Letter of Intent with an Ultimatum?

[medfella]

Is it common/acceptable to send a letter of intent but then say that if I don't hear back by a certain day I have to move on?

I am on the waitlist at a school that most commonly sees a lot of WL movement in early May. However, there comes a point where I don't want to be blindsided then or perhaps closer to when school starts and have to scramble to find housing etc. I like the idea of being able to know where I am going for a good amount of time and pick out an ideal place to live, etc.

I get that this can probably look like I don't really love the school if I am willing to withdraw but for the reasons above I just don't want to have a last-minute scramble when classes are approaching. Anyone have any insight?

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[maindoctor42]

If anyone has success stories from this tactic then please feel free to share...
But I don't think you are in any position to give an ultimatum that they care about. There will likely be another candidate who would be over the moon to be accepted the day before classes start. You can keep this timeline to yourself and withdraw from the WL on that date if you feel this way.

 

[wysdoc]

If anyone has success stories from this tactic then please feel free to share...
But I don't think you are in any position to give an ultimatum that they care about. There will likely be another candidate who would be over the moon to be accepted the day before classes start. You can keep this timeline to yourself and withdraw from the WL on that date if you feel this way.

Yeah, if you write the letter as you proposed they will probably say (or think) “Bye, enjoy that other school”.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Are you posters on some weird Discord channel to come up with these ideas? Get off of reddit and stop doing stupid Tiktok challenges.

What I wrote a week or so ago to a very similar question...

Letter of Intent Question: Can I Put a Deadline on it?

Hey all, I recently got put on the waitlist for my top choice school and am thinking about sending a letter of intent. I have read opinions from people saying that you should not send one unless you would be willing to accept an offer even at the last moment - e.g., if the offer is sent a week...

forums.studentdoctor.net

 

[Rachapkis]

It is never a good idea to deliver what could be perceived as an implied threat from a position of weakness.

 

[annoyedpsychiatrist]

For some reason im picturing someone matching another person from tinder and sending them a message "Listen, if I dont hear back from you, I have to move on..."

so putting it into that context, think how likely it is to work...not very likely. If anything it would probably annoy people.

 

[chssoccer7]

if you had somewhere between 5000 to 10000 people trying to take you on a date and one of them sent you a message that said "if you dont tell me I can date you by March 1st im moving on" how would you respond?

If you're waitlisted, you definitely don't have this kind of power in the process. They are seeing where things go with other applicants first before they pursue you (if they ever do). If you need the timeframe you mentioned in your post, and you have 3 acceptances already, you can make that time frame yourself. Just commit to one of them and now you have 6 months until August to plan whatever you want.

 

[LizzyM]

Once you've reached your personal "point of no return", withdraw from schools that still have you on a waitlist. There are few things more painful that committing to a lease, arranging a move, etc only to get a call from your dream school and having to say "no".

 

[RedFrog]

If my dream school, which I already sent a letter of intent to, takes me in on June 30th, I Will pack my suite case, book airbnb, and start class,

 

[Angus Avagadro]

OP, I'll be a little more direct. If you think you are somehow in a position to negotiate because you are somehow a more attractive candidate than the othern10,000 applicants, you are mistaken. Let things play out and make the best decision for you. Good luck and best wishes!

 

[Master_Momo]

Once you've reached your personal "point of no return", withdraw from schools that still have you on a waitlist. There are few things more painful that committing to a lease, arranging a move, etc only to get a call from your dream school and having to say "no".

This is very solid advice and something I learned the hard way. I reached the point where I had made my decision, gotten the ball rolling on a lease, roommates, furniture, etc. but didn't feel any urgency to do anything about my waitlists. Then I got a call from the dean of one of my WL schools offering a spot. It was more awkward than difficult to say "no" since it was a school that I did not prefer over my final choice, but there were still WL schools that would have been very painful for me to turn down. I immediately withdrew from all my remaining waitlists to save myself the trouble as well as the temptation of making a terrible financial choice.