How to Decline a College Acceptance Offer-Complete Guide

It’s wise to apply to several schools, not only to give yourself a greater chance of getting accepted but also to permit you to gauge a few choices prior to picking where to go.

One major dilemma college student’s face is when they start receiving acceptance letters from the numerous colleges they’ve applied to. The big questions that locks around is; which college should I decline and how do I do that without sounding arrogant.

Honestly, to some students, it can feel so normal not to send college rejection letter and numerous individuals will tell you it doesn’t make a difference in any case so what’s the point?

While it is true, the facts demonstrate that you don’t have to, courtesy demands to go the additional mile and let them know.

READ ALSO: How to get into an Ivy League school | A complete Guide 2021

Let’s show you the best way to politely decline a college acceptance offer and how to write a college rejection letter without sounding arrogant.

How to Decline a College Acceptance Offer

When you must have received acceptance letters from multiple school, you should put into consideration some facts before making the final decision. This consideration leads to either accepting or declining some schools admission.

The first thing you should consider before making your final decision is to weigh the cost of tuition, cost of living, and what financial ai looks like for each school.

No student would go for school with high tuition especially if they have the choice to choose a less cheap one. Also, schools with financial aid will be of better choice for students with low budget.

The next point is to examine the student’s life and experience at the school. What’s the testimony of the current students or alumni of your potential colleges? Are they worthwhile?

You can reach out to students at your potential colleges to answer how the teaching style of the college or any other specific questions about the day to day experience on the campus. Then check if it corresponds to what you want.

Also, if you have visited every one of your expected universities, check if you like their academic programs, culture, facilities, etc. Would you be able to envision yourself there for the next four years?

How to Politely Decline a College Acceptance Offer

Whenever you’ve chosen not to go to a school that has sent an acceptance offer to you, you’ll have a couple of moves to make to decline your admission appropriately.

Here’s our advice for how to decline a college acceptance politely.

#1. Be Proactive

Once you’ve made your decision the college to choose, don’t celebrate too much forgetting you have other colleges to send rejection letter.

Get straightway to inform the rejected colleges.

Don’t wait for the admissions officer to contact you either by phone call or email asking about your decision.

#2. Be Courteous When You Decline

Being courteous means being polite. Endeavour to be polite when you decline any school, because you might have a future connection with this school.

Also, you will be giving them the impression that you’re grateful for their help throughout the admission process.

Aside from being the courteous thing to do, informing the school also frees up the financial aid that has been reserved for you so that another freshman can benefit from it.

#3. Don’t Burn Bridges

By all means, try not to cut ties, since no one can tell when you may need the help of the individual admission officer or the school.

Understand your ways may cross again — and you need them to see you as someone worthwhile.

Things to Note When Sending out Rejection Letters to Schools You’re Not Accepting

#1. Accept Your Chosen School First

To start with, notify your picked school that you’ll be joining in. You can write or email the admission counsel, showing appreciation for their help as you give them the good news.

Make sure to send in the following during the acceptance process:

• Your acceptance letter
• A deposit
• A separate acceptance letter for financial aid, if required
• Any other required items

#2. Confirm Each School’s Procedures for Rejecting an Offer

When you must have accepted your dream school, then you can go ahead to decline the schools you don’t want.

But, don’t be in a haste to send your letter. Make sure you check the school website to see if there are specific procedures to declining their offer.

Some of the school may have specific instructions on how to decline admission with them.

If the schools don’t have a particular system to do that, then go ahead to send your rejection letter.

The best way to decline an admission offer is by writing. Don’t call them over the phone, you will be burning bridges.

You can send your wring via email or as a letter.

#3. Notify the College You Wish to Decline

The most ideal approach to make your decision known to a school is by utilizing the very channels of communication that you have been using from the beginning.

If the admission office have been communicating with you through, then send your letter through the same channel.

If it has been all phone calls, at that point you might need to settle on a telephone calls to inform them.

The Two Sides of Declining a College Offer

Declining an acceptance letter into college is a painful process, especially when you find a school that you love and it feels like home, but something just won’t work out.

When the school believes that you are not the right candidate, you would want to respect their opinion and simply decline the offer. It’s wise to follow the suggestions given by the admissions team and make sure you write a letter in a manner that is both professional and well-received.

Here are the two most important elements that you should add while writing your rejection letter. Thank You There is nothing more irritating than to send a rejection letter but feel remorseful because you didn’t put enough effort into the process.

Most students will consider adding a touch of thanks to their letter and making it sound genuine.

How to Turn Down a College Offer in Person

If it’s the first time receiving a college rejection letter and you don’t have any unread rejection letters, in which case you have no idea what’s coming, here are three ways to go about turning down the offer: Give an alternative reason for not attending the college.

Let the colleges know you’re happy where you are. If you’re going to a professional school, tell them you can’t attend now but you are going to eventually attend.

Give a statement of other considerations. If you haven’t picked the college yet, tell them that you’ve applied to many others but you haven’t decided which one to attend.

You don’t have to accept any college, but at least give them an idea of why you’re declining. Tell them you have picked another college.

How to Turn Down a College Offer in a Letter

Approach the correspondence as if you are still in high school. When you write a college rejection letter, you have to try to sound as though you are penning it for a certain school. You should strive to be personable and speak about you and your school.

Remember to use words such as ‘Thanks for taking the time to meet with us!’ or ‘It’s been fun getting to know you and hearing about your life at school!’ or even, ‘There’s so much more to you than your SAT scores!

Hope to continue our discussion soon!’ You’ll want to stress that you’re still enjoying yourself at the school you’ve been at and you really appreciate their thinking about you. There’s no point in writing a letter that sounds like a school is still interested in you if they aren’t.

In Conclusion

After you’ve been selected by a school, it may be very difficult to say “NO” to one of them.

Follow this our guide and see the best way to decline a college acceptance offer.