Turning down an offer between professors who know each other

[andrestoga]

Hi,

 

I'm going to turn down an offer of a professor of school 'x' who knows the other professor of school 'y' that I'm going to accept his offer. They normally collaborate in projects, they have the same nationality, school 'y' and school 'x' are about 2 hours of distance and they also studied in the same school.

 

Should I notify professor of school 'x' about my decision to decline my offer or just decline it on the system? if so, what should I write? can you give some suggestions/advices please?

 

Best,

[have2thinkboutit]

I would definitely let professor 'x' know about your decision, simply because it is polite and will show your respect to him/her. S/he knows that you are likely to have more than one offer but that you can obviously only accept one. As s/he is collaborating with your preferred professor s/he surely has a high opinion if his work and will be happy for you to work with this other person. 

Also, as these two are collaborating chances are you will meet him/her eventually and, perhaps, even work with him/her! Writing this message will surely be seen as considerate and professor 'x' will probably appreciate the gesture. 

As for what you could say - just be honest and tell them that another program is the better overall fit for you at this point in time, but thank him/her for their consideration. If you have spoken to professor 'x' before, you can obviously be a bit more open and personal about the situation.

Congrats to having several offers!

[rising_star]

Let them both know, since they'll find out either way. I did something similar when I chose a PhD program, except that it also happened at a national conference so I got to tell basically all my POIs in person, and have them rib one another about it right in front of me. Be polite, express your desire to collaborate in the future, and you'll be fine.

[andrestoga]

I would definitely let professor 'x' know about your decision, simply because it is polite and will show your respect to him/her. S/he knows that you are likely to have more than one offer but that you can obviously only accept one. As s/he is collaborating with your preferred professor s/he surely has a high opinion if his work and will be happy for you to work with this other person. 

Also, as these two are collaborating chances are you will meet him/her eventually and, perhaps, even work with him/her! Writing this message will surely be seen as considerate and professor 'x' will probably appreciate the gesture. 

As for what you could say - just be honest and tell them that another program is the better overall fit for you at this point in time, but thank him/her for their consideration. If you have spoken to professor 'x' before, you can obviously be a bit more open and personal about the situation.

Congrats to having several offers!

 

Thank you very much! A great suggestion indeed! 

 

Let them both know, since they'll find out either way. I did something similar when I chose a PhD program, except that it also happened at a national conference so I got to tell basically all my POIs in person, and have them rib one another about it right in front of me. Be polite, express your desire to collaborate in the future, and you'll be fine.

 

Wow! I can't imagine that situation! so, are you saying that when I notify professor 'x' I should also notify 'y' that I turned down professor 'x'?

 

Best,

[GeoDUDE!]

fwiw, I think you are over thinking this. Colleagues compete over students all the time. This is academia.  No need to walk on eggshells.

[rising_star]

Wow! I can't imagine that situation! so, are you saying that when I notify professor 'x' I should also notify 'y' that I turned down professor 'x'?

 

No, I'm definitely not saying that. I'm saying you can tell X that you turned them down for Y. Tell Y that you've accepted the offer and are excited about it. Y doesn't need to know who you turned down.