When is it appropriate to email an admissions team if I haven't heard back? Under what circumstances would it hurt my chances?

[AJC26]

I have provisionally accepted uOttawa and am still waiting on Osgoode's offer/decision. I applied to other schools, however I am equally excited to attend one of these two schools. I currently live in Toronto and my current lease ends in early July so if I get into and accept Osgoode, I will stay here and renew my lease. However, if I get rejected/waitlisted at Osgoode, I will have to move to Ottawa and provide my landlord with the obligatory 60 day notice that I'm terminating my lease at the beginning of May (~2weeks).

Given that this is a fairly crucial deadline that essentially hinges on hearing back from Osgoode shortly, is it appropriate for me to email them and ask when I can expect a decision? I don't want to pressure them or hurt my chances in any way and I also understand that they owe me no expediency, but I also don't want to be forced to either accept at uOttawa without even hearing back or make a large and potentially counterintuitive financial commitment in the hopes I get accepted at Osgoode.

Any advice in this matter would be greatly appreciated as I'm really unsure what do. Thanks in advance.

[Miles]

Congrats on your acceptance to UOttawa Law!

I was in a similar position albeit with several other complicated personal and business interests that needed to be taken care of prior to the start of my legal education. I applied to four Ontario law schools, Ottawa was the first to offer me a spot and I firmly accepted and got the ball rolling on what I needed to do. I would have preferred if Oz made a decision before Ottawa did, since I would have liked to also remain in Toronto, but my ultimate goal was to get into one of the four Ontario law schools I applied to.

I imagine our situation is not unique at all. With that being said, me personally, I would not email asking for a quicker reply. In fairness to the process and all the other applicants, you're likely to get a generic and polite reply that they're doing their due diligence to expedite the process as quickly as they can. Hopefully someone else on here has already tried this approach in the past and can maybe chime in. 

If I had only a lease termination/extension to deal with, I would have waited around for the decision from Oz and paid the added cost of having to do so. I don't know your financial situation going into, or just as importantly, coming out of law school, nor do I know your reasons for wanting to stay in Toronto, so assess the value of this 'lottery ticket to Oz' you're considering accordingly. 

Have you asked yourself if a chance at going to Oz was worth the added financial commitment of possibly extending your lease beyond what you need to if you get rejected? That's what it seems to boil down to. 

Wish you the best on whichever decision you make, fingers crossed you get a decision from Oz within the next two weeks! 🙂 

Edited April 19, 2022 by Miles
Spelling and added content ("nor do I know your reasons for wanting to stay in Toronto")