I have applied to a couple of grad schools in Rounds 1 and 2 and have been accepted. I am currently applying to other schools for Round 3.
The problem is that the deposits for the schools I have already been accepted to are due in a week, but I will not have heard back from the other schools.
I don’t want to take a risk by rejecting these offers so I don’t know what I should do. Should I accept these offers and pay the deposits for now as I wait for a decision from the other schools? I have heard that accepting an offer and paying a deposit then changing your mind is frowned upon and you may even get blacklisted by the university, is that true?
Is this a Ph.D. program or a professional program e.g. MBA? If an MBA program they could probably care less and just keep your deposit. If a Ph.D. program faculty often talk to each other.
Consider phoning the school(s) and asking for an extension.
If you do, provide them with a firm date that you will get back to them by.
Example: Schools A & B have said you must respond by 2/15 or lose your spot. You’re still waiting to hear from School C, who’ve said that their results won’t be available until 3/1. You would phone Schools A & B and ask for an extension within just a couple of days after getting the results.
They may say no, but most school will allow this if they feel that you’re taking them seriously.
Another option in this circumstance, is to phone School C to confirm when their results are expected, letting them know you have two other offers on the table but are holding off responding to wait for them. Not as a threat or to imply that you’re in demand, but to make sure you have all of the correct facts to act responsibly to all parties.
How confident do you feel about your list for Round 3?
How happy are you with any of the places that you have been admitted to so far? Pretend that the offers on your table are the only ones you are going to get. Which of those do you like best? If you don’t particularly like any of them, would you prefer to wait a year and apply to a new list instead? Remember that it is perfectly OK for you to just say “Thank’s so much for your kind offer of admission, but my plans have changed for the coming year.”
@happymomof1 I am not very confident about the Round 3 list. That’s why I was thinking about accepting an offer from the previous schools just to be safe. I am actually happy with the offers I have but there’s no harm in trying to go for something better.
I think it’s fine to accept an offer and then tell the school that you have changed your plans. The worst that will happen is that they will keep your deposit. No blacklisting or anything like that.
For masters programs, you’d accept one offer and pay the deposit, to hold your place. If you get into another school, you lose your deposit at school #1, but that’s it. This is commonly done.