In my mind, there are only 3 states to an application: accepted, rejected or undetermined. If you're not informed of being an A or R, then you're in an undetermined/unknown state in which case all the various terminology and nuances don't really matter. I realize we want to know how close we are to an A or R but it's impossible to know so I'd suggest trying to focus on something else.
True, but undetermined could be because you haven't yet been looked at, or have been looked at and put aside for a later determination. I would argue there is a value to knowing which bucket you fall into.
Particularly because many schools don't disclose if you are rejected at this stage of the cycle, so knowing whether you have been reviewed and put aside, and not rejected, or not reviewed at all, can actually mean a lot. And, it's not impossible to know, just because schools choose not to disclose. Many do.
It would actually be far from impossible for schools to provide periodic updates, either through e-mail or directly on their portals, to let you know where you are in the review process. Again, some do, but many just choose not to because they don't have to.
Focusing on something else is easier said than done. You prepare for this for years, and now you're in the middle of it, left twisting for months on end. It's only what part of the country you're going to be living in for the next 4 years of your life, or whether you're even going to be allowed to pursue your dreams at all.
What's more important to focus on? What to have for dinner tonight? Which football games to watch this weekend? From the inside, it really doesn't seem like a little transparency is too much to expect, even though it understandably takes time to work through thousands of applications at each school.
🙂
