My niece applied early decision to an Ivy League school, she got accepted and it is Binding. She accepted the binding admission but is now conflicted to withdraw from a very good state college program. Any advise? Does she HAVE TO withdraw her application from state college?
Didn’t the ED application contain an agreement that a student admitted ED commit to attend and withdraw other applications, unless the ED school’s financial aid offer was (presumably unexpectedly) unaffordable?
Yes.
According to your post she applied to Cornell ED and was accepted. She accepted the offer and it’s binding. I’m not sure why there’s a question. If Cornell finds out she didn’t withdraw her other apps they can withdraw their offer.
If she doesn’t want to go to Cornell she can contact them and refuse the offer. But she can’t hold an ED acceptance and wait for responses from other programs to compare offers.
she should withdraw the minute she accepted the ED. She is ruining another one’s chance.
So she applied ED to Cornell even though she wasn’t fully committed to attending (costing some other ED applicant to not be accepted) AND she is not withdrawing her application from another school, potentially resulting in some other applicant not being accepted there … nice
ED is a binding commitment. Unless her expected financial aid didn’t come through, she is both obligated to attend and obligated to withdraw all other applications.
Adding to the chorus. Yes, she HAS TO.
Without other convincing and legal excuses, I suggest your niece honoring the contract she signed. If she truly loved this other program in state university so much, she should not have applied ED other than maybe ED the state university. One cannot take all the benefits without cost.
Yes, withdraw now. This is a good lesson on thoroughly reading and understanding a contract before signing.
Yikes.
My d19 had been accepted EA to our state university before getting her ED acceptance from Cornell. She waited until after we met with
FA at Cornell and then exchanged a couple of emails clarifying before she committed to Cornell, paid the deposit, declined her EA from the state school and withdrew her other pending apps. All well before the deadline Cornell gave the ED acceptances of January 18.
I’m not a stickler personally that students must withdraw other apps as soon as they get the award acceptance. I believe admissions when they say that if you aren’t satisfied with FA, you have until the date given to work it out and/or decline admission. That date has passed. Your niece should have withdrawn/declined from other colleges as soon as she paid the deposit. If she didn’t do so, she was ethically wrong and could potentially see any colleges rescind her acceptances.
I’m doubtful you are going to see anyone here say she doesn’t have to withdraw other apps since she definitely would have signed somewhere indicating she already has done so.
Yes, definitely she has to withdraw. The counselor at her high school also signs a form as do the parents acknowledging that the decision is a legally binding decision. Further, it can hurt future students from that high school that apply to Cornell ED. This is just wrong and unethical. If she has any doubts, then personally in my opinion, she should withdraw her acceptance and go elsewhere as not to be harsh, but anyone who would sign the legally binding agreement to attend if they’re accepted, yet doesn’t withdraw other applications to me, is not someone that should deserve to go to Cornell when there are thousands of people that would kill to have that spot that she took.
By signing the ED agreement you waived the option to be “conflicted” about another acceptance. My DD was also accepted ED to Cornell in December. Within the week she withdrew 10 other applications and acceptances including a $120k merit award from Tulane (we are full pay but not wealthy). We knew there was a possibility that type of situation would happen, but we waived being “conflicted” by applying ED.
That’s what “binding” means.
She made the choice when she submitted an ED application. Now she’s expected to stick to it. The time for being “conflicted” was before she submitted an ED application.
As you wrote, it’s binding. End of story. She signed an agreement and is required to fulfill it.
Now, an ED agreement is actually not legally binding, but neither colleges nor GCs like it, and they can, and will, pass this info on to the other school to which the student has been accepted, and the second school is very likely to rescind their acceptance. In fact, the student may very well be blacklisted from all the schools to which they applied.
So yes, if your niece wants doesn’t want to fulfill her agreement, she can, and Cornell cannot take legal action. However, they may very well take other actions which will keep your niece out of any other good program.
YES! She has to. She should not have applied ED if she wasn’t truly committed. There are people like me, who are 150% committed to Cornell, and don’t want to go anywhere else, but got deferred. Someone like me could have received that spot and would have withdrawn all my other applications and acceptances the day I got the acceptance. It is immoral and inconsiderate of her to be ruining other people’s chances. If she is applying to an Ivy League school, she should be smart enough to know to read contracts and know what she is getting herself into.
@sportychance Have you already accepted somewhere else? Maybe if they OP backs out, this will open up the spot for you.
I have not accepted anywhere, and won’t until final decisions come out. I doubt she is in the program I’m aiming for, it’s about 20 people/year and an obscure major in HumEc. It’s still just plain wrong what the OP’s niece is doing.