<p>My son was accepted to most colleges where he applied. But his No. 1 choice did something I never heard of before. I'm wondering if other parents have experienced this and if it is a trend?</p>
<p>He applied Early Action and they deferred his application to the general application pool. So far, okay. But then they accepted him for the SPRING semester, not the fall. They said they had already filled their class for the fall semester, but that if he would commit to attending in the Spring, they would let him know if space opened up later on for fall admission.</p>
<p>As a result, he decided to attend his No. 2 choice. While both were high on his list, he was very disappointed nevertheless.</p>
<p>I suppose this is a way that colleges can claim students are accepted, even though their acceptance is deferred. For the student, however, without any guarantee that he can start classes in the fall like other freshmen, this is the equivalent of a rejection.</p>
<p>This is the first time I had heard of a college accepting freshmen students for the Spring semester but not the Fall. Anybody have a similar experience?</p>
<p>a number of schools do this. often the spring is when students study abroad so there is additional room on campus in the spring semester. i've heard of a few kids who started their school in the spring -- some use the fall to take courses at a community college, some work, some just use the time to do something interesting that they might not otherwise have had a chance to do.</p>
<p>it probably varies by school as to how easy a transition it is for freshmen entering in the spring. ie, how much effort the school puts into greeting the half year admits.</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply. I should have noted that not all students would see this as the equivalent of a rejection. Some would be willing to make the commitment for Spring and take classes at a community college in the fall or do other things. But for others like my son, who would miss out on the opportunity to start making new friends in a new city/state before the cliques formed, it could put him at a social disadvantage compared to other freshmen.</p>
<p>I have seen a few posts from students getting spring admittance. It may not be the ideal but if it is the school he really wants to got to then it seems like a viable option. I would want to know if there is any sort of set up so they get to know other spring admits - orientation course or something like that.</p>
<p>I've heard of students who have taken the spring acceptance and find an apartment with other deferred students nearby campus. They then enroll in classes on a non-matric basis, visit with friends from home or classes in the dorms and move into the dorms in the spring. Friends of friends' kids did this at U Md last fall. I don't know first-hand how it worked out. I've also heard of students doing this at Cornell, WUSTL and SUNY Binghamton.</p>
<p>I know one person who accepted a Spring admittance to Middlebury. I believe it's a common practice there. They even have a special winter graduation tradition for these students--skiing down the Snow Bowl before receiving their diplomas. I think another LAC, maybe one of the Maine ones, offers a Fall term abroad for those admitted for the Spring.</p>
<p>Good point, swimcatsmom. Sounds like it's not as unusual as I thought. Of course, with colleges becoming increasingly competitive, I had wondered if this approach was part of a "statistics" game that might impact scholarship eligibilities, calculations that skew the perception of a school's desirability, alumni donor trends, and the like.</p>
<p>Middlebury does a spring admit pool, as does UC Berkeley. However, Cal will allow kids to take classes in the fall thru their 'extension' program.</p>
<p>Did he get a financial aid offer - merit and/or need? That is something you would need now I would think. Might be worth asking the school how many spring admits generally matriculate. (if he is even willing to consider this option).</p>
<p>I'm really old but remember that happening when I applied. I'm not sure it would be good for a kid who needs the freshman orientation experience to make social connections. And some like the school they start out at so much they might never switch for the spring.</p>
<p>I gather at Cal, all those spring admits live together and it can actually be a fun and surprisingly cohesive group. (At least according to the tour guide when we visited UC Berkeley.)</p>
<p>Our S received Spring acceptance to Pepperdine-twin sister received Fall 2008 admission. Pepperdine has a special section on Spring admits-class is between 75-125 kids vs. 750 in the Fall. Because admission was so competitive this year, S has viewed this as a positive. Only big negative is that Spring admits are not in the pool for merit $. These kids are also put on a waitlist this is unnumbered. </p>
<p>We are making a visit next week and will talk with admissions about his options. He was accepted everywhere else with merit$ except Vandy.</p>
<p>Georgiatwins - Is accepting the spring admit in any way binding? If he enrolls elsewhere and loves it can he stay? - conversely, if he enrolls elsewhere and hates it, having a choice for spring semester might be nice.
