What now after April 15?

[greatlord]

hi all,

I accepted the offer by an university today as the deadline given was April 15. I have been waitlisted by 2 better universities than this. Now if either of them accept me, would I have any choice left? Can I reverse my decision after April 15 also and accept another offer? What would be the repurcussions?

[somethinbruin]

My understanding is that, under the Council of Graduate Schools' April 15 agreement, you can change your mind about accepting a financial aid offer anytime through April 15th without penalty (as long as you notify the school in writing that you're decommitting). After April 15th, you have to ask for and receive a written release from the school you originally committed to. I don't know how amenable schools are to granting these releases (I have no experience with this) or if they might refuse to release you. At the very least it's a considerable show of poor form and bad faith to back out after you've said yes. I think this is one of those situations like choosing a wedding dress: Once you commit to "the one" you need to stop shopping, otherwise you can drive yourself crazy going over other options in your head.

 

Of course, if you offer you accepted is just an offer of admission, and not an offer of financial aid (ie: a graduate assistantship or fellowship), then you're free to commit to another school as you please. You only need to get the release if you accepted financial aid.

 

I'm not an expert, but that's how I interpret things. It's technically possible to get out of your original commitment, but it is poor form, and there's no guarantees that you will get your release.

[greatlord]

Thanks somethinbruin for the information. That means I have till the end of today's working time to wait from those two universities. I think it's highly unlikely that I will get the acceptance off the wait list by today. So, from tomorrow onwards, even if I get acceptance from any university, nothing will be sure. It's if's and but's from then onwards.........

[ThousandsHardships]

I do know someone who accepted an offer, was later offered admission to another school, and chose to attend the latter. It was a HUGE hassle, but she will managed to accomplish it. Schools wouldn't offer admission so late if there was no way for students to go back on their initial commitment. If all else fails, you can probably accept the second offer and withdraw from the first as any student can.

[nomatterwho]

I am going through similar situation, and I do not know what to do

Maybe these openings are just for people who do not have any offer on April 15

If we accept those offer, it means that we are actually taking away offers from those who have nothing on hand

[greatlord]

Thanks guys. I think I may have some peace of mind after this discussions. Hope this helps everyone in the similar situation.