How to Decline Admission to a College After Accepting

This article was co-authored by Stacy Blackman and by wikiHow staff writer, Jennifer Mueller, JD. Stacy Blackman is an Admissions Consultant and the Founder of Stacy Blackman Consulting (SBC), a company that specializes in consulting individuals who want to earn Master of Business Administration (MBA) degrees. SBC offers a video series, runs live and virtual workshops, and has a publishing arm, with 25+ e-guides covering different aspects of the MBA admissions process. Stacy has professional experience working in private equity at Prudential Capital Group, launching Stryke Club, and evaluating businesses as a Resident Entrepreneur at idealab!. She earned a BS in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.

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You might accept admission to a college and later get a more attractive offer, or a change in life circumstances may mean you have to put off college for a while. Whatever the reason, if you change your mind about going to a particular college or university after you've accepted, contact the admissions office as soon as possible. What happens from there depends on whether you plan to go to a different school or want to take a gap year.