Applying to Places After Deferring an Admission

[ee_gradman]

Hello,

So I am a student who has been admitted into an MS program for EE. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, the university that I have been admitted to has allowed students to defer their admission by a full year. That means that I will get a new admission letter for next year, and will have to resubmit my SIR and reaccept the offer. Hence, I have done so as I want to increase my chances of having more of an 'in-person' experience. 

However, I was considering potentially applying to one or two other MS programs in EE for next year as well in the meantime, given I still have a spot secured in my current program. Would this be possible, or could it reflect badly if I choose to do so?  I am more than happy with where I am, but I just want to try taking a shot at applying to a place or two. Just want to hear some thoughts if possible.

[Bernt]

If you have formally accepted and deferred an offer, that is considered a commitment from you to attend that program. While technically yes, you can apply to other programs (unless your program says explicitly otherwise, which some do, check the conditions of your deferral), it is generally frowned upon to do so. Academia is a surprisingly small world. If a professor from your original program happens to chat with a professor from a program you're applying to, you could end up in a sticky situation and jeopardize your admissions at both institutions. You also risk your reputation in your academic field.

So, technically, yes you could apply to other programs. But I would not recommend doing so. If you do, proceed with caution.

 

[RyanS]

I am a faculty member in a doctoral program and I think it would be okay to apply after deferring admission as long as you communicate your withdrawal from the cohort BEFORE the next round of application review begins.  If you feel like you want more time to think about it, you could possibly wait until just before the program is ready to make their admission decisions for the cohort that you have deferred to.  You should NOT keep them on the line while applying to other programs, waiting to see if you get into someplace better and then withdraw your admission.  That would reflect poorly on you and, as Bernt stated, the professional world is smaller than you think!