Time taken by department to offer the admission decision
The waiting time for a decision depends on the admission process. The admission process itself can vary broadly depending on type and size of the institution.

I can point out two different examples from the German higher education system. I graduated at a public state university of applied sciences where I was member of several committees. Now I work at a private state-recognized higher education institution. The admission processes and concerns, may also apply for US universities.


For public state universities dealing with 10.000+ applications, all of them have to be checked for formal correctness (documents complete and valid etc.). After checking a local numerus clausus have to be calculated to find the limiting grade needed for admission. Especially in Germany some laws and regulations enforce to fulfill target percentages of e.g. women or handicapped persons. These tasks performed by a handful of staff members can last more than a month. Sometimes German universities publish target dates of submitting the admission mail in the same way they publish application dead lines.
For private universities, business-, management- or law-schools the application process often is more selective. Admission committees decide not only on base of grades and formal criteria. Some require letters of recommendation, motivation letters, CVs pointing out working experience or social engagement. All these documents must be read and for everyone the committees have to give a recommendation. Depending on the number of staff members concerned with this, the period until one receives the final decision can last weeks up to months.