Mistakes to Avoid - Accepting Offers

[Tritonetelephone]

I noticed several threads on this subject last April, so I wanted to get the ball rolling before people make the same mistakes and start panicking. I'm hoping to avoid either situation, personally...

It seems some people get really excited and immediately accept an offer of admission at one of their top choices as soon as they receive it, even though they are legally allowed to wait until April 15th. Many of them end up regretting it when they receive another offer of admission, perhaps with better funding, from a school they weren't expecting to make the cut for.

So, other than NOT accept any offers until April 15th (or until one has heard from every school and is sure of their decision), what is the etiquette for this situation? Is it possible to withdrawal your acceptance of an admission offer?

Also, what do you do if one school has accepted you and wants your decision by April 15th, but an even better school has waitlisted you and you won't know if you're in or not until after April 15th?

Anyone else have advice/ideas/concerns to share before everyone starts receiving decisions?

[katanianQ]

that's a very good question and I'm looking forward to reading the responses..

From what I noticed of last year's threads, some people weren't notified until may/early june of their acceptance..

yikes!

[Tinyboss]

Even if you accept before 4/15, you can back out before that date, if you do so in writing. If your acceptance is in force after 4/15, it becomes binding.

This is governed by the Resolution of the Council of Graduate Schools. The idea is

The Council of Graduate Schools has published a statement entitled "Resolution Regarding Graduate Scholars, Fellows, Trainees and Assistants" since the mid 1960s. The Resolution is concerned with the conditions surrounding the acceptance of offers of certain kinds of graduate student financial assistance, namely, scholarships, fellowships, traineeships, and assistantships. The general spirit of the Resolution is that students should have an opportunity to consider more than one offer and should have until April 15 to do so, that institutions and students should be able to view acceptances in force after April 15 as binding, that everyone should know what the rules are, and that an offer by the institution and its acceptance by the student constitute an agreement which both expect to honor. The Resolution acknowledges that students, after having accepted an offer, may change their minds and withdraw that acceptance. The intent of the Resolution is to provide a uniform and widely acceptable framework for so doing, one that provides protection for both student and institution.

I got that from this page, which also has a PDF of the actual text of the resolution.

Edit: I just realized that the OP is talking about offers that come after April 15. That's a tough one...I think it's in any school's interest to get their offer to you before that date, since the Resolution calls for an offer after 4/15 to be void if the student had an existing, accepted offer by 4/15, unless the student can get a written release.

[plisar]

The rules are there to protect you, not the school, and most schools will let you out of any acceptance even after April 15th. Essentially, they are there to prevent schools from bullying you into accepting an offer before others may come in.

[dragynally]

I've heard of people backing out after 4/15. I think it's a case by case thing. More importantly it's YOUR education and money (depending on the finaid package) you should do whats best for you.

[Tonights]

Much of what I hear is that if you want to back out, you just need a letter from the department releasing you from your obligation in order to accept another offer. It's not too big of a deal.

[ridgey]

Yeah. I can't imagine any benefit to a department of forcing someone to attend who really doesn't want to be there.

[adaptations]

After speaking with a professor on this subject I was given the impression that backing out of an acceptance at any point should be done with extreme caution. Although a school will almost always let you back out of an acceptance, given that they do not want to force someone to enroll that really doesn't want to, there may be repercussions. The professor I spoke with, essentially said that the schools communicate with each other when students back out of offers and that the student can develop a negative reputation in the field that could reduce chances of hiring or harm relationships down the road.

Although I am somewhat skeptical how long schools would really hold a grudge, the point is, when you accept an offer you should consider it final and binding.

On the issue of what to do if you have an existing offer but are waitlisted and the April 15th deadline has arrived. First, be honest with the school that has already given you an offer. You can request an extension, although they are under no obligation to give you one. If they give you an extension - great. If not, you will have to take a gamble. You will either have to accept your existing offer, or turn it down in the hope that funding and an acceptance come through with the waitlisted school. To be honest, I think the more common problem is that you have two acceptances, but one of them cannot guarantee you funding, but tells you they will make a funding decision after April 15th. Sometimes that school can tell you exactly how many people would have to turn down funding for you to receive it. Needless to say, it is an excessively stressful situation.

I hope this insight is helpful.

Cheers,

[Hopelessly_Neurotic]

I'm hoping that this is really a rare situation!! I've been accepted at one of my top choices with funding details coming in the mail along with the official offer of admission. I haven't heard back from my other top choice, but the school's FAQ states that in all cases students will receive a definitive answer at the very latest by April 1st, but usually long before then.

[ndufour]

to topic creator-

I gotta say, accepting an offer from my dream school and then regretting it later is so far away from my current concerns on just getting in is almost comical. However, I see you applied to UCSD... I did too. Have you heard anything yet? Do they let us know through email or some kind of archaic snail mail? thanks

[Tritonetelephone]

to topic creator-

I gotta say, accepting an offer from my dream school and then regretting it later is so far away from my current concerns on just getting in is almost comical. However, I see you applied to UCSD... I did too. Have you heard anything yet? Do they let us know through email or some kind of archaic snail mail? thanks

UCSD has an online status page (https://graduateapp.ucsd.edu/default.asp), but their system sends an email when it updates. I still check it every few hours, just in case.

I haven't heard anything, but since we're in different departments, it really doesn't matter.

[Tritonetelephone]

Has anyone has found themselves in either situation yet?

[rising_star]

Yes

[t_ruth]

One of my schools has a fellowship that must be accepted or declined by April 1st. Is this ok for them to do?

[Scare Quotes]

I backed out of an offer I had accepted and switched to a different school on April 15 last year.

My advice to you: Do NOT wait until the last week to make your decision. And do NOT decline any offers until you've "lived" with your decision for a few days. (That is, even if you've accepted one, don't click "decline" for a few days.)

[Emma2003]

This seems to me like a way for them to get around the April 15th rule, you can still come, but without the funding, so the deadline is for the money...It is probably done to weed out anyone who isn't seriously considering them. Probably legal if they will still take you for the program until the 15th, but seems a little underhanded.

[Tritonetelephone]

This seems to me like a way for them to get around the April 15th rule, you can still come, but without the funding, so the deadline is for the money...It is probably done to weed out anyone who isn't seriously considering them. Probably legal if they will still take you for the program until the 15th, but seems a little underhanded.

No, it's still illegal, unless they're not part of the Council of Graduate Schools. Read Tinyboss's post again...