I go to a very competitive public school in the suburbs of Atlanta, where many people are much more well off than my family is. A good few of our students (like 5-10 each year) apply ED to Ivy League / T20 universities and get in.
A senior got admitted ED into UPenn Wharton two years ago but made up some lie about not being able to afford the school after all (I don’t know exactly, all I know is that he broke the binding decision and now goes to GT) even when his family was very well off. Last year (2019), another senior from our school got into UPenn but broke off her binding decision because she also felt that the school gave her too little aid. I know breaking these decisions is skirting the boundaries between legal and illegal, and really upsets these selective universities.
If I am planning on applying ED to UPenn Wharton this year, would the ED-breaking upperclassmen from previous years hurt my chances since AOs would see that people from my school keep breaking the binding decisions?
(For added context: We did have another senior get into UPenn Wharton 2 years ago and attend. He was an athletic recruit though.)
Would a single student breaking an ED agreement ruin it for future applicants? No. Absolutely not.
If the student did not attend because the aid did not come close to the NPC calculation, that is a valid reason to break the ED agreement. You should assume nothing if you do not know the specifics of the student’s financials.
First of all, neither student broke the ED contact if they did not get the financial aid their families felt they needed to attend the schools. You would be surprised, I’m sure at the number of families perceived ( and often are) well to do who apply for financial aid. Some even get some such aid. Some won’t go to a school without a certain level of aid.
You should address this with your highschool counselor if it is bothering you. That Dept will know the particulars. Doubt they’d tell you the whole story but can directly adddresd your concerns.
I was directly told by several school GCs that it can hurt future students if a High school had blatant disregard for breaking ED contacts. That means not attending when there is no financial aid issue in the picture. But all a student needs to do to get around that issue is apply for financial aid and say it’s not enough if accepted ED and want out. It’s not something I believe happens that often due to the whole high psychological pressures of applying ED. But I wouldn’t be surprised it happens.
@skieurope
What I know about the financials of both students who broke their ED contracts because of financial aid is that:
-Both students families were dual income totaling over 300K/year
-Both students families owned at least 3 properties (the female senior’s family owned 5)
In general, that would be considered “well off.” But yeah, I guess I didn’t account for the chance that they may have outstanding debts or something.
Let’s look at this in reverse. What if you put “no” on the application, then find out later you can afford it, were you lying on the application? Certainly not. Financial aid varies widely from school to school. One school could be stingy, while another one could be generous. Net price calculators aren’t always accurate.
Let’s say that you indicated “yes” because your parents saved for college. Do you want other students getting mad at you because they can see you don’t drive a Mercedes or have a big house.
The point is, other people’s finances aren’t your concern; any more than your finances are other people’s concern. Selective schools always keep a large waitlist, because they know how high their tuition is. Even affluent people don’t usually have $300k lying around for a bachelors degree.
Debt as a result of living beyond one’s means will rarely impact FA. Regardless, it is what it is. But if you don’t get in, it won’t be because of them breaking the ED agreement - whether the reason was valid or not.
However, if a college does decide to auto-reject applicants from a specific high school or counselor due to ED violations by past admits, it should have the decency to tell the high school or counselor or post the list of auto-reject high schools and counselors publicly, so that future applicants can avoid wasting time and money applying to that college.
Agreed. And I don’t know whether colleges do or don’t inform the GC. What I do know, though, is I’ve been here a long time, as have you, and the vast majority of people who worry about the HS being blackballed as simply clutching at straws. I think, and it’s only my opinion, that a HS has to exhibit some really egregious behavior to warrant blackballing. Every GC I know is too professional to not counsel the students/parents on the ED agreement and the ramifications of breaking it. The reputation of the HS, and their own reputation, is at stake.
I’ll also say that many of these types of posts start with “I heard…” “someone told me…” etc which brings to mind a quote from SpongeBob, “Why, once I met this guy who knew this guy who knew this guy who knew this guy who knew this guy who knew this guy who knew this guy who knew this guy who knew this guy who knew this guy who knew this guy who knew this guy who knew this guy who knew this guy who knew this guy who knew this guy who knew this guy’s cousin…” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEVaXyu0lWc
Or, from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off;: “My best friend’s sister’s boyfriend’s brother’s girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who’s going with the girl who saw Ferris pass out at 31 Flavors last night. I guess it’s pretty serious.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLWGDxGh2G4
Or, from REO Speedwagon’s “Take It On The Run:” “Heard it from a friend who / Heard it from a friend who / Heard it from another you been messin’ around” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3G8jAPPjpGs