Asking for an extension? Accepting and backing out?

[bck203]

School A, my top choice, has accepted me but waitlisted me for funding. Although they are a member of the CGS, their decision deadline is April 25. I have asked them to give me an update on my chances by tomorrow (the 15th). Going unfunded is not an option.

School B, my second choice, has accepted me with funding. They follow the typical April 15 deadline. I'm totally confused and overwhelmed at this point. I was never sure about my decision to go to grad school this year to begin with, and now I feel even less sure. Complicating things even more, I'm a top candidate for a good job, but I won't know if I got the job until after April 15. So for tomorrow, I'm considering the following:

1. Commit to School B and then back out later if I get the job or get funding at School A.

2. Ask School B for an extension (preferably 10 days) while I wait for final word from School A.

Just wondering if anyone's been in a similar situation. I've read other threads about the risks of backing out, and views on the subject seem mixed.

[theatrehippie]

Ask School B for an extension first, before you consider backing out. I was in a very similar situation, so I asked for an extension, explaining that I had not yet received decisions from all my schools and needed more time to make an informed choice. It worked out very well, and they gave me until May 1.

[Mal83]

The first thing you should do is ask school B for an extension, if they give it to you then you have a little more time to wait things out, it'll take the pressure off while you weigh your options better. You have to consider what you want most of all...the job, school A or just going to grad school for the sake of going at school b. What if you don't get the job? Will grad school only serve as something to do while you search for another one, not that I'm knocking that, I thought for a while that I'd work first in my field, didn't happen and now I'm going to start grad school, which is what I absolutely know I want to do. But you might not want to dive into it if you're not sure, it could be a big expense and hassle when you figure that it's not what you want right now.

Anyway, I don't know what risks there will be for backing out, my situation is similar in that I've already accepted an offer from School B but have been waitlisted at my dream school, I won't know anything more about it until the middle of May which is so beyond any deadline that I figure I have to go along with school B because I won't just hang on to the sliver of hope I have for getting that dream offer. I have no idea what my chances are but if I get an offer I will back out of School B. I know that there won't be any consequences as far as financial aid goes, so what other risks there could be, other than loosing your deposit if you've sent it already or dealing with not-so-sympathetic staff I don't know. You might have to back out for any number of reasons and doing what's best for you is one of them.

[bck203]

Thanks. I just sent the email asking for an extension. I'm so thankful for this forum--I didn't even realize this was an option until I stumbled across a threat about it. We'll see what they say.

[Sequent]

I got an extension that's giving me a few extra days to agonize. My advice for getting answers fast is talking directly with professors on the phone. They, like us, tend to have frustrations with bureaucracy and, in all of my experiences, were extremely good about demanding quick answers about funding and admissions.