Committing to deferred admission offer

[kalash]

I don't know if this question ever comes up, but here's my situation: I was offered deferred admission (PhD philosophy) for fall 2013 (including funding). Now the question is: what happens if next year I decide I'd prefer to go somewhere else? Is it really bad if I do this? Will it ruin the rest of my career? Could I request to be released from obligation? My wife is applying to schools for fall 2013, but there's no guarantee she'll get into one in the same city. So should I just decline and apply next year to this program (including others as well), or should I grab the deferred admission now and worry about all this later?

[emmm]

Can you call them up and discuss it with them -- explain that you would love to attend their program but that your decision will also depend on where your wife ends up. Perhaps they can hold the spot for you until some reasonable time next cycle, so that if they do not have a positive response from you by then, they still have time to find a good student to give the place to. It sounds as though you plan to send out more applications next year when your wife is applying anyway -- or would you really be willing to go to this school if she's in a program somewhere else? If they say "No," in other words, have you really lost much?