<p>Since my D was on the receiving end of kjgc’s letter, I will say that she/we never felt pressured to make a decision before May 1. He explained what their goals were - creating this ensemble class - and was very helpful with answering questions throughout the process. We truly felt like he wants students to end up in the program that is the best fit for them, whether that ends up being CCU or not.</p>
<p>It is a nerve-wracking process and I truly hope all the students and families understand their rights regarding when they have to commit. Best of luck to the 2011ers!</p>
<p>Well, I can understand why a school would want honesty on the part of the student, that’s understandable - as it is understood that a student does have, if they need, until May 1 to decide, I think it’s unfortunate that some of them think they have to be dishonest about their intentions.
I feel better knowing that my daughter can give an honest “I don’t know yet” if she is still waiting on crucial information. Sometimes just the truth is the easiest thing.</p>
<p>Schools really suffer from a dynamic tension between their desire to know asap and the May 1 response date. This can lead to less than precise draftsmanship in an acceptance letter, whether by inadvertence or by design. That can then lead to confusion and uncertainty on the part of parents and students who believe they must respond before May 1 or risk losing the spot or financial aid and scholarships. As a result, a deposit may be sent in to “lock in” even though there are other schools higher on the student’s list who either have not yet informed a student of his or her status or who have offered an acceptance with financial assistance offers to be issued at a later date. </p>
<p>My daughter received an acceptance from a rolling admissions school that issued a very ambiguous acceptance letter that on its face suggested that a quick response and deposit were necessary to hold the spot. We, fortunately, knew better but could see how others could reach a different conclusion. Perhaps in addition to a uniform National Response Date, there should be some standard language required in all acceptance letters to the effect of “Students have until May 1 to accept this offer of admission and submit their deposit. We encourage students who have made a decision from multiple acceptances to submit their deposit earlier to assist us in planning for the school year. Waiting until May 1, however, will not effect your acceptance or any financial aid but you must respond and submit your deposit no later than May 1.”</p>
<p>By the way, the National Response Date of May 1 is actually not a mandatory and enforceable rule. There are schools that don’t subscribe to this practice. It is a standard practice promulgated by the National Association for College Admissions Counseling for its members. Its website is located at [NACAC</a> Homepage](<a href=“http://www.nacacnet.org%5DNACAC”>http://www.nacacnet.org) and its most recent Statement of Principles of Good Practice is located at <a href=“http://www.nacacnet.org/AboutNACAC/Policies/Documents/SPGP.pdf[/url]”>http://www.nacacnet.org/AboutNACAC/Policies/Documents/SPGP.pdf</a> I suppose if a member school violated this “rule”, a complaint could be submitted to the NACAC but I question what the sanction would be and whether the NACAC would be limited to simply threatening to expel the member school (if it was even willing to go that far).</p>
<p>MichaelnKat, your point about the May 1 date is correct. And is really specific to the University, not really the program. While most of us do try to adhere to the date, there would be absolutely nothing anyone could do if a program wanted a response prior to that date. University admission and program admission (as you all know) are separate steps. </p>
<p>It’s just good practice for everyone to try to hit that date. Makes it better for the students.</p>
<p>kjgc, I have been offline for several days but wanted to follow up here since you did respond to my question, thanks. I think that as long as you inform the applicant when you ask them if they can reply in two weeks that they ALSO have an option to wait to decide until May 1, it is not a problem really. I was saying that some schools ask applicants for their decision and do not make it clear that they have the option to wait to decide until May 1 and that no deposit is required until that time and their spot will be held until that time. I will again say, however, that most schools do not even ask for a decision before May 1. So, I think if many programs can wait for all responses until then, it seems like all could. But again, as long as the options are explained to the admitted students, it should be just fine.</p>
<p>In follow up of my post 23, I looked at the Bylaws of NACAC. Members are required as a term and condition of membership to adhere to the Statement of Principles of Good Practices. The sanction for failure to do so is censure, suspension or expulsion. Complaints are determined by the Board of Directors of NACAC. The bottom line, the May 1 National Response Date derives its imprimatur only from the value that a school ascribes to membership in NACAC. Perhaps those who are employed in the college community can comment on that.</p>
<p>May 1 is a commonly accepted reply date. Most schools do agree to that practice. However there is no legal force to that date and any school that wanted to could require a reply at any time they might choose. As MichaelNKat points out, for schools that belong, they might be asked to leave NACAC. I think that is pretty well understood. I wanted to point out that some schools have scholarship monies that are offered and acceptance of the scholarship money is tied to a reply date earlier than May 1. A few years ago one contributer was upset by this - but there is nothing illegal, immoral, or improper if an institution’s scholarship monies are structured as such.</p>
<p>One of the issues for asking for a reply to an acceptance offer or even a scholarship if before APRIL 1, isn’t even so much about giving a student time to decide, but the fact is that SO many colleges do not send out admissions notifications until April 1 (that is a common admissions notification date) and so expecting students to decide before even receiving all their offers is really not so great.</p>
<p>It’s pretty hard to make a good decision even WITH all of your acceptances! I started out with a “number one” school at the beginning of the year, that I would have killed to get into and was totally blind sided by. I ended up not being accepted into the BFA, but after my audition and my experiences with other colleges, I don’t know if I would have attended that school anyway if I had been accepted. Things change.</p>
<p>Having options is a blessing, which is why everyone needs legitimate safety schools. You don’t want to be forced to go somewhere you didn’t get the right vibe from just because it was the only BFA you were accepted to (which is great to be accepted at all in this highly competitive enviornment). Having choices is a happy thing, not something to stress over this early in the process. :)</p>
Although the full ride might be enough to keep it at the top of the list LOL!</p>