and daunting, the most you can do in this time is wait and be positive. Hope for the best, trust the process and just let it happen as everything unfolds, and that should lead to the best possible outcomes for you, even If it wasn’t the outcome you had initially hoped for!
