Offered admission to a program but holding out for another - deposit due soon

[CareerSwitcheroo]

I found out today that I have been offered admission to South College's hybrid DPT program. I'm so grateful for the opportunity and will be happy to accept if/when it comes down to it. As a non-trad, it's been a long and rocky road to get to this point so I'm ecstatic to finally get an acceptance and be able to move forward with my life.

I've been wait listed at their newer sister program, Baylor, and would 100% prefer to attend that program which is a short road trip away for me versus an expensive non-direct flight to TN for every lab immersion. This is purely for convenience and cost savings as PT school tuition is already outrageous.

South requires a $1500 deposit within 10 days to secure a seat. Baylor has told me that I'll hear back from them about a final decision by November 1st at the latest. Should I contact Baylor and ask if there's anything they can do to accelerate the process, noting that I have an offer in hand from South? What sort of language should I use in my email? Any help would be appreciated!

Sidenote, for those who aren't familiar with these programs, they work very closely together and even share some of the same faculty. I wouldn't say they're "competitors" by any means if that matters at all.

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[hem226]

Is there any chance you were waitlisted at Baylor because they knew they were giving you a place at South? I’d be interested to find that out!

 

[CareerSwitcheroo]

Is there any chance you were waitlisted at Baylor because they knew they were giving you a place at South? I’d be interested to find that out!

Hard to know what goes on behind the scenes but I haven't gotten any impression that their admissions departments communicate with one another. I was notified about the wait list at Baylor before even interviewing with South.

 

[Smittle]

I would pay the deposit at South. There is no telling if you’ll get off Baylor’s waitlist and if you say no to South you might miss getting into a program all together. I don’t know what your finances are like but I would pay the deposit at South and just take it as a loss if you get into Baylor. I wouldn’t email Baylor at all. They’ll get back to you by November 1st and I wouldn’t wait on them.

 

[MartialArtDPT]

I'd wait until the second to last day (set an alarm and don't forget!) then pay the deposit.
It's also acceptable to ask where on the waitlist you are. If you're 3rd versus 33rd, that's a good indicator.

 

[CareerSwitcheroo]

I'd wait until the second to last day (set an alarm and don't forget!) then pay the deposit.
It's also acceptable to ask where on the waitlist you are. If you're 3rd versus 33rd, that's a good indicator.

They told me they "don't rank the waitlist" which doesn't make much sense to me. I guess that just leaves people in the dark until they find out one way or another.

 

[MartialArtDPT]

They told me they "don't rank the waitlist" which doesn't make much sense to me. I guess that just leaves people in the dark until they find out one way or another.

Yeah, that doesn't make sense- do they draw names out of a hat? Sorry to hear that they can't help you more with that.

 

[CareerSwitcheroo]

Yeah, that doesn't make sense- do they draw names out of a hat? Sorry to hear that they can't help you more with that.

I asked for clarification and got no response. Maybe I was asking too many questions, lol.

 

[JMarcusDPT]

I wrote about being in a somewhat similar situation: How to Handle Multiple Acceptances But I don't think asking Baylor for a quicker decision will negatively affect you. Or, you could explain the situation to South College and ask for an extension.