Getting a university to reject you?

[kaleisi]

Can you actually ask a university to reject you - NOT CANCEL your application - but outright reject you?

 

Regardless of my reasons, is it possible?

[kittythrones]

Uh, why don't you just ask that school to withdraw your application? It is almost the same thing...

[RomulusAugustulus]

uhhhh, I guess. But why would you want to? The university would probably think you were kind of nuts. Why do that when you can just withdraw your application? Or even let them make their decision and then decline? Like I said, I'm sure you could (they have plenty of applicants, they don't want someone who doesn't want them), but it seems pretty pointless.

[dhg12]

I think everyone is much more curious about your reasons, tbh, because this seems like a pretty strange request.

 

I don't think you can get them to reject you, personally. Once you send your application in it is more or less out of your hands, except for when you want to withdraw or something along those lines. I'm not positive though, all the same.

[vityaz]

Send them a racist e-mail.

[the_sheath]

Tell them you lied about all your publications and grades and that you are actually a squirrel.

[Guest Gnome Chomsky]

When I get drunk, I text all the girls on my phone. I call it 'doing a Joe (my name).' You can do a variation of the Joe, and next time you get drunk, email all the schools you applied to. If my theory is correct, you should get 3 booty calls and 12 restraining orders.

Edited March 16, 2014 by Gnome Chomsky

[worrypower]

This is the definition of a non-problem. If you don't want to go, withdraw or turn down the offer! 

[nugget]

This is the definition of a non-problem. If you don't want to go, withdraw or turn down the offer! 

 

Let's patiently wait and see if the OP is willing to offer an explanation. Maybe there are some extenuating circumstances in this situation that aren't known to us. Just one of many possible scenarios I can think of... ie: family pressuring OP to attend a program and OP wants to show them a rejection letter so they stop pressuring her.

 

Too little is know about the situation for us to jump to conclusions, in my opinion.

[worrypower]

Let's patiently wait and see if the OP is willing to offer an explanation. Maybe there are some extenuating circumstances in this situation that aren't known to us. Just one of many possible scenarios I can think of... ie: family pressuring OP to attend a program and OP wants to show them a rejection letter so they stop pressuring her.

 

Too little is know about the situation for us to jump to conclusions, in my opinion.

 

If OP presents this or something like it, then yeah, definitely. Definitely understandable, and most easily solved by (I would imagine) a phone call or an email to the department director in charge of admissions, same as any other inquiry.

 

But it seems a little callous to ask for a rejection-- without explicitly or even implicitly citing a reason--  in a forum where most people are begging for acceptances. Kind of along the lines of "How do I run a slower mile? People are complaining that I'm too fast!" in a fitness forum or "How do I get a lower return on my investments?" in a finance forum. Time and place, I think.

[TakeruK]

I agree with jenste--there has to be some reason that the OP needs an actual rejection, and not just withdrawing. But the OP may not want to share, for privacy reasons!

 

To the OP: I assume that you know there is no practical difference for you between a withdrawal and a rejection. If you don't think you will get an unwanted acceptance and you are patient, you will most likely get a rejection by the time the summer comes around. Or at least, by then if you call them and ask what's going on, they will likely tell you it's a rejection. 

 

If you are afraid you will get accepted and you don't want others to know that you got accepted and then turned down the offer, you might try to call them to ask them to reject you and give a reason and they might do it. Or, they might not, because perhaps the department gets their admission decisions audited and it might hurt them if they rejected you, a great candidate, and accepted a lesser candidate. 

 

However, your application and the admission decision is private information and you don't have to disclose it to any other agency if you don't want to. If for some reason, you have to demonstrate that the school you actually want to attend was the best one you applied to, then just don't even disclose the fact that you applied to this school.

 

Also, if you need a rejection letter for some non-official reason (e.g. jenste's example of family pressure), you can easily fake a rejection email, or just tell them you got rejected. Some of the places that rejected me just sent me a one line email like 

 

"Dear TakeruK,

 

Unfortunately we could not accept you to _______ because we were only able to admit X out of Y great applications.

 

Best of luck,

 

Prof. X"

[bre333]

Of course there's always another option: someone has claimed to OP that "oh yeah i mean i know i got a rejection letter from [this program], but that's just because i asked them to reject me. it's not a reflection on me," and she's trying to check whether that's even possible. 

