<p>Here's the situation...</p>
<p>I applied to school a (preferred school) and school b (fall back), and was accepted to both. Both also offered assistantships, but school b's offer was more than twice school a's offer. Unhappily, I accepted school b's offer strictly out of financial need.</p>
<p>April 15 passed...fast forward to mid-July. School A came back with a fellowship offer. This is not a difficult decision; however, I'm required to obtain a written release from my school b commitment before I can accept the fellowship from school a.</p>
<p>I have not done anything unethical IMO, but I'm worried about school b busting my chops and so on. What's the best way to go about getting a release from school b and what kind of scenarios can I expect?</p>
<p>Thanks,</p>
<p>ngatamatoa</p>
<p>I don't know anybody who has gone through this, but it seems as though the school should be okay letting you leave because why would they want to have a student attending their program if the student doesn't want to go? It just doesn't make sense. Just make sure to be honest with them about the entire situation, and hopefully it'll all be fine.</p>
<p>I would first let school A know verbally that you have every intention of accepting their offer, but must first obtain your release from school B. Only then would I contact school B and request the release. They shouldn't really have a big problem with it- sure, they'll say that they're sorry to see you go, they may try to talk you into staying- but if you just sit through that uncomfortable conversation and maintain your stance, they shouldn't really have a problem with givnig you the release. The whole release thing is mainly just to keep people from double-committing.</p>
<p>Hello,</p>
<p>For those of you who may have similar problems, I got it taken care of. I just faxed the department I wanted a release of commitment from and they gave me a release letter without fuss. Just keep after them if you want the release in a hurry.</p>
<p>Thanks all...</p>