Should I withdraw my other applications?

[jacobwarsx]

Just wanted to hear how much value you would associate with visiting schools that you don't plan to go to. At this point I have got into my top choice school (MIT), and there is no way I am going to another school (as my wife is there). I was talking to my friend and he said I should withdraw my applications from other schools as I have already made my decision. And there is no point in wasting time of Professors/their adcomm, and I can allow spots to go to people who need them.

On the other hand, I was thinking that it might be worthwhile to meet Professors working in a similar field/around the schools to get a better idea of overall research direction, and to build contacts. Further, I've already paid the application fee, why waste it?:-) And after I decline the offer, someone off the waitlist can get in anyway. The other places I currently have offers from are UT Austin, Cornell, UIUC, and waiting to hear from CMU RI, UCB, Caltech, and Harvard.

Any thoughts on this? Thanks in advance!

[curvature]

First of all, congrats on getting into MIT et al. I think you should meet all the other profs you can, wait for a few days, and then politely decline with an enthusiastic email that it was great to chat with them, but you ultimately decided to go elsewhere.

I think the potential networking opportunities are too valuable to pass up, and presumably other applicants would be delighted to grab your spot at the other schools, even if the offer is more last-minute.

[newms]

Just wanted to hear how much value you would associate with visiting schools that you don't plan to go to. At this point I have got into my top choice school (MIT), and there is no way I am going to another school (as my wife is there). I was talking to my friend and he said I should withdraw my applications from other schools as I have already made my decision. And there is no point in wasting time of Professors/their adcomm, and I can allow spots to go to people who need them.

On the other hand, I was thinking that it might be worthwhile to meet Professors working in a similar field/around the schools to get a better idea of overall research direction, and to build contacts. Further, I've already paid the application fee, why waste it?:-) And after I decline the offer, someone off the waitlist can get in anyway. The other places I currently have offers from are UT Austin, Cornell, UIUC, and waiting to hear from CMU RI, UCB, Caltech, and Harvard.

Any thoughts on this? Thanks in advance!

Congratulations on your great offers! You have to be careful in waiting to hear from schools and profs that you have no intention of working with. If you let the profs and schools feel like you might be going there when you know you won't, you run the risk of burning a bridge or two. You should also consider that some top CS schools don't have waitlists. They send out the number of acceptances that would yield roughly the number of places they have. If a school of yours took this approach, you would be depriving someone of an admit, since they wouldn't be sending one to another applicant when you turned them down.

[eklavya]

good idea. if you are 100% certain, you should. i got into the program i wanted to join, so i already withdrew from one my my safeties. there are a couple more schools i am interested in, mainly for getting to know the professors, their project, building professional bridges, comparing facilities, and all that. but i think i will withdraw from remaining 2 safeties so that someone else can get in and not have to bear the excruciating pain of waiting/being waitlisted.

[jacobwarsx]

First, thanks for all the feedback and the best wishes!

You should also consider that some top CS schools don't have waitlists. They send out the number of acceptances that would yield roughly the number of places they have. If a school of yours took this approach, you would be depriving someone of an admit, since they wouldn't be sending one to another applicant when you turned them down.

@newms: I was wondering if you knew which schools followed the above procedure.

@bhikhaari: While I am sure of the program I want to attend, I only applied to programs that were strong in my particular area of interest (down to the sub-field of the sub-field) which is why I feel it would be extremely worthwhile to network with them even though I wouldn't be attending. However, the time and denying other people admission is definitely not a nice thing. Will have to figure this out esp if more admits show up :-)

[edvolkov]

jacobwarsx, congrats!

Would you mind to share your profile? I'm just curious what kind of people can receive offers from such schools Thanks!

[newms]

First, thanks for all the feedback and the best wishes!

@newms: I was wondering if you knew which schools followed the above procedure.

I know that UT Austin did that last year - they had 30 places and sent out 90 admits. Since you've already received an offer from them, when you decide to reject it won't have much impact, unless they've changed for this year, because they won't be sending out another offer. As for the schools you're waiting for, I'm not sure which system they use, but I believe most top CS schools (especially the ones with larger departments that don't care if they yield the exact number of places) use this same mechanism.

Edited February 10, 2011 by newms

[Amogh]

I think you should go for the campus visit and network with people. It would be useful. And when you do decline their offer, someone else will get your seat. It's a win-win for both of you:D.

BTW, congratulations on all your admissions:D

[BKMD]

I would withdraw from schools that you haven't yet heard from, because waitlists are actually not very common, and most likely you will deprive someone of a spot for no reason. You can even explain that this is why you are withdrawing early, and if they ask why you chose a different school (they probably will) they will understand that your wife's location was a factor so don't worry about offending them.

For the other schools, I would say go for it - it's definitely a good experience to visit and network. (Though I wouldn't be upfront that you aren't interested in actually attending because I know for a fact that faculty get annoyed when they fly out people who already know they won't accept an offer.)

Last year I withdrew from my safeties once I got into a top choice. I ultimately ended up choosing a different school than what I thought I would, so I'm glad I made the visits that I did. I think this is the right strategy: don't withdraw an app unless you're 100% certain, but if you ARE 100% certain, then you should withdraw/decide right away for the sake of others.

[dryicee]

thanks for the advice, as i am in a similar situation.