Deciding Whether to Defer Enrollment or Deny Acceptance to Graduate School
Students accepted to graduate school may come to a crossroads in their academic career and need to withdraw their acceptance or defer enrollment.
This can happen for any number of reasons, such as financial difficulties, a health crisis or difficulty obtaining a visa in time (for an international student).
If you accepted admission and need to withdraw it, it’s important to notify the graduate admissions office right away and it is appropriate to inform the degree program that admitted you, experts say.
“Every institution operates a little differently, so it may be the program that admitted you, the graduate school or a central graduate admissions office,” says Suzanne T. Ortega, president of the Council of Graduate Schools. Even if you aren’t sure whether you will try to attend the school in the future, she says, “it is still courteous to let them know in case you do decide to reapply later, and because sometimes there are waitlists for other students who are waiting for an open spot.”