22 replies to this topic

[RonnieRockstar]

Hey LS.ca pals,

I have a question about accepting an offer of admission before the April 1st deadline.

A friend of mine told me that once you accept an offer and pay the deposit, your application will be pulled out of the pile and no longer be considered for admission to the other schools you've applied to. Is this true?

I was always under the assumption that if I accepted an offer on/before April 1st, other law schools could still grant me an admission and that I could then change my mind and choose to lose my deposit. Is this false?

The reason I ask is because I've been accepted to Western (2nd choice) but not Oz (1st choice). I don't want to accept Western if it means that my application won't be considered by Oz,. On the other hand, I don't want to wait after April 1st to accept Western. In the case that I never hear back from Oz or get rejected by Oz, I may also end up losing my spot at Western. Then I'll be left with no schools. Am I right about this possibility?

What do applicants typically do in my situation?

[davedavedave]

You can provisionally accept Western, and keep your application alive at Osgoode.

[RonnieRockstar]

Thanks dave!

What's the difference between accepting and provisionally accepting? How do you go about doing either one?

Hope to see you at Oz!

[redlead]

The difference between accepting and provisionally accepting is what you just described - it allows you to keep your application alive elsewhere.

[Ammo]

How does another school find out that you've accepted an offer?

[whereverjustice]

Ammo, on 14 February 2012 - 10:15 AM, said:

How does another school find out that you've accepted an offer?

Through OLSAS, Ontario schools can see (among the other OLSAS schools) where you have applied, along with any decisions you've made.

[LikeThat12]

I'm sure this topic has been exhausted in threads from previous cycles, but while we're on the topic...

Hypothetical - Let's say I have been admitted to Western and Queen's and am waiting to hear from Osgoode. If I provisionally accept Western, must I do something specifically to keep my offer from Queen's on the table and to leave the door open for Osgoode to accept me. Will all other OLSAS schools still be able to offer me admission after the provisional acceptance? Or must I designate an alternative or #2 to Western (i.e. Queens), forgoing any potential offer from Osgoode.

Sorry if this example is convoluted.

[leafsfan1990]

LikeThat12, on 14 February 2012 - 11:58 AM, said:

I'm sure this topic has been exhausted in threads from previous cycles, but while we're on the topic...

Hypothetical - Let's say I have been admitted to Western and Queen's and am waiting to hear from Osgoode. If I provisionally accept Western, must I do something specifically to keep my offer from Queen's on the table and to leave the door open for Osgoode to accept me. Will all other OLSAS schools still be able to offer me admission after the provisional acceptance? Or must I designate an alternative or #2 to Western (i.e. Queens), forgoing any potential offer from Osgoode.

Sorry if this example is convoluted.

I'm pretty sure you can only provisionally accept one school, i.e. provisionally accepting Western means that you no longer have a spot at Queen's. However, your application at Oz would still be alive!

[whereverjustice]

Leafsfan has it right. A provisional acceptance means: "Yes, I am willing to go to your school. Any other OLSAS offers I have received are cancelled. However, I reserve the right to accept an offer from a school I haven't heard back from yet."

[LikeThat12]

Hmmm... so it's basically "choose what's on the table on April 1st and leave the door open for those schools who haven't made a decision on me yet"...

Edit: whereverjustice - you are not only more eloquent than I, but a faster typer too...

Edited by LikeThat12, 14 February 2012 - 12:18 PM.

[RonnieRockstar]

Thanks for clearing it up for me guys!

It's really comforting to know that I can hold a seat at my second choice school by provisionally accepting the offer while I continue to wait to hear from Osgoode!

[Enhance]

To firm accept an offer that I provisionally accepted, do I just go back into OLSAS and submit another message using SAM? Or do I just let the provisional acceptance I currently have run its course to April 1st where it will be converted into a firm acceptance? I'd much rather do something along the lines of the former than the latter.

I rather be proactive and change my acceptance to firm rather than to sit back and let something "expire". Guess this is me being neurotic.

[Pyke]

Enhance, on 16 February 2012 - 09:36 AM, said:

To firm accept an offer that I provisionally accepted, do I just go back into OLSAS and submit another message using SAM? Or do I just let the provisional acceptance I currently have run its course to April 1st where it will be converted into a firm acceptance? I'd much rather do something along the lines of the former than the latter.

I rather be proactive and change my acceptance to firm rather than to sit back and let something "expire". Guess this is me being neurotic.

You cannot. If you provisionally accept at X in favour of Y, then my understanding is you will be withdrawn from X if admitted to Y. There's no need to accept before April 1, so if you have not heard you are better to wait.

[8idl]

What's the advantage of provisionally accepting a school between now and April 1?

