How to decline?

[Schwarzwald]

What should come standard in a decline email?

[syn]

Keep it brief.  Thank them for their time, but be honest: you found another program that better suits your interests, or has offered you a better package.

The more honest you are, the better they can use your feedback for next year.

[dgswaim]

Don't stress over it too much. They do this every year.

[downwardabsolute]

Is it expected to send each department an email when declining? 

[JeshZhavvorsa]

6 minutes ago, downwardabsolute said:

Is it expected to send each department an email when declining? 

Absolutely. If you just ghost them and never respond, you are robbing someone on the waitlist of an opportunity and the department from filling out the cohort. It’s best if you are sure that you aren’t going to attend somewhere that you contact them as soon as you have made that decision.

[downwardabsolute]

4 minutes ago, JeshZhavvorsa said:

Absolutely. If you just ghost them and never respond, you are robbing someone on the waitlist of an opportunity and the department from filling out the cohort. It’s best if you are sure that you aren’t going to attend somewhere that you contact them as soon as you have made that decision.

Woops, I think I was unclear. NIU for example has you sign in to your account and accept/reject the offer online; so I was asking if it is expected to send an email in addition to rejecting that way, assuming the latter is possible. 

[shadowyBeing]

15 minutes ago, downwardabsolute said:

Woops, I think I was unclear. NIU for example has you sign in to your account and accept/reject the offer online; so I was asking if it is expected to send an email in addition to rejecting that way, assuming the latter is possible. 

It's typical that you send an email. NIU, from what I can recall, is in the minority in their declination process. 

[JeshZhavvorsa]

21 minutes ago, downwardabsolute said:

Woops, I think I was unclear. NIU for example has you sign in to your account and accept/reject the offer online; so I was asking if it is expected to send an email in addition to rejecting that way, assuming the latter is possible. 

Well, that makes a lot more sense. I guess if they have an online form it would be alright not to email. However, I think it would still be a good idea to in case the online system involves an administrative delay and the department isn’t notified quickly.

[be.]

In addition to using online systems to decline offers, I’ve been letting all of my points of contact with the department know of my decision, excluding graduate students. This just struck me as the polite thing to do.