If spring admits are not in the pool for merit $ this year, is there any hope of getting some for next year? (most schools don't give much later to those already enrolled) How important is the scholarship money to your family? Two kids x four years x Pepperdine = a fortune</p>
<p>I was admitted spring semester to my first choice college after initially being waitlisted back when I was applying to college. I was determined to attend this school any way I could, so I took them up on it. I spent my fall semester taking a transferable full course load at community college (got several gen eds out of the way), working part-time, and passing my senior figure skating test. The decision did come with some disadvantages. My social life was next to none that semester, as my friends had left for college and my community college had no community. It was also difficult for my parents and me to adjust to me being home another six months, as well as that it was more difficult to make friends as a spring admit to a small LAC with very few of them. Finally, make sure you check with the school to see how the spring admit will effect your coursework. Starting a semester late meant I had to take the college's required freshmen seminars a year late, made studying abroad a little more complicated, and also impacted my place in the dorm lottery in a negative way.</p>
<p>Those caveats aside, I have no regrets that I chose to enter my college in January. I absolutely loved my school, both academically and socially, and I graduated with a large circle of friends in spite of it being initially more difficult. There's very little I can say that's negative about my college, and I believe my experience there helped prepare me for life, as well as helped me get into a top grad school for the fall. If it's a toss-up between choosing two schools, I'd probably go with the school that gave fall admission. But if the school is a dream school like it was for me, don't let spring admission keep you from attending. You'll be able to make it work.</p>
<p>Dragonmom-all good questions-we plan to ask the merit$ question on our visit. Pepperdine encourages kids in this situation to take classes during Fall Semester so they can graduate on time with their class.</p>
<p>As for starting at one school and changing to the other-the CC at our school tells me that only one official transcript can be sent to a college-e.g. cannot deposit at more than one school. However-the Spring 2009 situation does pose an interesting question. Have a feeling once our S makes the decision for one school or the other he will complete a freshman year and then think about transferring if not pleased. Big debate between DH and self is would we consider Pepperdine x2 kids for 4 years would be over 400K-ludicrous!</p>
<p>I will keep you posted on what we learn from Pepperdine.</p>
<p>American University in D. C. has its fall semester Washington Mentorship Program for kids like my son who have been admitted for the spring semester. It's a 15 credit program (including an internship) which is fully transferable towards the undergraduate degree. Participants live in dorms located in a branch campus a few blocks from AU's main campus, and move to the main campus dorms in January. A friend's son who is now a senior started his AU studies this way and thoroughly enjoyed it. I don' t know if other schools have similar programs.</p>
<p>UCSD and UC Berkeley have done Spring admits for years. It's mainly a way for them to manage the facilities and keep the dorms full while recognizing that there there are going to be vacancies created by washouts and student studying abroad. </p>
<p>I've never understood why the kids are so often offended by being offered a spring admission. Our friends' daughter always wanted to go to Berkeley but was offered only spring admission. She swallowed her pride and took it. It's now several years on, and she is a proud and happy Berkeley alum. They don't stamp "Spring Admit" on your diploma. It looks just like all the others.</p>
<p>coureur: I don't think it's a matter of being offended, but rather a question of whether a student will be integrated fully into the "college experience"....For my d who was offered a Spring admit to USC, it's almost unfeasible.....We live across the country, we do not have family or friends in the LA area, and her orientation with friends, classmates would have been crucial to her adjustment anyway.....Even a fall admit would have been a huge adjustment; the Spring almost makes it impossible....</p>
<p>That being said, I do think that the schools that offer Spring admit could do a better job of offering some type of program for these students for the Fall... I suggested on another website that they organize a "gap semester" trip for these kids, or something like that.....It could be at the parents' expense, but at least it would resemble some type of bonding among these students.....In addition, USC restricts their Explore USC days to fall admits; that does send a message.....</p>