Deferring Admission for Gap Year and Declining?

Applying to College
1

<p>Hi guys. I'm taking a gap year and this has created some scholarship problems for me. Besides writing an appeal to the people in charge, I thought of a way that I could maybe insure some financial security. The scholarship is only for in-state schools.</p>

<p>I'm only going to apply to one school in-state and the rest are out-of-state. The problem is, I was planning on applying everywhere during my gap year because I'm going to be doing stuff like jobs and internships that will help me choose which schools best fit my interest. However, the scholarship requires going to college immediately after high school.</p>

<p>I'm thinking, if I apply to that in-state school now (just in case) and succeed in being accepted, but I defer my admission, and do decide to go there after my gap year, maybe I'll still get the scholarship (I'm going to ask the scholarship people). But, at the same time, I'll still apply to other schools during my gap year, and if I decide to go somewhere else, can I reject my admission offer into my in-state school?</p>

<p>Basically, can I apply, be admitted, and defer, only to maybe later reject the spot for another school? Are there any consequences for doing so (esp. financial or legal)? Can I even do this (apply elsewhere while I promised going to one school already or reject admission)?</p>

<p>I'm kind of nervous. Thanks for the help!</p>

2

<p>You need to follow the money.
You have to be realistic, you have no leverage if you need the money.
If you get accepted and the money but cannot defer w/o losing the $, you start school this fall.
If you get accepted, the money, and get permission to defer then you are golden.
If you get accepted, NO money then you gap and apply next year.</p>

3

<p>Thanks for the advice. I understand this, but it’s really a hard decision to make. Anyway, I think my post was too long and confusing. The scholarship part was just for context. My question really was,</p>

<p>If I get accepted to a university and defer admission, can I apply to other colleges during my gap year and decline my earlier acceptance if I want to go somewhere else?</p>

<p>Are there any legal or financial consequences?</p>

4

<p>You want to ask a university to accept you and defer you, holding a place for you, with the option of you deciding to decline them if you get into a more desirable place.
The conservative answer would be you need to ask the specific university.</p>