Dear all,

I would like to gather some thoughts on my current situation to put my mind at ease.

I had an interview for a studentship position over a month ago. The interview went (seemingly) well, and I was told I would hear back within the next couple of days.

Fast forward to today and I have still not received my outcome.

I have been in email conversation with the PhD admissions office, who have twice responded saying something along the lines of 'sorry for delay, by next week we will have your formal outcome'. On both occasions the weeks passed - and now I have not heard from them for some time.

I have tried to call to understand why there might be such continued delays, but no one has been in their office since Lockdown begun - the phone just rings dead.. On top of this, the supervisor who interviewed me is also on leave until mid September - so no word from them either!

Any ideas why my outcome would keep getting pushed back? (especially without clarity on why!)

And should I keep emailing the PG office, or just move on??

Thanks in advance

It could be that you are on a waiting list and they have already offered to the candidates who were above you on the list, if that makes sense. They will wait and see if they accept before then offering it to you. That is probably the most likely I'd say, given the amount of time and what admin are saying. Then again, they must just be dead slow and haven't made any offers yet. I'd say make other plans so as not to be disappointed, but there is still a good chance you'll get an offer. Good luck!

You have probably been shortlisted and you are not the first choice. They won't reject you until the other candidate has fully confirmed and won't want to answer you until then.