Accepting offer later than 15th Aprol

Forum for the GRE subject test in mathematics.
Post Reply
karlweierstrass
Posts: 31
Joined: Thu Feb 27, 2020 1:15 pm

Accepting offer later than 15th Aprol

Post by karlweierstrass » Sun Apr 11, 2021 6:33 am

Hi all!

I hope you guys have already decided on your school and not left stranded like me.

I have gotten into my third preferred program, say X and as per the standard offer, I have to decide whether to accept or reject by 15th April.

Unfortunately, I'm waitlisted at two top 20 schools say Y and Z. Their programs are quite better than X's. Y will release their waitlist decisions after 15th April and Z at the end of this month. I would reject X's offer in a blink if I get accepted to either Y or Z. But as there is no guarantee of getting in, I also cannot be overambitious and wait for something that might not happen.

Do you think it is a good idea to inform people at X about this situation? Could I ask for an extension for accepting their offer?

Finally, going out on a limb, if X does not give me an extension, can I accept their offer and then reject it later if I get into Y or Z?

I would really appreciate any suggestions.

Thanks!

Cyclicduck
Posts: 105
Joined: Sun Apr 14, 2019 9:55 pm

Re: Accepting offer later than 15th Aprol

Post by Cyclicduck » Sun Apr 11, 2021 11:37 pm

I don't think an extension will be granted. If I were you, I would accept X. If you get into Y or Z, you can accept them then.

karlweierstrass
Posts: 31
Joined: Thu Feb 27, 2020 1:15 pm

Re: Accepting offer later than 15th Aprol

Post by karlweierstrass » Mon Apr 12, 2021 12:12 am

Cyclicduck wrote:
Sun Apr 11, 2021 11:37 pm
I don't think an extension will be granted. If I were you, I would accept X. If you get into Y or Z, you can accept them then.
Will this have any consequences? I think it is not a common practice to accept an offer and then reject it, that too, at the end of April. This surely depletes X's resources and wastes their funding, not to mention their class size drops by one.

Would they look down on me, possibly blacklisting me or something for the future? Does it affect one's career at X or other places?

Moreover, is the offer legally binding, i.e., can I actually even reject an offer after accepting it?

Thank you!

lebesgueboy98
Posts: 35
Joined: Wed Jul 29, 2020 6:12 pm

Re: Accepting offer later than 15th Aprol

Post by lebesgueboy98 » Mon Apr 12, 2021 8:56 am

karlweierstrass wrote:
Mon Apr 12, 2021 12:12 am
Cyclicduck wrote:
Sun Apr 11, 2021 11:37 pm
I don't think an extension will be granted. If I were you, I would accept X. If you get into Y or Z, you can accept them then.
Will this have any consequences? I think it is not a common practice to accept an offer and then reject it, that too, at the end of April. This surely depletes X's resources and wastes their funding, not to mention their class size drops by one.

Would they look down on me, possibly blacklisting me or something for the future? Does it affect one's career at X or other places?

Moreover, is the offer legally binding, i.e., can I actually even reject an offer after accepting it?

Thank you!
I think you’re overthinking this slightly. People do this more than you’d think, actually. Accept the offer to secure a spot, then back out if you get into another program. You don’t actually have to tell them any reason.

herzog
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed Mar 24, 2021 6:55 pm

Re: Accepting offer later than 15th Aprol

Post by herzog » Mon Apr 12, 2021 9:57 am

karlweierstrass wrote:
Mon Apr 12, 2021 12:12 am
Cyclicduck wrote:
Sun Apr 11, 2021 11:37 pm
I don't think an extension will be granted. If I were you, I would accept X. If you get into Y or Z, you can accept them then.
Will this have any consequences? I think it is not a common practice to accept an offer and then reject it, that too, at the end of April. This surely depletes X's resources and wastes their funding, not to mention their class size drops by one.

Would they look down on me, possibly blacklisting me or something for the future? Does it affect one's career at X or other places?

Moreover, is the offer legally binding, i.e., can I actually even reject an offer after accepting it?

Thank you!
If one graduate student leaving "depletes [their] resources", then it must be an exceptionally bad program. People do drop out of PhD programs every year, and this has overall no effect on a program. In reality, they won't not care, and likely won't remember your name after a week (let alone "blacklist" you, whatever you could possibly mean by that). The main reason you should decline by the 15th is because you will be helping someone else out who is on the waitlist.



Post Reply