<p>I applied to a rolling decision school, a safety that I’m still pretty fond of, not knowing that I’d receive a decision much earlier than normal. I was accepted and unsure of what to do, so rather than lose my spot and risk getting stuck without a school, I accepted. Now I just received an acceptance from a school that was tied for my first choice, and I am THRILLED!! I am definitely going there, so how should I politely tell my safety that I really can’t go, even though I accepted. It is a VERY small school (around 1,000), so I already know some of the people in admissions by name and they know me. This may sound cheesy and/or egotistical, but I don’t want to hurt their feelings or insult them in any way. They are a GREAT school, but the one that I was just accepted to is a much better match and was that school that made me literally SHRIEK when I received the decision!</p>
<p>Any advice on how to nicely and tactfully tell the safety that I need to back out? I feel really pathetic since I already accepted and sent in the housing survey and everything, but I’m not going to miss out on my first choice lol.</p>
<p>Send a letter (not an e-mail) to the admissions office, perhaps to one of the people you know by name. State that, while College X is a wonderful place and you were looking forward to it, your plans have changed and you will not be able to attend the school. Thank them for their kindness and assistance and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Do not in any way denigrate the school.</p>
<p>It is wonderful that you want to handle this in a polite way…remember, these are people that have seen it all…from getting yelled at by parents, to kids just not showing up at all, though they said they would</p>
<p>So a nice, simple letter is the thing to do. It doesn’t have to be long.</p>
<p>Know, if there was a particular person who worked in your behalf, a short little hadnwritten thank you would also be nice</p>
<p>Dear Ben, I just wanted to let you know my plans have changed, and I will not be attending XYZ…It is an amazing place and I am so grateful for all your help.</p>
<p>Agreed…write a nice short letter as above. When DD did that with her second choice school, she got a very nice letter from the admissions dean telling her they would hold her acceptance for one year in the event she changed her mind. Nice often nets nice.</p>
<p>agree with the others. btw: do NOT say: I am going somewhere else because it is “much better.” You don’t have to give a reason, and you don’t have to say where you are going instead.</p>
<p>Hi all! Thanks so much for the congratulations and luck! I will write a short letter, as suggested. And thanks for the compliments! I can’t imagine that someone just wouldn’t show up without letting the admissions office know. Part of the reason I feel sorry is that I realize that they may have already started arranging rooming plans, etc., and I’m sure that all of that takes some consideration and much time (and, thus, pre-planning). I suppose, though, that the roommates of some of those who bailed out last minute would be pleased with their new single rooms lol.</p>
<p>It is snowing a lot here, so as soon as it is safe (maybe tomorrow or saturday?) I will drive out to fedex to have it sent.</p>
<p>Ah, well, the reason I prefer Fedex (ground, not overnight) for important documents is that I can track what I’ve sent and ensure that it arrived. I have had A LOT of problems with my mail lately, so I don’t want to unintentionally leave them hanging either. :)</p>
<p>Certified mail with the tracking number is ~30 cents more for a letter. Don’t waste your time FedEx. Also, write down the date you sent it, and follow up ~3 weeks later (they’re processing so much right now).
As for the letter, a simple “I have chosen not to accept your admission offer and would like to have it withdrawn”. I did a two liner to the schools I turned down, simply saying that I won’t be coming because I’m planning to attend ____. You can also say “While your school is excellent and I was proud to be accepted, I have found a school that will allow me to reach my best potential as a person and a student” and thank some of the people who have helped you. But, don’t fret about putting on a bad image to the school when rejecting them, it’s really not a big deal at all, they’ll see the “I don’t want to attend” and file the letter with your app and put it elsewhere in a “not attending” pile, or throw it all out right then. Sad, but true, you’ll be forgotten within a week as others are accepted and decide to attend. No biggie.</p>
<p>Honestly, I wouldn’t reject the school though.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice on the certified mail! I’ll do that instead!</p>
<p>Shoebox, I’m not sure I understand what you mean. You wouldn’t reject the school? You would take it, even if you were then accepted to one you like better?</p>
<p>The format that shoebox suggested is more appropriate for declining admissions that you haven’t yet accepted. (And is the polite thing to do.) You, however, have already sent in your deposit and said, “I’m coming.” Thus, you simply need to say that your plans have changed. </p>
<p>Oh, and be prepared to lose the money you’ve put down. Unless the school has specifically said it’s refundable, it’s not.</p>
<p>My daughter faced this last year. She wrote to the Dean of the particular school to which she had been accepted (journalism) thanking him very much for the opportunity he had given her, but explaining that she had another opportunity which would allow her the chance to experience, and live in, a different part of the country (East Coast) than she had grown up in (Midwest), and that she had decided to do so rather than staying closer to home. She got a very nice reply. Try, if you can, to stress some different part of the experience at the place you are choosing (location, size, etc.) which cannot be duplicated by the rejected school.</p>
<p>Yeah I like FedEx too especially for international mail. I sent a package thru USPS overseas, and they lost it. I sent a package thru FedEx and I realized that I made a mistake on the address. They immediately fixed it, and had an agent assigned to my package to track it from door to door. Not to mention the package got there 3 days early. FedEx is easily worth the premium.</p>
<p>Private enterprise vs. Government. There’s no comparison.</p>
<p>RAIL - a nice note of regret to the already accepted school is the prudent thing to do - this is not uncommon to have happen - so they should be gracious back to you. If you have already sent them a deposit - you will have to inquire on how - if possible - that deposit(s) can be returned to you (find out what you have to do to get deposit back if possible - then follow-thru). You should also send a note/email to the housing department as well - if your dorm/roomie survey went to a different person/department</p>
<p>As far as housing and room-mates - they haven’t even started that part yet - so you really don’t have to worry about messing anything up.</p>
<p>I didn’t feel comfortable talking about the benefits the other school over them (as I said, I still think that they are a great school with a great program, and I never want to “put them down”). My letter basically said:</p>
<p>Dear X person in admissions,</p>
<p>I am writing this to tell you that, while Y college and its students are wonderful, my plans have changed and I will be unable to attend. Y is an amazing college, and I greatly appreciate all of your help and kindness. I am truly sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.</p>
<p>Thank you again, and I hope that your holidays are filled with happiness.</p>
<p>Best Wishes,
Me</p>
<p>QUESTION: </p>
<p>My letter should arrive monday morning, so should I send a follow-up email saying something like: Hi X, I’m just emailing to follow up on my letter, which should have arrived this morning. Again, I am very sorry for any trouble this may have caused. Thank you again for all of your help. I’m sorry that I won’t have the opportunity to get to know you, Z, and the rest of Y college better. Sincerely, Me.</p>
<p>??</p>
<p>My deposit was unfortunately non-refundable. A small price to pay for my first choice school, but, yeah, that $200 would have been nice lol.</p>
<p>Thank again, and if anyone has any input on the follow-up email, that would be great!</p>
Good luck tho at the school you have chosen.</p>