Accepting and then rejecting a graduate school offer?

[manuella56]

I received a written acceptance into a graduate program, but it wants me to accept it via online within three weeks although the master's program starts in the summer of next year. I am still in the process of applying to master's programs though. But such decisions from other schools will definitely be past this three week offer the first institution has given me - so is it okay to accept the offer for now and then decline if I find that I'd rather go somewhere else later on? This is for Canadian schools in Ontario. Can other schools I'm still applying to see that I accepted an offer elsewhere?

[TakeruK]

Can you write to this Canadian school and ask them for more time?

My experience with Canadian schools (I'm Canadian) is that most of them do not follow the US convention of giving all students until April 15. Since it's much more like hiring for a job, admissions may even be "rolling" even if the application doesn't say so and has a deadline. That is, often the case is that when an application comes in, a committee reviews it to ensure it is good enough for the department minimums. Then, applications are passed to all profs and anyone who wants to fund you can make an offer.

So, in reality, it's rare that the deadline is so firm that you must accept in 3 weeks. You should ask them about the possibility of having more time. In practice, what probably happens is that they want to give you 3 weeks where you have right of first refusal on this position. The time limit may just be in place so that if they do find another good candidate later, they might want to make another offer. So, if you ask for an extension, one potential response may be "Sure, you can reply after 3 weeks but the position may be filled by then."

However, if this isn't your first choice school and you're willing to take the risk that the offer may not exist later on, then you may want to keep your options open still instead of committing. Like any job search process, you always have to weigh "offers in hand" vs potential offers that may come up.

One other Q: you say this is for a program that starts next summer? That's not a usual start time and that might be why there's an earlier deadline. Are the other places you're applying to also summer starts or Fall 2018 starts? If it's Fall, then it's unlikely this program will keep your spot open long enough to hear back from programs in a completely different season!

Is it okay to accept and decline later? Depends what you mean by "okay". Unless you signed a contract or paid a deposit, there isn't any legal or financial consequences to declining later (you may just lose your deposit if you did decline). However, the department will likely have committed funds to you and declining later will mean they may not be able to get another student. You could likely make them very upset. Especially since this is a Canadian Masters program, where you probably have funding and such (I'd give different advice for an unfunded US masters), I think this would be a very bad idea. If you are planning on continuing in this field, most academic communities in Canada are small so they might remember you and begrudge you for it.

So, if the other options are Fall 2018 then you really should choose between this current offer or the potential of others. If the other programs are also Summer 2018 and will get back to you soon, then try asking for more time to think and hear back from other places and see what happens.

Finally, to respond to your last Q: No, schools should not have automatic access and know where else you have applied or accepted. However, people can know people in other dept and since people are humans, they may talk and gossip.