How to Reject a Scholarship Offer Via Email

If you receive a scholarship offer, you can do only two things. Accept or reject the offer. The latter is seldom heard of, but it will be our focus today. A candidate can decide to reject a scholarship for many reasons ranging from financial (yes, financial), familial, a better offer, etc. All these and more are what we will discuss in this article. 

If you want to reject a scholarship offer, there’s only one way to inform the university of this decision, and this is via email. 

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with rejecting a scholarship offer. You’re not the first to do it, and you’re surely not going to be the last. 

When writing to reject a scholarship offer, there are things you must do and boxes you must ensure are checked. 

Before writing an email to reject a scholarship offer, you need to make sure that’s the procedure with the school. This is because some schools have an online check box where you choose “yes” or “no”, totally eradicating the need for an email rejecting the scholarship.

Without further ado, let’s get into the main reason for this article:

Tips on How to Reject a Scholarship Offer Via Email

When rejecting a scholarship offer via email, some rules must be observed. Including all general email etiquette, there are more things to keep in mind when rejecting a scholarship offer via email, and we’re going to discuss all of them in this section of the article.

1. Respond as Soon as You Make the Decision

Do not delay your response once you decide to reject a scholarship offer. There’re two main reasons for this. 

Firstly, the admission committee spent a lot of time selecting candidates, and there may already be preparations ongoing to process your admission formally. By emailing your rejection, they’re told on time, and they can stop all ongoing preparations.

Secondly and most importantly, scholarships often have more rejections than acceptance. This means if you inform the school on time that you’ll be rejecting the scholarship, they will give it to another candidate who probably needs it more than you do. 

Additionally, it is wrong to reply late or not at all as this deprives someone else of the opportunity. 

2. Your Scholarship Rejection Email Should be Concise

 While you may be tempted to make this email as detailed and elaborate as possible, do not. It’s an email rejecting a scholarship and not an essay. Hence, everything should be concise and straight to the point. Briefly explain the reason you came to your decision to reject the offer, including your pleasantries and hit send. 

3. Do Not be Tempted to Explain More than You Need to 

While you’re explaining why you’re rejecting the scholarship, make sure not to include more information than is necessary. One common mistake candidates make when rejecting scholarship offers is to tell the name of the school they’ve decided to go with. Remember that the school you’re rejecting has no business with this information. 

4. Express Your Gratitude

While rejecting a scholarship, you need to make sure you understand the opportunity you were given. While this should have no bearing on your decision, that gratitude should be translated in your email rejecting the scholarship. Ensure to thank the Committee for their time and consideration. 

Common Reasons to Reject a Scholarship

Reasons to reject a scholarship are unique to different individuals. This means the reasons for rejecting a scholarship are different for every candidate. While this is true, there are also some common reasons to reject a scholarship via email. 

And in this section of the article, we’re going to discuss why candidates reject scholarships and how these reasons can be applied to help you write emails rejecting scholarship offers. 

1. Received a better offer: This is a common reason to reject a scholarship offer. If you receive a better offer that ticks more of your boxes and is more favourable, then it is completely normal to go with this new offer. This should be briefly explained in the rejection email you’re sending. 

2. Received an offer from your country or another country: If you received a scholarship offer from a university in your country or vice versa, it is also an acceptable reason to reject the offer that is less geographically favourable. If you want to remain in your country and you get an offer from a university in your country or state, it makes sense to reject an offer that’s in another country or continent. 

3. The scholarship aid does not cover all costs: Most scholarship offers do not cover ALL costs. Most scholarship offers cover just tuition fees, and for some candidates, this is simply not enough. If you need a scholarship offer that covers all expenses, this is also a valuable reason to reject a scholarship offer. 

4. Did not get your desired discipline: If the course of study you were given is not your first option, it is completely okay to reject this offer for an option that’s more in line with what you want for yourself regarding your career.

5. If you’re rejecting for personal reasons: If you don’t feel like explaining the reasons for rejecting an offer, you could simply state that you’re rejecting the offer due to personal reasons.
   By choosing this route, you’re stating that you do not want to explain your reason for rejecting the offer, and the Committee will have no choice but to respect your decision. 

Reject Scholarship Offer Via Email Template

Subject: Scholarship Rejection Email Dear Committee, I am writing to you in regards to the scholarship you offered me at (name of university). Unfortunately, I am going to decline the scholarship offer. (State reason for rejecting the scholarship) I am grateful for the opportunity to be chosen among the list of hundreds, possibly thousands of applicants. I do not take it for granted. However, I have weighed my options and unfortunately, my goals and plans for my future are not in alignment with your university. Once again, to the scholarship committee, I thank you for the opportunity. Best Regards, Kim Jim 

Reject Scholarship Offer Via Email Sample

Subject: Scholarship Rejection Email Dear Committee, I am writing to you in regards to the scholarship you offered me at the University of Bretford, Oklahoma. Unfortunately, I am going to decline the scholarship offer. I am rejecting the scholarship because I have decided to pursue another degree in my current country. At this point in my life, I believe this is the best option for me. I am grateful for the opportunity to be chosen among the list of hundreds, possibly thousands of applicants. I do not take it for granted. However, I have weighed my options and unfortunately, my goals and plans for my future are not in alignment with your university. Once again, to the scholarship committee, I thank you for the opportunity. Best Regards, Kim Jim 

Reject Scholarship for a Better Offer Via Email Sample

Subject: Scholarship rejection email Dear Committee, Thank you very much for offering me the scholarship to your prestigious university. I am beyond honored to be among the selected candidates. Unfortunately, I am going to reject your offer. The reason behind this decision is that I received an offer from another university that most aligns with my goals and my plans for the future. This decision was not taken lightly. Once again, I’d like to thank you for your time and consideration. Best Regards, Jim Jones 

Reject Scholarship Offer Via Email Sample Three

Subject: Scholarship rejection email Dear Scholarship Committee, I’m writing this email in regards to the scholarship offer I received from your university, The University of Edinburg. I am grateful and beyond honored to be offered a scholarship to your prestigious university. Unfortunately, I am going to have to decline the scholarship offer. The reason behind this decision is I thought your scholarship was a full ride. I was unaware that it was a 50% off tuition fee. I am rejecting the scholarship offer because I simply cannot afford to pay the cost of attending your university. Thank you again for choosing me for the scholarship opportunity. Best Regards, Joy Oye 

Reject Scholarship Offer Via Email Sample Four

Subject: Scholarship rejection email Dear Scholarship Committee, I am writing to you in regards to the scholarship you offered me at the University of Mitsubishi. I am grateful and honored to be chosen for this scholarship opportunity. While this scholarship is great and will undoubtedly change my life, I, unfortunately, have to decline the offer. The reason behind this decision is that I received another scholarship offer from a university in my country. After much thought, I decided to continue my studies in my country. Thank you again for choosing me for this offer. Best Regards, Jim Blessed 

Conclusion

Writing an email to reject a scholarship offer is not an easy task as a lot of thought would have to go into the decision and then writing the email. 

The most important rule is to send the email immediately after you make the decision. Also, to explain the reason to the scholarship committee (if you’re comfortable with it). 

We’ve included some samples here to provide pointers for when you need to write an email to reject a scholarship offer.  

The post How to Reject a Scholarship Offer Via Email appeared first on Woculus.

Ayo Oyedotun is a professional blogger and freelance writer. He reads, writes and talks about business. You can follow him on Twitter @Ayo_Oyedotun[http://twitter.com/#!/Ayo_Oyedotun] or read Business Owners’ Bible[http://woculus.com/].