Can we accept an offer and then later decline it?

[sighsdeeply]

Hi. I hope you all can give me some advice. I have received an amazing offer from one of my top choice programs, let's call it A. Literally at any other time, I'd have jumped at the bit to accept it and I would be very happy to go there. But the university I consider my dream school has emailed me that I'm very high on their final post-interview consideration list and they will let me know soon, let's say they're B. University A has told me to indicate accept or decline of their offer within 15 days. I have waited 2 weeks for University B and they say they are still considering applications and that I will know within a week. Can I enroll at A now and then later back out if B works out? Or are enrollments binding? Please help!

ETA: They have stated that I just indicate preliminary acceptance on their website, but that the admission is only official when I make the deposit and sign the offer letter before April 15th.

Edited March 8, 2016 by sighsdeeply

[fencergirl]

Ah, so you've already waited 14 of the 15 days then?? That is tricky... You probably should have asked have for an extension from school B earlier. Perhaps you can call them and ask now though? Say you are waiting to hear from another school and want to consider all your options, and you thought you would have heard by now but you haven't, or something like that? That still seems preferable to accepting an offer and then later backing out.

Accepting an offer from one school and then turning it down later is very bad form (and will reflect badly and you and maybe even your letter writers) and should be avoided if at all possible. On the other hand, this is a pretty tricky situation considering B is your dream school and they say you are high on the list. Maybe some more experienced people can weigh in. Good luck!

[sighsdeeply]

Thank you! I considered asking for an extension, but as I say, the B program is a dream school, and frankly a "reach" place for me, hence the highest likelihood is I get rejected there and will end up going to A. I did not want to make it seem as though A is a second choice.  I have already declined two other offers I definitely did not plan to take up, but this one is a etiquette back and forth. Thanks for the reply!

 

[TakeruK]

Don't accept the offer and decline it. Just ask for more time to think about it. You don't have to mention the other school. If they say no, then do the preliminary acceptance thing but don't pay the deposit and "officially" sign the letter before April 15. Backing out after the preliminary acceptance is still bad form, for the reasons fencergirl stated but if you don't have any other choice, then you gotta do what you gotta do! But try for an extension first. Don't worry about the "second choice" thing, no one will be offended that they are not automatically your first choice.

[historicallinguist]

On March 8, 2016 at 1:33 AM, sighsdeeply said:

Hi. I hope you all can give me some advice. I have received an amazing offer from one of my top choice programs, let's call it A. Literally at any other time, I'd have jumped at the bit to accept it and I would be very happy to go there. But the university I consider my dream school has emailed me that I'm very high on their final post-interview consideration list and they will let me know soon, let's say they're B. University A has told me to indicate accept or decline of their offer within 15 days. I have waited 2 weeks for University B and they say they are still considering applications and that I will know within a week. Can I enroll at A now and then later back out if B works out? Or are enrollments binding? Please help!

ETA: They have stated that I just indicate preliminary acceptance on their website, but that the admission is only official when I make the deposit and sign the offer letter before April 15th.

Technically speaking, Yes. You can always accept an offer and then get out of it in various ways (without violating your own promise/contract). For example, you can withdraw during the summer by not registering classes in the online registration system for the fall. Technically speaking, if you withdraw, you are nothing violating your TA contract/Fellowship contract, because one of the conditions on your TA contract/Fellowship contract should be something like "you got to register enough credits in order to receive the funding in a certain semester". Because you are unable to fulfill this condition (by not registering for class on purpose), you can automatically get out of the offer that you accepted.

But this trick will make you leave a very bad impression to the faculty members in School A (maybe you will make the people who accepted you quite angry). I would suggest you to use this trick only if you are sure that you are not going to need something in the future from the profs in School A. So, use it with caution!

 

 

 

[historicallinguist]

On March 8, 2016 at 2:04 AM, fencergirl said:

Ah, so you've already waited 14 of the 15 days then?? That is tricky... You probably should have asked have for an extension from school B earlier. Perhaps you can call them and ask now though? Say you are waiting to hear from another school and want to consider all your options, and you thought you would have heard by now but you haven't, or something like that? That still seems preferable to accepting an offer and then later backing out.

Accepting an offer from one school and then turning it down later is very bad form (and will reflect badly and you and maybe even your letter writers) and should be avoided if at all possible. On the other hand, this is a pretty tricky situation considering B is your dream school and they say you are high on the list. Maybe some more experienced people can weigh in. Good luck!

Not backing out DE JURE, but back out DE FACTO. Just not register for fall classes. Then, the original poster can automatically get out of the offer he/she accepted, without violating the binding contract of TAship/Fellowship (by not satisfying on purpose one of the essential conditions of the contract)

[Need Coffee in an IV]

Yeah you can back out! Tbh I would just take the other offer since you like the school and the money is good. That's just me though. Good luck!