Withdrawing after April 15

[pjh915]

Hi all,

 

I've been accepted at an Econ PhD program and was wondering what the consequences are for withdrawing after accepting the offer after April 15th. I am happy about this school but also have some RA apps pending, and after some soul searching (and tons of advice) I realized I would likely accept any RA offer (with few conditions) over this current school. The problem is that the deadline to commit is fast approaching, and a lot of my RA apps are still under review. If I get an RA gig after committing to this program, would I be able to withdraw, and what are the consequences for doing so?

 

Thanks!

[chateauheart]

For the student, the deadline only really matters when comparing between funded offers. You're not supposed to withdraw from a funded offer to accept another funded offer. But you're allowed to withdraw from a funded offer for any other reason. That's just like starting a week of grad school and dropping out; nothing's stopping you from doing it.

 

You'd be slightly screwing over the program's plan for its cohort size, and they probably won't admit you again if you apply, but otherwise there should be no negative consequences.

[startz]

You may might also want to chat with the faculty who wrote your recommendations

[jjrousseau]

You may might also want to chat with the faculty who wrote your recommendations

 

I'm not sure if this is where @startz was going with this, but in addition to getting advice from your writers generally, you should also keep in mind that they put their name behind you when you applied. If you accept and withdraw, it may not look great for your writers who endorsed you, and you could at least give them the courtesy of discussing your thought process ahead of time to gauge their feeling on this. For example, if they feel you've done wrong by them, they may not be so helpful with letters the second time around. This may not be the case, but probably worth discussing your situation with them to feel things out.

 

On a separate note, one obvious thing is to inform the RA positions of your situation, and request that they let you know where you stand as soon as they can. Even if they aren't able to tell you right away whether you've got the offer, perhaps they can at least be straightforward and tell you whether you're still considered a strong candidate or if instead they currently favor other applicants.

 

Good luck

[mathenomics]

 

On a separate note, one obvious thing is to inform the RA positions of your situation, and request that they let you know where you stand as soon as they can. Even if they aren't able to tell you right away whether you've got the offer, perhaps they can at least be straightforward and tell you whether you're still considered a strong candidate or if instead they currently favor other applicants.

 

 

I second this advice! If you've passed the resume screening and data task, they're usually willing to expedite the process for you. If it's way too early into the recruitment process (ex. you haven't submitted your data task yet), then they'll probably tell you that they can't make the decision now (unless you are an exceptionally strong candidate).