<p>While it's not mandatory, what is the best way to decline an acceptance offer? Some of it can be done on the college's portal, but what about schools that don't offer that option? I've searched their websites, but can't find any information. Will email suffice or should it be an actual letter?</p>
<p>If there is no formal way on-line then an email should be fine. Many students never decline and just let the enrollment day pass - I think that is rude. You should reply.</p>
<p>If you got a paper acceptance letter there is often a postcard to fill out and send in. Failing that an email is sufficient. There is no need to get out the fancy stationery and write a formal letter - at this point colleges are trying to manage their numbers and see if they need to go to their waiting list.</p>
<p>Yes, an email is good. And don’t take for granted that the Financial Aid office is talking to the Admissions Office. If you have received an offer with scholarships attached, also contact Financial Aid, or the Alumni Office, or wherever the scholarship came from and decline that as well. We notified a college that D2 would not be attending via email and assumed (wrongly) that all channels would be covered. They were NOT and I felt so bad. Live and learn.</p>
<p>D went on line to find out how to decline a school and found nothing. She found instructions on each of the other schools she was contacting. She then called the admissions office and was told the person she needed to talk to was out of the office til Monday (this was the previous Tuesday, I would have thought that this season for admissions is a bit like Christmas for a retail manager). Finally she just e-mailed them. In the mean time we kept getting a good bit of university swag from this university.</p>
<p>I insisted my D let the schools who offered scholarships know right away so they could allocate the money elsewhere. Most of the schools had instructions on their websites or cards to return in the mail but one school wasn’t so clear about how to decline their offer so D emailed the dean of admissions.</p>
<p>muf, that’s what we did too! But the admissions office did not notify financial aid. 
I hope they were able to re-allocate the scholarship.</p>
<p>I agree with a polite decline of acceptance . I know that admissions don’t take it personally , but it makes it easier and hopefully quicker for a waitlisted student ( who might really want to go there ) to get the news they are hoping for</p>
<p>It’s done through the college advisor’s office. I think they send out generic postcards. Works for me.</p>
<p>D1 emailed them to thank them for the offer and let them know she was declining the offer. Most of adcoms replied to thank her for emailing them, wish her best of luck and let them know if her plan should change later. </p>
<p>When D2 was accepted her ED school, she also emailed EA/RD schools right away to withdraw her applications.</p>
<p>When my d’s went through this process, every acceptance packet contained either a postcard or a response letter to send back either accepting with deposit or declining. Many also asked if declining, where the student would be attending. This really helps the adcoms to see if there are any unusual competing schools that might not be on their immediate radar.</p>
<p>The schools that accepted my children did not instruct them as to how to decline (wonder why?), so they mailed letters to the admissions directors. They talked about how much they enjoyed their time on campus and were honored to be accepted but that they had decided to attend another university.</p>
<p>Only 1 of D2’s 5 schools she was accepted to had any formal way to notify them she was going elsewhere. For the other 3 she turned down, she spent time searching their websites to no avail. Finally she called. One said “um, I guess you can go onto the student portal and withdraw your application” while the other two said to just email the general admissions address.</p>
<p>When my kids got in ED and emailed the other schools they had applied to in order to withdraw, they asked for a confirmation email back. That way, they had a complete trail that they had withdrawn all other apps in case the ED college were to inquire. Long shot, of course, but better safe than sorry.</p>