Foodoos, I read the post and immediately thought of my friend. He’s not particularly excited about sports or partying, he’s interested in politics and is aiming for law school. He’s going to Boston College, which is suburban but apparently pretty close to the city. You and my friend both have 3.4 UW GPAs, though I don’t know what his W GPA is. I found their average SAT (2034, so yours is a bit higher) but not their average GPA. maybe you could look into BC if you’re still thinking about reapplying to schools during your gap year.
I strongly feel you should enroll this fall at Syracuse and stick it out for at least one year. Transfer next year if you are miserable. The reasons are:
1- Syracuse is a very good university
2- the financial offer they gave you looks tremendous. You may never get such a good offer again
3- you applied ED. Even though you regret that commitment now, you did make a moral, possibly legal, commitment to attend. Syracuse is standing up to their end of the contract, you really should follow through on your end.
4- your first impressions of the university may be wrong. No one will force you to participate in greek or sport life on campus. You will likely find a group of like-minded students and there’s a good chance you may fall in love with the place.
Good luck.
Oh please. That’s a terrible reason to attend a school one really doesn’t want to attend. OP, who is merely human, by the way, feels he made a bad mistake. Assuming he hasn’t been convinced by the Syracuse sales pitches on this thread and still doesn’t feel it’s the right place for him, he shouldn’t feel constrained by the ED rules, which are unenforceable anyway. If OP turns down Syracuse, some lucky waitlister will be thrilled to get his place, the school will fill its opening and get its money, and no one will be hurt. Syracuse isn’t the right school for everyone. (My kids would have hated it.) I wonder how many CC parents would hold their special snowflakes to a poor ED decision and insist they spend four unhappy years at a school they believed was completely wrong for them on the basis of a “moral commitment”. I’m guessing none.
OP, I have no clue if you should attend Syracuse or not, but you seem like an intelligent person, and you have all the information you need to make your own determination of your best path. If you decide after careful consideration of all the issues so well discussed in this thread that you don’t want to attend Syracuse, just tell them your circumstances have changed and you won’t be coming. You don’t have to convince them or explain or come up with a financial excuse that isn’t really true. No one’s going to sue you or drag you to class. Just be considerate enough to decide quickly so Syracuse can move on. And apologize to your guidance counselor, who is the only person who may get a little heat for your decision. Since you’ll need your counselor’s cooperation in the event you apply to other schools (whether now, for the spring, or after a gap year), it’s very important to keep that relationship solid.
Financial aid first goes to freshmen. What’s left goes to transfers - so transfers get lousy aid and never the good scholarship offers freshmen get. As for spring admits, which are quite rare in the first place, they better be full pay because all the aid’s been given out at that point.
So, your choices are
- nacac list (college’s that miscalculated yield - there are usually quite a few that are strong academically)
- gap year (volunteering on a campaign would make sense to Syracuse to allow you to defer, and it’d actually build your resume in the academic area you’re interested in)
- make the best of a bad situation and attend Syracuse (which, indeed, sounds like a bad fit for you.)
Regarding taking a gap year, I wouldn’t put a lot of weight on the matter of lost future earnings. Sure maybe if you squander the year on the couch, but a well-spent gap year can make you a more mature and thoughtful student when you finally enroll, and may change your life direction for the better. There is absolutely no way to calculate that in absolute financial terms.
Your choices are really the three outlined above. Any one of them will work out fine if you have a solid attitude and take the long view.
One note on fit: Although I think fit matters a great deal to a strong college experience, I also think it’s something you can build for yourself if you have to. If you end up going to Syracuse … or are lucky enough to get admitted to a somewhat better fit from the nacac list … then it’s up to you to try to craft your fit by joining activities that are a good fit, seeking out like-minded people in your classes, and in your living situation if possible. For example, you may find the party culture significantly mitigated if you elect to live in substance-free housing, if available.
Thanks for the input.
