arkel Posted March 14, 2011 Posted March 14, 2011 I just declined my first offer, and the POI sent me an incredibly nice email in reply. He asked which school I will be attending, and I would be happy to tell him...except that I haven't yet decided! I guess I can only respond with the truth, which is that I'm still deciding between 2-3 places, but this seems....awkward. I guess awkwardness is inevitable in this process, but I don't want it to seem like this school is totally below all of the other schools or anything - that's not the case at all. I just had to decide really quickly with this school because they were going to nominate me for a fellowship, and I didn't want to take away the opportunity from someone else who is actually going to end up there. Okay. I think I will probably just respond politely with the truth, and explain why I made the decision so quickly. Have you ever been in this situation? Would you recommend a different course of action? Thanks a bunch! And sorry to make a mountain of what is probably a molehill....
LJK Posted March 14, 2011 Posted March 14, 2011 It totally is awkward! How to phrase 'well, you were the easiest to decide against' nicely is really hard! I think pointing out your concern for other applicants is a good way to save face a bit. Anyway, hope it goes well!
MoJingly Posted March 14, 2011 Posted March 14, 2011 It totally is awkward! How to phrase 'well, you were the easiest to decide against' nicely is really hard! I think pointing out your concern for other applicants is a good way to save face a bit. Anyway, hope it goes well! I agree! Tell them that the school wasn't the best match for you for various reasons, and you wanted the fellowship opportunity to go to a student who had a higher match. (or something like that). But congrats on the multiple acceptances!
neuropsych76 Posted March 15, 2011 Posted March 15, 2011 I agree with the above posters. Luckily, when I told a school that I was withdrawing my application after an interview invite I didn't receive any follow up email wishing me good luck or inquiring about where I was accepted
adinutzyc Posted March 26, 2011 Posted March 26, 2011 Heh, all of the schools I have declined until now have wished me good luck, but none of them has actually asked me where I was going. Well, I did fill out an online form for one of them, and it did have a field asking for the school I decided to go to, so I wrote the name of the school I am 99% going to, but it's not that if I don't end up going there I would have lied to someone specifically (or lied at all for that matter).
Recommended Posts