[VioletAyame]

Why did we stop with the hilarious suggestions and move on to reasonable advice already? I want more free GradCafe comedy!

[dhg12]

 

 

"Dear TakeruK,

 

Unfortunately we could not accept you to _______ because we were only able to admit X out of Y great applications.

 

Best of luck,

 

Prof. X"

 

You got rejected from Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters? Damn

[TakeruK]

You got rejected from Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters? Damn

 

The memory of opening up that rejection letter haunts me to this very day. I am actually relieved to open my mail to find a bill instead of another stinging rejection letter.

[dhg12]

The memory of opening up that rejection letter haunts me to this very day. I am actually relieved to open my mail to find a bill instead of another stinging rejection letter.

 

Figured Professor X wouldn't want to waste stamps and would just send out rejections telepathically

[roguesenna]

Figured Professor X wouldn't want to waste stamps and would just send out rejections telepathically

 

He's too polite to enter someone's mind without permission.

[kaleisi]

Let's patiently wait and see if the OP is willing to offer an explanation. Maybe there are some extenuating circumstances in this situation that aren't known to us. Just one of many possible scenarios I can think of... ie: family pressuring OP to attend a program and OP wants to show them a rejection letter so they stop pressuring her.

 

Too little is know about the situation for us to jump to conclusions, in my opinion.

 

Pretty much this situation right there. Didn't want it to get too personal.

 

I already got into this amazing program and I totally don't care about that other university.. so I'm wondering if I can email that university and explain my situation for them. I just don't want my application to be *cancelled*.

Edited March 20, 2014 by kaleisi

[Kleene]

Pretty much this situation right there. Didn't want it to get too personal.

 

I already got into this amazing program and I totally don't care about that other university.. so I'm wondering if I can email that university and explain my situation for them. I just don't want my application to be *cancelled*.

I think you can, but I also think you would be better off by calling them. That way you can anticipate on their reaction, explaining and getting them to understand. You will have to elaborate a bit more on your situation than you did in your OP, but you probably figured that.

 

Best of luck and congrats on the acceptance you are happy with!

Edited March 20, 2014 by Kleene

[kaleisi]

I think you can, but I also think you would be better off by calling them. That way you can anticipate on their reaction, explaining and getting them to understand. You will have to elaborate a bit more on your situation than you did in your OP, but you probably figured that.

 

Best of luck and congrats on the acceptance you are happy with!

 

Good idea. I'll do just that. And thank you!

Edited March 20, 2014 by kaleisi

[PsychGradHopeful14]

Ask them to reject you, and I am sure they will.  You just told them you are not interested in going there.  They are not going to admit someone that is not interested in them.  I am sure if you tell them you are not withdrawing your app but are not interested, they will not admit you.

[kaleisi]

Ask them to reject you, and I am sure they will.  You just told them you are not interested in going there.  They are not going to admit someone that is not interested in them.  I am sure if you tell them you are not withdrawing your app but are not interested, they will not admit you.

 

Yeah, I guess I'm just worried they'll just withdraw my application if it's one of those cases where they have to send the request to someone else to reject, etc.

[RomulusAugustulus]

I am still not totally sure I see the point of this. It makes more sense to me to withdraw your application and just tell your family (or whatever your specific situation is) that you got rejected if that is what they need to hear. It honestly seems a little rude to me to call a program to tell them you applied but actually don't care but could they please send you a rejection so you can make your family, who thinks the program is swell, stop pestering you. (Please forgive me if your situation is more complex, but I feel that a graduate program would find this a bit presumptuous). Anyway, like I said earlier, I am sure they would oblige. They certainly don't want you if you don't want them. But it might make it a bit awkward if you ever run into someone from the program in a professional setting.

[bre333]

Very good point. Asking for a rejection, as opposed to withdrawing, may burn some bridges. And word might get out.

[Bio4ever]

What concerns me is why you did not have the balls to tell your family that you did not want to go to that particular school. It makes you look childish. You are an adult now, and should be able to make your own decisions about what you want to do with your life. If you did not want to go to that school, then you never should have applied in the first place. These schools have enough applications to go through and are wasting their time looking at an applicant who doesn't even want to go there.

Frankly, I think you should just wait and see what the university does. If they accept you, just decline it. The faculty from this school will likely never want to collaborate with you if you ask the school to reject you because you only applied to pacify your family. You have to begin to think about your networks.

Edited March 22, 2014 by NickelScent