So, is it really the case that transfers get no aid? I called a college I’m considering, grinnell, and they claimed transfers get aid. Is this false? Will I be able to get aid from transferring?
I need to choose if I should transfer or take a gap year. Spring admissions seem unlikely because aid is nonexistent, so I’ll cross that out. I’m talking to Lawrence right now about applications and aid, If I apply I’m pretty sure I’m in.
Could anybody suggest colleges that would be good to apply to after a gap year? Looking to challenge myself, i think i have safeties in mind. Ive already seen a few i like but would love more suggestions. Thank you!
@MommaJ says, " he shouldn’t feel constrained by the ED rules, which are unenforceable anyway. "
Is this how you raise your kids? One’s word means nothing, one’s signature means nothing, if a rule isn’t enforced just go ahead and break it?
OP already took one of the choice spots from another kid who probably really, really wanted it back in December.
OP: Yes, this is an important, complex situation. But it’s not as if lots of people don’t go through similar situations in their college searches.
Anyway, enough crying over spilt milk. I feel like my previous responses have been a bit rambling and not so focussed. In that light, here’s one (emphasis, just one) suggested path:
- Keep your Syracuse commitment in place for now.
- Go through the NACAC list and find possible schools that still have openings for the coming fall. There are threads here about this list, and here's a post by @whenhen culling that list down quite a bit:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/19648853/#Comment_19648853
Apply to these schools now. Who knows, you might end up with a very good option that won’t require you to take a gap year.
- Compile a list of schools to apply to if you take a gap year, or as transfer possibilities. I see you've started a thread along these lines -- you can wait for responses, but there's also lots of searching you can do on your own. Take into account the financial aid possibilities, and realize that for transfers, schools likely won't give merit aid, and for schools that meet need, you'll have to find out whether they meet need for transfers. (Also realize that it's much harder to get into good schools as a transfer.)
Do this as quickly as you can, maybe a few weeks. This will give you a set of options, and at this point you’ll have to decide what you’re going to do – and what you’re going to do about Syracuse. Maybe you’ll have another school to go to next year. Or maybe you’ll go to Syracuse, perhas with transferring as an option. Or maybe you’ll take a gap year and apply to schools next year. For Syracuse, do what’s appropriate in correspondence with that decision – cancel that commitment, continue to keep it, or ask them for a year deferral (whichever of these you do, do so tactfully/appropriately).
Another thing you can do is to look into gap year options. You’ve mentioned being interested in politics, and some people have suggested doing something related to that, what with this being a presidential election year. If you find some good gap year options, that would make that possibility more fruitful.
I think the ED to Syracuse complicates things. I hadn’t realized it was an ED. If you do consider other schools, they would have to know. Perhaps explain to Syracuse that after you visited, you can’t see yourself being there and ask them to release you.
You can’t just blow it off.
You’re also going to need to ask if you can apply to other schools during the gap year. Some schools will let you defer and apply to other places while keeping other things in place… other schools will say you can’t apply elsewhere during your gap year.
This is all complicated by the ED agreement, which says that “you must make no additional applications to any other university in the country.” (http://admissions.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/ED_Agreement.pdf)
I’m not sure if the ED commitment “expires” at the end of the admissions cycle.
Of course it does.
Even if you want to violate your ED commitment I’m not sure that you can apply anywhere else for next fall because your school Counselor also had to sign the ED agreement. I thought that this meant that the school would not send your transcripts to any school other than Syracuse unless Syracuse officially releases you from your commitment.
It doesn’t actually say that.
In many jurisdictions, the public schools have no authority to withhold transcripts by law.
To those who think there is absolutely no downside to violating the ED agreement, consider:
Is your GC going to be 100% committed to helping you apply fresh next year, after you’ve graduated, after they cosigned the ED agreement you broke, possibly damaging their future relationship with Syracuse?
