<p>My DDs have received letters from admissions offices at schools which they have chosen not to attend. The letters state that they will keep their file open and both the admissions and merit offers intact. The letters were unexpected but nice and I was just curious</p>
<p>How common is this? </p>
<p>Do any of you know anyone who went through their first year and then decided to switch maybe to the second choice school?</p>
<p>After he turned it down, older S got that and a phone call from one of the universities that offered him merit aid, and apparently considered him a top pick.</p>
<p>Last year my D got a letter like this from the other small LAC she seriously considered. They said they’d keep her file and admission offer active for two years. I think it helped her feel more comfortable that if she had made a terrible mistake with her final decision, ( she had not!) she could always transfer. She did not receive this from any of the other schools she turned down.</p>
<p>Historymom, I’ve heard of students taking up this offer this several times on CC, including w/the original merit aid offer. It’s nice that your Ds could have an alternate route should things not go as expected.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Yep - my S. But it only took him 1 semester. He transferred for the spring. They still had everything on file and he still got some merit money.</p>
<p>so kitty, did he reapply or did he simply notify the admissions office of his intent? I am sure that is likely to depend on the institution again, just curious I am fairly certain mine will bloom where they have chosen to be planted.</p>
<p>But CountingDown is right it is nice for them to know that if they had chosen “wrong” they would have options.</p>
<p>historymom ~ as I recall, the only thing he had to do was write a personal statement and get his final transcript from high school sent to the new college. They had his original app., SAT, ACT, recommendations, etc. We met with the transfer counselor who handled it all, including telling us which courses would transfer. His file still had to go before a committee for approval and he had his acceptance within a couple of weeks.</p>
<p>My son received two calls from colleges he turned down. One offered him a full tuition scholarship, the other wanted to kinda feel him out before making any financial offers. My son, however, has committed to and is heart and soul into, Northwestern. So he politely declined both.</p>
<p>S also got a few of these. Some said one year, others said two.
I guess if one finds they made a mistake it would not hurt to ask their second choice school it their file is still open. I think even one of the publics sent such a note</p>
<p>One of the downsides to applying ED, I guess, is that there aren’t so many fallback options like these. geek_son had to withdraw his other applications before receiving admission decisions.</p>
<p>Of the two rolling-deadline public safeties he’d already bagged, one seems to have completely ignored his withdrawal letter; he still has the computer account showing his admit status, and still receives mail telling him he needs to pick a housing plan and send final transcripts and all. The other recently sent him a “We still want you, in case your plans have changed” letter. I suppose he’ll need to contact the second one again and decline their offer.</p>
<p>My D recieved that from Whitman 7 years ago --open with merit for 1 year. She almost did transfer there and I know she felt good knowing it was an option. S has received the same from one of his schools. I like knowing it is there. When a student is a strong applicant and, I feel certain that if an interview was involved and it went well, that the school remains interested. The fact is that students do transfer–I did and so did my D.</p>