The season of yes or no
Dear Professor Shellie,
Thank you for your time and effort during the application process. I received offers from your university and Highest-Ranked Super-Famous University. It was a very hard decision as these are both excellent universities. At Highest-Ranked Super-Famous University, I was offered a project with Extremely Famous Tenured Full Professor to study Hottest Topic Ever. After giving it careful thought, I have decided to go to Highest-Ranked Super-Famous University.
Best wishes,
Formerly-Prospective Student
Dear Formerly-Prospective Student,
I am shocked, absolutely shocked that you chose a position with Extremely Famous Tenured Full Professor at Highest-Ranked Super-Famous University over the RA position I offered you in my group! Where is your sense of vision?! Just wait until my lab takes over the world.
Best wishes,
Prof. Shellie
As a senior (first semester) undergrad who will be applying to grad school next year, I am curious how professors would prefer students to approach these situations. Would you have preferred a lack of detail? No personal notification? Did it seem that this student was rubbing it in your face that they got the offer w/ Extremely Famous Full Tenured Professor?
Comment by Lar — March 27, 2008 @ 6:19 am
Lar,
The intention of writing the school and the folks you interviewed with to thank them for their time and offering you a spot is a good one. I suppose I personally would have preferred not hearing about the other school. Something along the lines of “Thank you for the offer to attend your university. I appreciated the opportunity to meet the professors in your department and learn about their work and the campus environment. Nonetheless, after giving it careful thought, I have decided to attend a different graduate program. Thank you again for your time. Best wishes,…”
Dr. S, what would you have preferred (besides having a quality grad student)?
Check out FSP’s take on it here:
http://science-professor.blogspot.com/2008/03/omg-you-dont-suck.html
Comment by Alethea — March 27, 2008 @ 8:09 am
I tried a minimalist “Thanks for being a good host but I’ve decided to go elsewhere” and was delighted to find that many professors wanted to know where I ended up going and what I ended up doing–natural scientific curiosity is still real.
Comment by hydropsyche — March 27, 2008 @ 11:27 am
It’s important for us to know where the students end up. If we know who our closest competitors are, we can better tailor our own recruiting efforts. So yeah, if they don’t tell me where they ended up, I ask.
Comment by ianqui — March 27, 2008 @ 12:20 pm
I thought this was a good email, and I am glad to know where the student decided to go. Like Ianqui, I think it’s useful to know who the competition is.
Comment by drshellie — March 27, 2008 @ 8:13 pm