Also, “Some colleges with early options exchange lists of admitted students … But even when colleges don’t check up on early applicants, your signature–and your honor–is still on the line.” per http://www.collegeconfidential.com/dean/000219/
Honestly, my school GC is a joke, not very involved in the college process at all. Being from Texas, not many people are applying to Syracuse anyways, I think I’m alright on the entire issue of a future relationship. I literally sent out transcripts today to other potential colleges. They can’t stop me from doing so either, and I think she would be on my side to do whatever is best for my education. That is, at this point, not going to Syracuse, I believe.
I’d like to update everyone on something.
I personally called one of the many schools I’m interested in, Grinnell college, and talked about their admissions. I explained my circumstance and that I like the school and would love to apply… and they told me that, nothing guaranteed, I could speak directly with a vice-president or someone “higher up” and ask to apply to the college with 100% commitment, even this late in the game.
Am I being played? Or is there /serious/ opportunity that a college of that selectivity and with a waitlist would actually accept me this late into the ballgame as a normal student for the fall. Will other schools be willing to bargain with a student in my situation if I am truly passionate about attending? Thank you for any insight.
It is possible. It is hard to say. They may not “love” their WL candidates and may entertain someone else. What have you to lose?
Sorry Foodoos, but you really strike me as impulsive. Apply to Syracuse for a girl, reject Syracuse for weather/sport/party scene, yesterday it was Lawrence, today it is Grinnell…
Have you visited Lawrence or Grinnell to know they don’t have an atmosphere that would turn you off like Syracuse’s did? Are you really ready to give Grinnell “100% commitment”, not knowing if their financial package will be anything like Syracuse’s? Or would you walk out on another commitment after asking Grinnell’s VP to make a very special accommodation for your late application?
And you wonder if the colleges are “playing you?”
I still think my advice in post #61 is the most rational path. Good luck nevertheless.
Okay pickpocket, I’ve honestly had enough of your badgering. Just because I don’t jump at your suggestion to go to Syracuse because I’ve had personal experience of the college that was negative does NOT mean that I’m making these decisions impulsively. My reasons for disliking Syracuse are not only justifiable reasons but also common reasons to dislike a school. Also, you missed out on many other reasons I’ve provided. I should never be forced to go somewhere I dislike. I understand that I made the initial mistake of applying there out of impulse and emotions, but I’m trying to avoid that mistake now. I have not said that I’m committing anywhere, so why don’t you stop shoving words in my mouth? I’m still exploring - those colleges are options, not commitments. I literally never said that I was going to take up on Grinnell’s opportunity, I was simply saying that they offered me that special accommodation. (Also, I’m pretty sure I would get to know my financial aid packet before committing 100%, lol.)
I do not have the funds to be travelling across the country to look at schools, look at my EFC. All I know is that the research I’ve done on both colleges, which has been extensive for the past few days, make them seem much more desirable than Syracuse. Can you not accept that and move on? Otherwise, don’t bother posting in the thread if you don’t have constructive criticism. I heard your reasons to go to Syracuse, disagree with them, and will continue with my life.
If anybody else would like to make suggestions on what to do, especially regarding this type of special accommodation that Grinnell made for me, please post!
On a further note, I contacted Lawrence, they admitted the aid would not be as lofty for me, but it would be about the same deal as Syracuse is offering ('Cuse did not meet my EFC by 3.5k, neither will this place most likely, but we’ll see.)
There’s logic in what OP dislikes about Syracuse and what he likes about these two LACs.
However, while Grinnell may entertain the idea of an impulsive intellectual applying, they’re probably out of financial aid at this point. The person who referrred you to a Dean was likely a student worker and your situation is likely way above their level of authorization. So, go ahead - what have you got to lose ? - and make sure the Dean knows that, if applying for Fall is not possible, you’ll apply Ed for Fall 2017. That’s be the moment to ask about spring admits and financial aid for those (Grinnell, due to their ginormous per student endowment, might have both !)