How to Decline a Graduate School Offer

Tara Kuther, Ph.D., is a professor at Western Connecticut State University. She specializes in professional development for undergraduate and graduate students.

If you were accepted to a school you no longer wish to attend, consider writing a graduate school rejection letter. Perhaps it was not your first choice, or you found a better fit. There's nothing wrong with declining the offer—it happens frequently. Just make sure to take action and be prompt in your response. Below are tips on how to decline a grad school offer.

Declining a Grad School Offer

Here are a few things to keep in mind when you decline a grad school offer:

• Respond soon: Once you know the school is out, do not delay. Once you give up your spot, it may open up for someone else who wants to attend that college or university. Plus, it looks bad not to respond at all—especially because the admissions committee devoted their time to evaluating your credentials.
• Keep it short: You don't owe the university or college an explanation; just politely and briefly decline the offer (see the template below for wording ideas).
• Say thank you: Thank the admissions committee for their time. You never know when you may encounter one of the members during your career.
• Don't disclose more than you need to: You are not responsible for telling the school which college or university you will attend. They may ask, but likely not.
• Check it off: You may not need to write a letter at all—some universities and colleges let you check a box declining their offer or do it with a few clicks online.

Thanks, But No Thanks

After you carefully consider your options and know you will decline the offer, how should you word it? Responding with a short grad school rejection letter will do. This can be an email or a printed letter.

Try something along the lines of the following:

Dear Dr. Smith (or Admissions Committee):

I am writing in response to your offer of admission to the Clinical Psychology program at Graduate University. I appreciate your interest in me, but I regret to inform you that I will not be accepting your offer of admission. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Rebecca R. Student

Remember to be polite. Academia is a very small world. You likely will encounter faculty and students from that program sometime during your career. If your message declining the offer of admission is rude, you may be remembered for the wrong reasons.

Kuther, Tara, Ph.D. "How to Decline a Graduate School Offer." ThoughtCo, Sep. 6, 2024, thoughtco.com/sample-email-declining-graduate-program-admission-1685886. Kuther, Tara, Ph.D. (2024, September 6). How to Decline a Graduate School Offer. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/sample-email-declining-graduate-program-admission-1685886 Kuther, Tara, Ph.D. "How to Decline a Graduate School Offer." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/sample-email-declining-graduate-program-admission-1685886 (accessed September 9, 2024).

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