Protocol for Withdrawing Applications

[walt526]

There are only a few schools left that I would seriously consider over MSU and am contemplating withdrawing my applications from those which I no longer have an interest in hearing from. Other than just sending a brief, polite email to the graduate secretary, is there any other standard protocol that I should follow?

Here's a draft of the email that I was thinking would be appropriate:

Dear XXX,

I am writing to request that my application to your graduate program be withdrawn. Since submitting my application, I have received a very generous offer from another institution that I intended to accept regardless of any possible forthcoming offer from your department. Thank you very much for your time.

Sincerely,

[dsdoodle]

There are only a few schools left that I would seriously consider over MSU and am contemplating withdrawing my applications from those which I no longer have an interest in hearing from. Other than just sending a brief, polite email to the graduate secretary, is there any other standard protocol that I should follow?

Here's a draft of the email that I was thinking would be appropriate:

Dear XXX,

I am writing to request that my application to your graduate program be withdrawn. Since submitting my application, I have received a very generous offer from another institution that I intended to accept regardless of any possible forthcoming offer from your department. Thank you very much for your time.

Sincerely,

I don't see the purpose of withdrawing now though - might as well wait for them to admit/reject you and then just send them an email saying you deny their offer if they offer you. It seems like you may as well wait it out... the next person on the waitlist will get in anyway regardless of whether you reject now or after they get back to you. At least that's what I think.

[wobuffet]

Withdrawals should really be automated, at least for schools that render admissions late relative to others.

I think it'd feel a bit funny to receive an offer and then send off a reply declining it 30 seconds later, so (assuming I'd already decided where to go for sure) I could imagine I might just end up waiting a day after receiving an offer to decline it just so it wouldn't be unseemly. But this would clearly be inefficient.

[tm_guru]

I wouldn't bother walt, send the emails if and when an offer comes, but not until then. You're only going to create more admin work for whoever gets your email, and your name may already have gone on to the graduate school to be notified of admission/rejection anyways...

[saucyapples]

I asked a professor I know, and he agreed, adcoms aren't really equipped to handle withdrawals. Better to wait and say no a day or two after you get any offers.

And I wouldn't bother explaining your reasons, just something along the lines of your first and last sentence. They can figure out why you're withdrawing, you don't need to explain it (this also goes for declining offers from schools that don't have automatic forms).

[good_tea]

Besides, its fun to see your outcome.

[walt526]

After a discussion with a current UCB grad student, I'm pretty much decided that I'm going to decline U Colorado-Boulder.

That leaves MSU ($$$$) and UCI ($$).

Here's where I have left to hear from:
1) Carnegie Mellon: no word, assuming rejection
2) Georgetown: no word--prefer all other alternatives even if funded offer was made
3) U Kentucky: no word--prefer all other alternatives even if funded offer was made
4) U Massachusetts-Amherst: no word--I had forgotten that I had applied
5) U Texas-Austin: no word, assuming unfunded offer at best
6) U Virginia: no word, assuming unfunded offer at best
7) Vanderbilt: no word--prefer all other alternatives even if funded offer was made
8) Washington U-St Louis: no word, assuming rejection



EDIT: Right after I posted, I received a decision from U Arizona: unfunded acceptance. I declined.
EDIT: Forgot about UMass-Amherst

[gatorgrrl]

That's funny - I actually received an email telling me that even though my application is still under review or they haven't gotten to it yet, if I've already decided against them I should let them know ASAP. One less application to have to bother looking at, I guess.

But really, I paid the admissions fee, I want my result, even if it ultimately doesn't matter.

[2pm]

UVA has the occasionally good placement, but mostly on par with MSU. It's probably a higher ranked program than MSU, but the difference isn't worth the funding (particularly relative to cost-of-living).

Unless there have been significant changes to the two programs at UVA and MSU since econphd.net came out, UVA was ranked about 20 spots lower than MSU, so I think you made the right decision not bothering with UVA anymore (and for that matter, if I were you I would do the same and only take funded offers from CMU and WUSTL over MSU)

[hawk30]

After a discussion with a current UCB grad student, I'm pretty much decided that I'm going to decline U Colorado-Boulder.

I'd be interested in your elaboration.

I still have an offer from UCB on the table.