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Application on "hold"? What does this mean?

Posted: Thu Jan 16, 2020 11:17 am
by pgv7
Can someone help me understand what this means? I've received an email saying my initial review has been completed and the committee is not ready to make a decision and that a decision will be made sometime in the spring. Is this different from being on the waitlist? Should I consider writing a LOCI? Does anyone have any experience with this?

Re: Application on "hold"? What does this mean?

Posted: Thu Jan 16, 2020 8:52 pm
by QContinuum
You can write a LOCI. If it's compelling, it may help.

It really just means they reviewed your application but are on the fence. On balance, your application was probably a hair stronger than those they instantly waitlisted, but not quite strong enough to trigger an instant acceptance. They want to take a first pass through the rest of the applications first and see how many more bodies they need before they start deciding how to dispose of the "held" applications. At that point they'll probably accept some and formally waitlist the rest. Anyone on the waitlist (whether now or waitlisted from the "hold" pile) won't receive a final acceptance/rejection until after 4/15, possibly months after.

Re: Application on "hold"? What does this mean?

Posted: Fri Jan 17, 2020 12:12 pm
by pgv7
QContinuum wrote:You can write a LOCI. If it's compelling, it may help.

It really just means they reviewed your application but are on the fence. On balance, your application was probably a hair stronger than those they instantly waitlisted, but not quite strong enough to trigger an instant acceptance. They want to take a first pass through the rest of the applications first and see how many more bodies they need before they start deciding how to dispose of the "held" applications. At that point they'll probably accept some and formally waitlist the rest. Anyone on the waitlist (whether now or waitlisted from the "hold" pile) won't receive a final acceptance/rejection until after 4/15, possibly months after.

Thanks for the reply! I'm hearing a lot of people got this same letter from the school in mention - a lot of strong numbers for said school. Not getting too discouraged yet. Going to schedule a visit and see what I can do to help myself!