Fellowship nomination and decisions, need suggestions

[whatshername]

I was notified by one of the schools to which I have applied about a week ago of me being nominated for the university-wide fellowship (but there is no guarantee that I will be selected for the fellowship and a TA-ship will be offered instead in case I am not). The fellowship decision will not be available until March and the program coodinator indicated that I should let them know ASAP if I decide not to take their offer. The thing is, this university (School A) is not one of my top choices and I have been accepted by some other universities that are better choices for me. However, those better ones don't act as generously as this one (fellowships or even financial aids are not likely for the first year, but RA and TA positions may be available in senior years of my study). In the meanwhile, I'm still waiting for other universities to release their admission decisions (some of them won't release decisions until mid March). Because I dont want to rush into any decisions before that. Is it morally wrong to let School A wait while I'm waiting? Will it hurt (such as tarnishing their impression on my undergrad school and putting applicants from my undergrad school at adverse situations in the pool for the next years) if I finally decide to reject their offer in late march (before April 15th)?

[fuzzylogician]

It's not morally wrong to keep them waiting as long as you are waiting. Be honest about the situation and explain that you are still waiting on other admissions decisions and funding offers, and therefore you can't make a decision about this school's offer yet. I understand the school's concern (they might be able to nominate someone else if you withdraw in time) but you've earned this great position and you should not give it up before you're ready. If you're comparing a better school that offers insufficient funding and this one, I think you should seriously consider this offer before rejecting it, and whatever you do you should not reject an offer before you know you really don't want it. Once you do know, then you should inform the school as soon as you can so that they can make arrangements accordingly -- but don't feel like you need to do it right away. If they are decent people, the professors at this school will understand the situation and not hold it against you or others from your school; this is a common problem and as long as you handle it respectfully and inform them of a decision as soon as you can, you are behaving entirely within what is considered appropriate.

[whatshername]

It's not morally wrong to keep them waiting as long as you are waiting. Be honest about the situation and explain that you are still waiting on other admissions decisions and funding offers, and therefore you can't make a decision about this school's offer yet. I understand the school's concern (they might be able to nominate someone else if you withdraw in time) but you've earned this great position and you should not give it up before you're ready. If you're comparing a better school that offers insufficient funding and this one, I think you should seriously consider this offer before rejecting it, and whatever you do you should not reject an offer before you know you really don't want it. Once you do know, then you should inform the school as soon as you can so that they can make arrangements accordingly -- but don't feel like you need to do it right away. If they are decent people, the professors at this school will understand the situation and not hold it against you or others from your school; this is a common problem and as long as you handle it respectfully and inform them of a decision as soon as you can, you are behaving entirely within what is considered appropriate.

Thanks for your suggestions. I AM considering this school. And I think you are right that I should not give it up so easily.

[Usmivka]

You may find useful as well, but I think your case is different in that you are actively considering the school still. I think the key thing fuzzylogician said above (from my perspective) is that "you should inform the school as soon as you can so that they can make arrangements accordingly." They very well may lose the opportunity to nominate anyone else for the fellowship if you don't respond fast enough (if it is a univeristy wide fellowship), but they should have asked you how serious you are about attending before they nominated you if this was a really big concern on their end. They might appreciate a realistic timeline from you though, eg "I expect to be decided by...".

Edited February 20, 2013 by Usmivka