<p>I'm supposed to visit a grad school in a few days. They have already booked my hotel room (shared with another student) and bought airline tickets. </p>
<p>The problem is, I'm pretty sure I don't want to go there now. If I get an acceptance from another school (I'll call it school A), by the day I have to leave, I really don't want to go. </p>
<p>Is it okay if I cancel this late? Should I go and pretend even though I have no desire to attend this school?</p>
<p>The visit might surprise you and give you reasons to want to attend.</p>
<p>You may regret it later.</p>
<p>Pretend…Academia is a small world.</p>
<p>I second Oyama’s post. School visits are a very important part of finding the right ‘fit’; programs often turn out to be quite different than one may have expected based on the program’s website or other materials.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input so far. I just wanted to add that through personal reasons that I won’t go into, there is a 99.9% chance I will not attend this program no matter how much I like it. It will be my 7th interview and I am behind in class. I really don’t want to go.</p>
<p>In that case you should probably contact the administrator at the program and explain your situation. If you are 99.9% sure you won’t be attending the program then there is no need to waste your time, their time, and their money on a visit. As long as you are cordial then this cancellation shouldn’t burn any bridges.</p>
<p>if it’s already paid for, i’d say suck it up and go. you’re a big boy/girl, smile and shake hands and tell them you’re interested in their work. being behind in a class isn’t a big deal right now because grad schools are making their admissions decisions without knowing your final semester’s grades. unless you’re struggling in this class and going to fail it (and i mean fail, not get a B or something), then doing poorly won’t hurt you in any way. a school won’t rescind their offer of admission to you because you did badly in a course in the second semester of the last year of your undergraduate degree.</p>
<p>also, what if school A rejects you? will that change how you feel about this particular school? would it increase the likelihood of you going there? because if you cancel your visit after making all the arrangements and then eventually decide to take their offer, things might be awkward. it’s bought and paid for already, just go.</p>
<p>Even though all the arrangements have already been made, the school would still spend more money on him if he did go. Also, they might be able to cancel or get partial refunds on some of the travel reservations.</p>
<p>Although I would agree that if there is any measurable chance that you might change your mind and decide to go to this program, then you should definitely visit. Only cancel if you are, as you said, 99.9% sure that you won’t be attending, and you’re also 99.9% sure you won’t change your mind before the 15th.</p>