Help!: Accepted offer, then received more generous offer

[brod]

I accepted an original offer a couple weeks ago but then received a VERY generous offer from a school that I'd been wait-listed on.  I'd sort of given up on this second school so did not remove my name from the wait-list.  I would very much like any information as to what might be my options in this situation.  Is it totally unprofessional to contact the original school and explain my new, unexpected situation.  Should I even consider the second offer or does my previous commitment prevent me from accepting any other offers.  Any advice or insight would be very much appreciated.

 

*I've already posted this in the Decision forum but also wanted to post here as the program I'm interested is in English Literature*

[andrewcycs]

It's your life. It may be unprofessional to back out, but you have to do you first!

[apixelrevolt]

I agree with Andrew. If you've already paid an enrollment fee, you might not get that back, but I'd imagine that the better offer will cancel that out. In any case, I'd just explain your situation as nicely as you can to the place where you had already accepted. I see accepting a school's offer as not unlike accepting a job offer. If something better comes up, changing your mind could be awkward, but you've got to do what's best for you.

Plus, you'll be giving the gift of a late and unexpected acceptance to some waitlister out there.

[BookReaderPerson]

does my previous commitment prevent me from accepting any other offers

 

I was reading something on this written by a professor at U of Northern Iowa (here it is: http://www.uni.edu/~gotera/gradapp/results.htm). He says that, no, you shouldn't turn it down. But then he quotes a professor who says basically what the above posters have said.

 

I tend to think that, yeah, this is your life and it's a huge committment. You want to make the best decision. Also, (as the article mentions) the school has a whole line of eager and qualified applicants below you. So it's not like you're really leaving the program or grad director in a bind, especially because it's not April 15 yet. If you were to wait until after April 15 to turn them down, then it might be a problem. So I'd say just do it as soon as possible, so that the school still has time to extend the offer to waitlisted applicants and all that.

 

Anyway, congrats on the new offer!

[Academicat]

I agree with the wise advice posted above. Do what is best for you. It's not like this is a job search where they invested a lot of time and money into recruiting the most qualified candidate. We're graduate students. There are lots of us. Back out of your current program and accept the offer that will afford you better opportunities.

[ComeBackZinc]

Slow down. Is your old school a signatory of the April 15th resolution?

 

https://www.cgsnet.org/april-15-resolution

[apixelrevolt]

Slow down. Is your old school a signatory of the April 15th resolution?

https://www.cgsnet.org/april-15-resolution

How was I unaware that this existed? I just thought the April 15th deadline was a general, tacit agreement. I had no idea there was an actual list of signatories. Thanks for sharing.

It does state, though, that the resolution applies only to offers of financial support and not offers of admission. Not sure if/how that would affect brod's situation.

[brod]

Thanks for all these thoughtful responses.  My school is listed as participating in the April 15th resolution.  I think this tends to favor my situation a bit. The link posted by BookReaderPerson was quite helpful as well.  It seems there is a difference in opinion about how to handle this situation.  I still have quite a bit of thinking to do.  Any other responses or thoughts would still be much appreciated.

[Eigen]

Just because there are signatories doesn't mean it's more than a general, tacit agreement. It's just a formalized general, tacit agreement. 

 

That said, I'd say it depends to some degree on what accepting the offer means. Did you sign something with the school, and that funding won't be able to be given to another applicant? That can happen, depending on how the University is structured. 

 

That said, if you've got an offer that is much better for you, then go for it. You might upset someone, but it's a risk you have to occasionally be willing to take.

[ComeBackZinc]

Whatever you do, you need to make your new school aware of it. Do not, do not, do not break ties with the old program without making the new program aware of what you're doing.

 

Grad school is the beginning of your professional career, and thus your professional relationship. I agree that you should pursue the option that seems best for you, given that it's still earlier than April 15th. But I find it remarkable that so many people writing here have such a breezy attitude about it. You should make every effort not to burn your bridges, for your own professional good, but more importantly, out of professional respect for the old program. You're going to be throwing a real wrench in their plans no matter what. Responding to that by saying "hey, I just gotta do me" is not a mature or reasonable thing to do. 

[readallthethings]

If both schools have signed the April 15th agreement, then you have to ask the first school you accepted to "release" you before you can accept another offer (To the best of my knowledge, that's the 'legal' way to do things). However, as long as you explain to the first school that the other school offered you a better package that will make your life much easier, I don't see why they wouldn't let you go. Also, they should still be able to go into their wait list since it's still before April 15th and someone else could take your place at the first school.

 

Overall, I think at this point it comes down to what is best for you, grad school is a big commitment. Plus, since it's still not April 15th, you're probably not taking a spot from anyone at the first school.