April 15th and commitment question

[mk3475]

Hi, so I'm just freaking out because by tomorrow(4/15) I have to notify whether or not I'll attend the university to which I was accepted. (Master's program)

However, decisions from other schools have not been made and they want me to wait another 2 weeks for it. Frankly, if I get admitted to either of these 2 schools, I would rather attend here.

So I was wondering if I could say I would be attending by tomorrow, wait until the other two results come out, and kindly ask for release for the previous school and attend the other accepted institution. 

 

[cabraloca]

I think you should ask for an extension. Be honest and say what you need. Don't fake-commit to a school if you are thinking of accepting those offers, let them know you need two more weeks.

[rising_star]

Think about it is this way. If you hear no from the other two schools, will you regret having turned down this offer? Are you 100% guaranteed admission to either of the two schools you're waiting on? If the answer to the first question is yes, then you should accept the offer you have. A bird in the hand is better than two in the bush...

[TakeruK]

I agree with @rising_star and also want to point out that any student is free to quit their program at any time, even before starting it.

So, you should not "fake-commit" to any school at any time. However, today, on April 15, you only have one offer and nothing is certain about the other two. There is nothing wrong with committing to this school today because you don't actually have any other offers. It would be wrong to take this offer with the intention of taking another offer that you already have. But at this point, you don't have any other firm plans so you can accept this current offer in good faith.

Then, if something better comes along later on, then there is also nothing wrong* with backing out of your offer and taking something different. (Nothing ethically wrong, but you'll have to be prepared that the people at this school will be unhappy that you quit their program and if you want to apply to PhD programs there, it might make it harder for you).

That said, the better approach would have been to ask for an extension and go with the above plan if they say no. But it's April 15 today, so it is probably too late to ask for an extension (you could try emailing right now though).