Does rejecting an offer of admission affect my future chances at a school?

Graduate School
1

<p>I have been admitted to two different Master's programs and am having a difficult time making a decision. One program has offered me full funding, and one has offered me no funding, though the offer of admission without funding came from a very good program. I think, overall, I would prefer to get my Master's from the program that has offered me full funding, and attempt to reapply to the other program for a PhD, but I am afraid that rejecting the current offer will 'blacklist' me from future admissions. </p>

<p>I would argue that a future application will be stronger, because I will have proven experience with graduate level courses, experience as a graduate assistant, and I will have taken tests they recommend-but-don't-require that I did not take this year. Also, I will mention that the two programs are not in the same field: one is in Applied Mathematics and Statistics, while the other is in Imaging Science (with an emphasis on math). </p>

<p>I guess the bottom line is: Does rejecting an offer of acceptance to a Master's program affect my chances when reapplying for a PhD program?</p>

2

<p>I doubt they remember from cycle to cycle.</p>

3

<p>As long as you do not do something to embed yourself in their memory as a bad apple, you are fine - even top schools get rejections. So just make sure that you stay professional and reject them in a timely and polite fashion and you will be fine.</p>

4

<p>If you’re applying to different programs at the same university, it won’t hurt your chances at all. The admissions committee will probably not even know about it.</p>