General Admissions & OTCAS Accepting and Declining Offers

[OTfromIT]

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If someone gets accepted to their #1 choice school, wouldn't it make sense to rather quickly inform the other schools they haven't heard from that they are removing their application from consideration?
One less application for other schools to process might not be a big deal, but that might mean one extra person gets an acceptance right away/not have to worry about waitlisting.
Maybe it's an ego thing for some, but when I emailed the other schools I was waiting on to remove my app, the admissions people sounded appreciative for the heads-up.

 

[RUNNING_OT]

That's how some people see it. But some have a first choice that may be a little more expensive, so sometimes they consider another school which is why they don't inform other schools until they have their financial aid situated. My friend got into her #1 choice but then got offered a spot at another school that would benefit her more financially. It took her a week to let her #1 choice know she wouldn't be attending there after all. For some people it is an easy decision, but for others it doesn't matter if it is their #1 choice or not, there are other factors that play a role in whether or not they decide to go there or not.

 

[OTfromIT]

I totally agree that there mitigating circumstances in choosing between schools - certainly finances and location are very important, as it was for me, too. I am just referring to people who flippantly post that they did/did not get into a certain school - but it doesn't matter since they weren't going to go there anyway...

 

[Bokonomy]

If someone gets accepted to their #1 choice school, wouldn't it make sense to rather quickly inform the other schools they haven't heard from that they are removing their application from consideration?
One less application for other schools to process might not be a big deal, but that might mean one extra person gets an acceptance right away/not have to worry about waitlisting.
Maybe it's an ego thing for some, but when I emailed the other schools I was waiting on to remove my app, the admissions people sounded appreciative for the heads-up.

I got accepted into my first choice and wasn't sure

I totally agree that there mitigating circumstances in choosing between schools - certainly finances and location are very important, as it was for me, too. I am just referring to people who flippantly post that they did/did not get into a certain school - but it doesn't matter since they weren't going to go there anyway...

I did that, but the schools I were waiting on were closer to home (3 hours w/o tolls/1.5 hours vs. 5+ hours with tolls), and I wanted that option in case I changed my mind and decided that being closer to home was better than the quality of the school. I ended up getting rejected to the other programs anyway, so it made my decision to attend the best of the programs easier.

You have to remember that when someone says,"I wasn't going to attend anyway" there's often a bit of defense mechanisms in play. Maybe they were originally considering it to an extent, but after being rejected, they convinced themselves that this school was a poor fit/made a mistake ("they must have decided it would be a poor fit and I hadn't noticed yet"/"if they made the mistake to not consider my while application, they're shallow anyway"). Healthy average cognitive minds are good at warping things like that, and there's no reason to fault someone for thinking this way. As for those who did get accepted... Surprises come up sometime and if you already paid a good chunk of money, why withdraw if you're not 100% sure?

 

[thebiggestsky]

I withdrew my application from a couple schools for personal reasons; however, a lot of money and time goes into applying. The majority of my OTCAS schools had supplemental applications and essays AND fees (and interviews for some). For the time and effort that goes into it, it's nice to get a response in print.

Edited to say: Even if it *is* kind of an ego thing (if he or she is fortunate to wait for additional acceptances), that's kind of the applicant's prerogative, right?

 

[scubagator87]

Right now I'm just waiting on my paper work to go through at my first choice school. I don't want to give up my spot at my second choice until I'm absolutely sure my seat is secure at my intended school. After that I'll give up my acceptance to number 2 asap!

I would agree that after making a decision it's rude not to tell your other acceptances that you're not attending after all. People are on the wait list that are dying to get in; not fair to keep them waiting longer than necessary (as long as you've got your ducks in a row).