Accepting scholarship aid and rejecting

[grindian]

Hi all,

 

I needed some advice based on my situation here.

 

Admit situation

School A: Offered me a full tuition ride + stipend, but I need to reply by April 15. Also wasn't my top choice; program is good but not great.

 

School B, C: Prestigious schools with little or no financial aid, but excellent program and future prospects. To fund this, I have applied to third party scholarship agencies. There is a possibility I will get an all expenses paid scholarship that will allow me to get into one of the prestigious schools. But that decision will only come a month later and isn't an assured event, obviously, since others compete for the award as well. If I don't get the external award, I cannot afford grad school.

 

Question

Should I accept school A, and wait for the external award result? If I do that, I will have to reject School A later. The scholarship letter mentions I cannot accept any other offer without a release letter as per the Council of Graduate Schools Resolution. Has anyone been in this situation? How difficult is it? Do schools frown upon acceptance and rejection of fellowships? I don't think the deadline can be extended. I really don't want to steal anyone else's chances at a scholarship but I can't figure out what to do.

 

If I reject school A (which means someone else gets passed on my scholarship), and don't get the external award, I can't attend the other prestigious schools I risked my fully funded education for. I stand to lose it all in this case. 

 

What do you suggest I do? Please help. I'd be really grateful

Edited March 26, 2015 by grindian

[rising_star]

I would accept School A. If you get the external fellowship, then you can ask for a release from your offer.

[grindian]

Would it be considered really unprofessional to do so? Is it a potential career risk?

[rising_star]

It's not unprofessional to ask for a release. But, they also don't have to grant your request.

[grindian]

This means they can deny me one?

[juilletmercredi]

In theory, yes, it means that they can deny you an offer.

 

In practice, a school has little to no reason to deny a release request from a student. No department wants unhappy students.

 

So while it could happen, I think the likelihood is probably low.

[grindian]

So I did the right thing by rejecting the offer instead of stringing them along. Voila, the next day I get an offer of scholarship from my dream school because - guess what - someone else also refused it. Yay! 

[rising_star]

That's awesome, grindian! Congratulations!