Admissionado
Joined: 30 Nov 2009
Posts: 9221
Given Kudos: 69
Location: Chicago, IL
Schools:Brown University, Harvard Business School
Re: Is it bad to accept an offer, decline, and then reapply later?
[#permalink]
18 Apr 2020, 15:16
Hi ashoosha,
Congrats on your offer of admission! Ultimately, you want to feel confident in whatever decision you're making -- the last thing you want is to be unsure of your choice for a decision as big as enrolling in graduate school. Without knowing more details about your current hesitation, I would say that open and honest communication with the Adcom (as you've pointed out) is far and away the most important piece of the puzzle here. Perhaps they can connect you with a couple of current students who might have shared some of your same questions / doubts prior to enrolling, or perhaps they can give you information about the possibility of moving into a dual-degree track after you enroll (you never know what might or might not be possible until you ask). I think you'll be best-served by trying to get answers to your doubts now, in the next month, one way or the other.
If you do put down a deposit and then renege on your acceptance of the admissions offer, it's not the end of the world (they'll simply offer your spot to someone on the wait list), but it's true that it won't look great if they see your name pop up in the application pool in the very next cycle. Any reapplicant must fill out an additional short answer explaining why they're reapplying and what has changed since the last time they applied. If you don't have a compelling answer to that question, the Adcom is unlikely to look favorably upon your reapplication so soon after you accepted and then turned down their offer.
In short, my advice would be to stick with whatever decision you make when deposit time comes. If you put down a deposit, you should be committing yourself to enrolling this fall. If you don't think you want to enroll this fall, then don't put down a deposit and let someone else take your spot instead while you regroup and figure out the best next steps for you.
Good luck with your decision!
Doris