I understand what you’re saying here, but in most public schools things do not run like a well-oiled machine. My D’s school doesn’t have a ton of ED most years (more some years, fewer other years) and it’s student-directed if they do apply ED, not GC-led or even particularly supported. Unlike a private school or a really good public school there is nothing strategic about how the guidance office runs college admissions at our school - there is no college counselor, just a couple of guidance counselors who do everything. If a kid asks them to sign an ED agreement they do. If a kid puts ina
form for a transcript someone sends it. It’s a small class so maybe they really do say, wait, this kid applied ED to another school, should we ask him if he got in? I have no idea. But they definitely don’t know if a kid pulled all his other apps and probably wouldn’t know until too late that a kid had broken the ED agreement and accepted elsewhere. I doubt they have too many relationships with schools to worry about - again, I might be wrong, but I did not get that impression - and if they do, it’s not with the selective schools that might get a kid from our school every 3-5 years. Again, I actually think most families/kids do the right thing. My kid pulled her other applications and declined the one other acceptance she had as soon as we saw the financial aid offer. I’ve never heard of a kid from our school breaking an ED agreement & it’s a small enough school that that would probably get around. But it’s definitely not policed by the guidance counselors (just asked D and she said no, that a generic email went out asking all the seniors to let guidance know what decisions they received as they came in, but no one reached out to her personally or specifically mentioned ED).
You wouldn’t know if it was policed by the guidance counselors. Even large public high schools here have checks and balances, lists of what kids are requesting transcripts to check-off, etc. And the independent schools know lots, and have close relationships with admissions officers all over the country, and word gets around.
I didn’t have time to read about half of the responses so I apologize if you have already been given similar advice:
1)you don’t need another stranger to tell you that you shouldn’t break your ED commitment and breaking your ED without an extremely valid financial and/or medical hardship is ethically wrong … I feel that way but I won’t do that.
2)if you are 100% sure you want/need to break the ED contract, the best thing you can do is to do it as soon as possible, assuming you have not already done so. With each passing day/week/month, you are creating a larger problem for VT. If you let them know now, I think they would appreciate it. I would guess that the majority of students who break their ED do so after RD decisions are released in March/April, so letting them know now would allow VT to move on before they complete RD evaluations. They may also be a little more pleasant with you since they will know that you didn’t break the ED commitment because you “got a better offer” during the main RD decision round.
3)if I were you I would also give your high school the courtesy to let them know ahead of time. They may be slightly more understanding/helpful if you let them know, so they can plan a response for VT on their end.
Like a lot of things in life, honesty and forthrightness when you make a mistake are usually the best policy. Good luck to you in your decision and future college plans.
Based on what my D tells me about one of her good friends at VT who is a BArch, I have a feeling you will quickly get over any feelings that you may have about VT being a lesser ranked program. Her friend is a high-stat student from out of state with an impressive list of design experience even before coming to VT (my husband and I spent a lot of time talking to her at a football tailgate, as we own a construction company, and my husband does a fair amount of CAD design work). The program is rigorous and very challenging. She spends many hours in the studio (she’s just in her freshman year). Additionally, doesn’t everyone have to pass the same set of exams to become an architect? I would think the results of those would matter more than the ranking of the program.
I believe the OP has made a decision. Regardless, they have received sufficient advice; I cannot imagine any future responses will be unique, so closing.
General thought on reneging on ED can be placed in the following thread: