<p>What is the protocol here? phonecall, letter, email?</p>
<p>Some schools include a form with the acceptance letter that should be completed and returned if you are declining the offer. Some will also ask you what school you are planning on attending instead. My d even received questionnaires from a few schools several months later as a follow-up survey. </p>
<p>For the schools that did not have a form, she emailed the department as well as the Admissions Office.</p>
<p>My son e-mailed the admissions officer and the head of the MT department at the school he is accepting. He also sent an official letter of acceptance. He also e-mailed a recruiter at Illinois-Weslyan who had been very supportive during the application/audition process. Illinois-Weslyan has one of those form that you return with the "I will not be attending . . ." box checked. We felt that this person had been so good to us that he deserved better than a form with a box checked. We send short "thank-you but no thank-you" letters to both admissions and head of daepartments at the other schools where he was accepted.</p>
<p>Hi</p>
<p>I think every program would apprciate being informed of a student's intentions as soon as possible. Most schools do provide you a protocol to follow if you are accepting - usually that answer is contained in your acceptance notice.</p>
<p>I think the real infomation I have to impart is letting you know how much schools appreciate being informed that you will be declining. First and foremost, most of these schools have a list of candidates anxiously awaiting a letter or phone call that will come after you have declined the spot in the freshman class. So, if nothing else, a timely response on your part makes it easier to administer a program and makes the student who fills the spot you vacated very happy.</p>
<p>When declining, an e-mail, letter, or phone call should be made to the program director. A well worded response, thanking the person for their time spent and interest in you - even, perhaps, mentioning what a difficult decision it was not to attend their institution - is a good idea. </p>
<p>While you might not be attending that particular program, you want to leave them thinking of you in a positive light. The world of MT is very interconnected. It would not be at all unusual that the person who's program you are declining to attend is going to be in position to cast (or not cast) you in a professional show somewhere down the line. When that happens, it is better if that person has positive memories of how gracious you where in declining.</p>