princetonstyle

It's to staff. Do I need to provide a reason in the message? Or is it okay to simply say that I will unfortunately have to withdraw my acceptance of their offer?

I got an offer from a school in March for a PhD program, with an acceptance deadline of April 1. At that point I hadn't heard back from any other schools and thought I wasn't getting in anywhere else, so I accepted their offer and paid them the non-refundable deposit. I have since gotten another offer with excellent funding and definitely no longer want to go to this school (to be honest I never really did, I was just concerned I wouldn't get in anywhere else). I won't ask for my deposit back, as I know that's in poor taste, but how should I tastefully phrase the withdrawal e-mail in a situation like this? I am withdrawing because I want to go somewhere else and I'm not sure if I should disclose this, or what I should say. While I have no desire to attend this school, I also don't want to burn bridges with anyone. Anyone else written withdrawal e-mails of this nature? Thanks in advance

Thanks for the responses. I'm so torn right now, and just praying my other choices will pan out. I feel like this is a 4+ year endeavour and I may be completely hurting myself by spending them at a place that doesn't have the best reputation if it means I won't get any job offers when I graduate. I don't think Ryerson has been granting PhD's for that long, and if there are even many graduates from their doctoral programs... Sigh, waiting for the others and feeling like they're going to be rejections is the worst feeling in the world

I applied to five PhD programs in Ontario, and so far I've only heard back from Ryerson (where I was accepted with funding). My top choice is McMaster (which I haven't heard from, but it's doubtful I'll get in), and I'm on a waitlist at York. Ryerson was my ultimate safety, and I'm now thinking I won't get in anywhere else either and Ryerson will be my only choice. Before I heard anything I told myself I was okay with going to Ryerson, now I'm not so sure. How many of you are going with your safety schools because you didn't get into your top choice? Is a PhD a PhD, or do you hold out till next year for the school with a "better" reputation?