Can I still go on visits after accepting offer

[rockiechemist]

Hi, I am half way through my school visit, and have already committed to one professor. I have booked flights for the rest visits and I don't think those schools would refund me if I don't go. Can I accept the offer now and still go on the visits to meet people? Or should I wait until all visits are done and accept offer later?

[TakeruK]

The ethical thing to do, if you have already 100% committed to a school, is to accept that offer, decline the rest and cancel the remaining school visits. In turn, the schools should refund the cancellation fee of your flight, but since you get to keep the remaining value of your ticket (usually, depends on the rules of the fare), you generally don't get the rest of the ticket cost refunded (you can use it towards your future trips / the flight you might need to take to move). Schools *should* act in this way because they save a lot more than $500 in terms of all the other costs that have still yet to be applied to your visit (food, hotels, transport, time, etc.)

However, if this is a large number of outstanding school visits, then I can see why acting in this most ethical way can end up screwing you over for thousands of dollars (most airline charge $250 per direction cancellation fee, so it's potentially $500 you won't get back per school!). I don't really know how your schools will react. One thing you could try to do is to start with your least favourite school and just be honest: ask them if they would be willing to refund the cancellation fee from the airline if you can no longer attend the visit since you are no longer interested in their program. 

If you decide to attend visits anyways, then I would still keep an open mind about the programs. 

But this is something I don't have much experience in. I only visited 3 schools and I didn't make any commitment until after I had seen all three. Perhaps others here can give more insights!