[Enhance]

Pyke, on 16 February 2012 - 10:09 AM, said:

You cannot. If you provisionally accept at X in favour of Y, then my understanding is you will be withdrawn from X if admitted to Y. There's no need to accept before April 1, so if you have not heard you are better to wait.

Hmm, I don't think that's right. It's more like what whereverjustice said:

"Yes, I am willing to go to your school. Any other OLSAS offers I have received are cancelled. However, I reserve the right to accept an offer from a school I haven't heard back from yet."

I reserve the right to accept the offer from another school, not that if I get into the 2nd school that the 1st school's application is automatically withdrawn. Under your scenario, how would it work if I left my application open at more schools than 1?

I think this just shows how convoluted OLSAS and their documentation are. I've read through the site many times and it's difficult to find a concrete answers.

Edited by Enhance, 16 February 2012 - 10:27 AM.

[Pyke]

Enhance, on 16 February 2012 - 10:21 AM, said:

Hmm, I don't think that's right. It's more like what whereverjustice said:

"Yes, I am willing to go to your school. Any other OLSAS offers I have received are cancelled. However, I reserve the right to accept an offer from a school I haven't heard back from yet."

I reserve the right to accept the offer from another school, not that if I get into the 2nd school that the 1st school's application is automatically withdrawn. Under your scenario, how would it work if I left my application open at more schools than 1?

I think this just shows how convoluted OLSAS and their documentation are. I've read through the site many times and it's difficult to find a concrete answers.

To be fair, I'm going from memory here from four years ago.

[Enhance]

Wow Pyke, you just scared me enough to call OLSAS and confirm how provisional and firm acceptances work. You are a bit off with your information.

Just incase people were wondering about the question I posed:

Quote

To firm accept an offer that I provisionally accepted, do I just go back into OLSAS and submit another message using SAM? Or do I just let the provisional acceptance I currently have run its course to April 1st where it will be converted into a firm acceptance?

The answer from OLSAS is yes, just go back into SAM and select firm acceptance for the school you have accepted provisionally. This will override the provisional acceptance you had before and all the rules governing a firm acceptance will now apply. If you have a provisional acceptance and have not indicated a firm acceptance for any school by August (no exact date was given), the school you have provisionally accepted at will then automatically be converted into a firm acceptance.

So to reiterate again, your provisional acceptance will not be cancelled at a school if another school (the ones you left open) admits you. It will be cancelled if you provisionally or firmly accept at another school. This means that you can put your foot into the door of any choice while evaluating any other new offers you receive later.

8idl, on 16 February 2012 - 10:21 AM, said:

What's the advantage of provisionally accepting a school between now and April 1?

Not a whole lot. An advantage is that you don't have to worry about it later I guess. If no other offers come in, just enjoy your summer and have fun (don't forget to pay your deposit though).

Edited by Enhance, 16 February 2012 - 11:12 AM.

[Enhance]

Pyke, on 16 February 2012 - 11:06 AM, said:

To be fair, I'm going from memory here from four years ago.

No harm done. Unless scaring me for half an hour counts.

Edited by Enhance, 16 February 2012 - 11:11 AM.

[mickymouse]

Hello everyone,


I was hoping that someone would be willing to answer a very simple question. So I was just wondering how offers of admission are received. Is it a simple email or is there a notice on the olsas site? I apologize if the answer to this question is something that almost every knows but I really have no idea and this is my first cycle. Anyhow thanks in advance for helping.

[mickymouse]

Also i heard osgoode has a different way of offering admission. Could someone kindly let me know where to look at this. Thanks a lot!

Mickymouse

[RonnieRockstar]

mickymouse, on 16 February 2012 - 10:58 PM, said:

Hello everyone,


I was hoping that someone would be willing to answer a very simple question. So I was just wondering how offers of admission are received. Is it a simple email or is there a notice on the olsas site? I apologize if the answer to this question is something that almost every knows but I really have no idea and this is my first cycle. Anyhow thanks in advance for helping.

Those who have been admitted to Osgoode have mentioned that they receive a congratulatory email before OASIS (Osgoode's system for applicant's to check their admission status) updates to reflect that they've been admitted. You will not find out from OLSAS whether you've been accepted or not.

Hope that answers your question!

[ac006]

Can anyone comment on accepting offers outside of Ontario?
I've been accepted to a couple of schools, and the deadlines for accepting the offers are pretty tight. I was considering just paying the deposits to give myself a few more weeks to mull it over, but of course trying to make up my mind as quickly as possible so that my spot can be offered to someone else soon.
My question is, basically, will the schools know that I have deposits down at both, or could I safely take until, say, mid-March before making a final decision?

[Pyke]

Enhance, on 16 February 2012 - 11:10 AM, said:

No harm done. Unless scaring me for half an hour counts.

Thanks for following up. I may have been misremembering from when I applied to undergrad... or I may have just been mistaken.