Deferred and then went to another school. Question

[so_masterful]

Last year, i deferred my acceptance to one school and then attended another. This year, i'm thinking of attending the school i deferred and putting my classes on hold at the other.

Questions:

- is this allowed? And if it is, is it considered unethical?

- if doing this is considered unethical, will there be reprecussions for myself? For example, will i be blacklisted from certain schools if they figure this out?

It should be noted that the two programs are essentially for the same degree and program.

[artsy16]

Why do you want to get the same degree in the same field twice? Why not just finish at the first school? Unless you're unhappy there, in which case the second school may allow you to transfer a couple of classes. Only you can find out from both institutions how this will look to them (maybe send from an anonymous email address). It is possible that you could be blacklisted; it all depends on the programs.

[so_masterful]

I obviously dont want to get the same degree twice. But the reason i deferred one school and went to the other is cause i wasnt sure which one i wanted to go to. Now that i spent a semester, i think i might want to go to the one i deferred

[artsy16]

Saying you were thinking of putting your classes at the first school "on hold" implies you were planning to return to that school, so no it wasn't "obvious". But good luck anyway.

[smpalesh]

IMO it is a bad idea.  You're an adult.  You made a decision.  Now stick with that decision and finish your program. 

[MathCat]

If you want to transfer, you shouldn't be putting anything "on hold" at your current institution. Transferring is okay, but you should be honest about the circumstances.

[bsharpe269]

I didn't realize that deferring was an option if you accept somewhere else. I thought that option was typically reserved for medical issues, family issues, etc. Anyway, If you decide to go to the other school then I think you should drop out of your current program, not just put it on hold.

 

What degree are you getting and how much longer do you have to finish? Also, is the situation in your current program really rough or are you looking to move even though things are just fine? I wouldn't transfer unless you have good reasons to.

[Bleep_Bloop]

I didn't realize that deferring was an option if you accept somewhere else.

 

It sounds like OP deferred, then went back on his or her word by accepting another offer after committing to the deferral. If this is the case, it can be a very serious action depending on the type of program. For a masters program this might not matter as much, but if we're talking about PhD programs then this is a big deal. By deferring you're accepting an offer, you've committed to a program. Breaking that contract has serious consequences, both for your reputation in your field and for the programs that you're playing. If this is for a PhD then OP is burning bridges left and right.

[nugget]

I agree with the above. I think you should pick a school and stick with it. This is not considerate of both schools as you are taking up extra spots that could go to someone else and you are not being truthful. In additional, this will not be good for your reputation as a professional.

 

Furthermore, from your perspective alone, it will end up being fairly costly to remain out of the workforce for a couple of extra years by switching back and forth between schools. I think it would also look odd on a resume to complete 2 identical degrees and raise suspicion by a potential employer when they see your school attendance dates on your resume.

 

I think you need to have more confidence in your decision making abilities. Pick the school you think is best and go with it. No one can predict the future. You simply need to make the best decision you can with the information you currently have and trust that things will work out for you in the end.  Good luck.

[juilletmercredi]

^Agreed with the above. You have already done something unethical by accepting an offer, deferring it, and then attending another school in the mean time. Deferring an offer is asking the school to put your acceptance on hold because circumstances prevent you from attending the school in the semester in which you were admitted - family issues, medical problems, occasionally a time-limited but prestigious fellowship like Fulbright. Deferral is not intended for you to leave a program dangling while you try out another one to see which one you like better.

 

If your original program finds out what you did, they could rescind your offer. And yes, although I wouldn't use the term "blacklisted," it can have repercussions for finding a PhD program in the future (if this is an MA, and if that's your goal) and/or employment in academia. You don't want to burn bridges.

 

At this point, that's water under the bridge, so you need to make a decision. You can either tell School A (where you deferred) that you are no longer coming, and release them from holding your spot. Or you can drop out of School B (where you are currently attending) and go to the school that you deferred, and just hope they never find out that you attended a school in the interim.

 

And yes, like @jenste says, you have to make an actual decision - no more of this putting one program on hold so you can try out the other one. You can't do that with jobs or anything else in life - you have to make a decision about which one you want to do, and then stick with that decision.