Decisions - how, when, where?

The comments have recently turned toward the topic of how you will get your decision, now that you have figured out how to send in your application. For you, the process goes like this:

1. Send in application
2. Get decision

But to us, the process looks like this:

1. Receive lots of mail
2. Get lots of paper cuts
3. Remove lots of staples
4. Scan lots of documents
5. Link the documents to your account in our Massive Database of All Teenagers (MDAT)
6. Read your applications
7. Read them again
8. Have a committee
9. Have staring contests during committee (ahem, Kate)
   
10. Read more applications
11. Read them again
12. Have another committee
13. Go home for Thanksgiving and watch What Not to Wear with mom
14. Read more applications
15. Have another committee
16. Stuff lots of envelopes
17. Mail them (not only on the same day, but in the same second)
    
18. Catch up on all the New Yorkers we haven't gotten to read because we were reading applications
    

So, we are not thinking about decisions, and we are actually baffled as to why our applicants are, when there is obviously so much to do! But that's behind the scenes.

In the world, there are usually three answers to any questions: Yes, No, and I don't know. But here in admissions, there are four: Yes, No, I don't know, and We are not telling.

So, when are decisions coming out? I we don't are not know telling. That is a mixture between "I don't know" and "We are not telling." We have a goal date. Do we ever meet the goal date? No. So we're not even going to tell you the goal date, because we probably won't meet it. If we do, we'll be happy, and you'll get your decision in mid-December. If we don't, we'll be less happy, but you'll still get your decision in mid-December.

I can tell you that you will get a letter in the mail. We still do that. I can also tell you that we will email you and tell you to check your decision online when it is available. That is different from last year. Last year we emailed the decisions themselves, but this year we are going to make your official decision available when you log into the online application. So, it is to your benefit to be familiar with your user name and password on the online application! I can also tell you that we will not send this email during school hours, so don't expect it in the morning.

If you are admitted, you will also be able to go immediately to a website called ThickEnvelope (haha!) and accept your offer of admission right away! You'll also be able to log into bulletin boards to chat with fellow future classmates, sign up for April overnight programs, etc.

But all this is in the far future. Don't worry about it now. Worry about water. Here is the next installment of Look Around You, entitled Water.