Deciding which college or university to attend is a big decision, especially if a student has more than one offer of admission. Once a student makes a decision, he should let each school he will not attend know that he plans to study elsewhere. Not only is this a common courtesy for the schools, but it will give students valuable practice in writing formal communication. Below are important steps in the process of declining a college admissions offer.
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# Know the School's Decline Policy
Typically, in a college acceptance packet, there is an acceptance letter, an intent form, and information about the school geared toward new students. Most often this intent form is non-binding and must be submitted with an admissions deposit for, say, $200, to reserve a space in the class.
There will usually be a deadline by which a student must make a final decision about which college to attend; typically this date is May 1st. Some schools with rolling admission do not require a final decision by then, but will use that date as a deadline to request a refund on an admissions deposit (thereby declining the offer of admission).
[b]# Contact the School via Phone or Email With Questions About the Decline Procedure[/b]
If, after reading through the acceptance packet, there are still any questions about the college's decline policy, a student should contact the admissions office via phone or email. It's acceptable just to ask, "I'm going to be attending another school. What do I need to do to decline my offer of admission?"
Be sure to thank whoever answers the phone, or thank the admissions office in general for their time and consideration if the email address is just "admissions (at) schoolname." Then get to work on writing the actual decline letter (or, in some cases, decline email, which is acceptable at some schools).
[b]# Decline the Admissions Offer in Writing[/b]
Send the school a letter, mailed or faxed. Alternatively, send an email if that is sufficient. Below is a simple, polite sample letter declining an admissions offer:
Dear (Name of Director of Admissions),
After much deliberation, I wish to decline my offer of admission to (Name of University Declining). I will be attending (Name of University Actually Attending) in Fall 2010. I appreciate being offered the opportunity to attend (Name of University Declining). Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
(Student's Full Name)
[b]# Additional Tips to Remember When Declining an Offer of Admission[/b]
Here is some additional advice for saying "no" to a college offer:
- Be polite! Don't just say, "Hey this is So-and-So and I want to decline my offer of admission."
- Be coherent! Check spelling and grammar. If there are spelling and grammar mistakes in a decline letter, those who read it will probably think, "good riddance!"
- Don't be afraid to ask questions. The school won't get angry with a student for declining an offer; admissions counselors understand it's a difficult decision!
- It's okay to ask about the time frame for getting an admissions deposit refund.
- Don't feel guilty for declining a school's offer!
Once a student knows which school she will be attending, that student should make sure that the other schools to which she was accepted know what her plans are. Knowing what a school's decline policy is, following up with the school with additional questions, declining an admissions offer in writing, and thanking the school for their offer of admission are all important steps in the college process.
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