<p>Hi everyone: I was admitted to another college ED and just received notice that I was admitted to MIT EA yesterday. I am regretting this now, as over the months MIT has become much more appealing to me to the point where MIT is my first-choice university. With this in mind, is it even possible to rescind my early decision agreement at the other school? Would I automatically be rejected from MIT also? I know I am lucky to be in this position, but I still can't help but feel like I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place.</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure you shouldn’t have been able to apply to MIT if you were applying to a binding ED program.</p>
<p>I called both admissions offices beforehand, and they said it was fine.</p>
<p>Oh nice. I thought binding ED didn’t allow that.</p>
<p>Some earlier CC threads on this topic:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/91266-ed-escape-clause.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/91266-ed-escape-clause.html</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/91730-revoke-ed.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/91730-revoke-ed.html</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/99009-early-decision-isnt-really-binding-now.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/99009-early-decision-isnt-really-binding-now.html</a></p>
<p>Probably saying some things Lidusha linked to in the threads, but just in case:</p>
<p>First, there’s no reason MIT would have had a problem with you applying elsewhere since their EA is totally non-binding and non-restrictive. However, I’m almost certain that when you called and asked your ED school they told you something along the lines of “Yes, that’s fine AS LONG AS you withdraw all other applications if you are accepted here ED”. So while they were fine with you doing it to cover yourself, now they’ve done their part of the bargain in admitting you and expect you to do yours (attend).</p>
<p>Second, keep in mind this may not affect only you. What kind of high school do you attend and what kind of relationship do you have with your counselor? (Don’t need to answer here). If you’re in the Midwest which has few ED schools and many counselors unfamiliar with it, it may be easier to get it by them. If you’re a “once in a lifetime” student at your school and they’ve never sent anyone to a top school or MIT before, it may be the same. But if you’re on the East Coast with a school that sends multiple students to Ivies/MIT each year, the counselor may be bound to report what you’re doing (assuming you tried to go to MIT) just to protect herself and future students from the school from being “blackballed” by the schools (strong word but you get the idea).</p>
<p>So as far as I know, the only “legal” way to do this is to claim their FA package doesn’t meet your full need. Since you’re ED, you should get this package fairly soon and if it doesn’t (by whatever definition you want to use - that’s the loophole), then you can turn it down and attend elsewhere. Since MIT doesn’t release FA packages until after RD in March I’d say the odds of anyone checking then to see if you received more or less aid from them would be low, but of course it could always happen. If your ED school was one that doesn’t give great aid, this may be the way to go. </p>
<p>Good luck and sounds like you’ll have great opportunities wherever you may end up!</p>
<p>I hope after this, you develop some sense of responsibility for yourself and your choices, and make promises more carefully. I think it’s kinda slimy to report that their financial aid package doesn’t meet your needs if it does.</p>
<p>@marciemi - I think that they’re allowed to keep their applications in until they get their financial aid package from the ED school. Withdrawing right after they get in, and then getting an infeasible package, would be unfair to the students.</p>
<p>Thanks for your responsesthey were very helpful. I honestly didn’t ever fathom I would be in this position, but I will withdraw my MIT acceptance. Now I wish that I had pushed back my ED to regular if I knew this would happen. Good luck to everyone applying RD!</p>
<p>This is one reason why ED is for the number one choice, the dream school. </p>
<p>Applicants, take heed!</p>
<p>Another feather on the cap of the NGC – my new acronym for the non-guidance-counselors.</p>
<p>What is needed is a clearinghouse for all EA/ED applications to deter this gamesmanship that is getting obvious.</p>
<p>Clarifying that I wasn’t recommending the courses above, just trying to give possible outcomes of what could happen in any of those possibilities if the OP decided to pursue getting out of the ED contract somehow. I agree that this decision should have been made before the application was submitted ED, or if he wasn’t sure of his decision, he shouldn’t have applied that way.</p>
<p>Everything I’d read for ED at least at the schools we looked at was that you were supposed to withdraw your application once you knew you had been accepted. I agree with Piper though that it does make sense to wait for the FA package first, so I would recommend that to the OP since there is a chance that it may not be acceptable (particularly since we don’t know what the school is). </p>
<p>Agree that the clearinghouse idea would stop some of the gaming Xiggi.</p>
<p>“Everything I’d read for ED at least at the schools we looked at was that you were supposed to withdraw your application once you knew you had been accepted.”</p>
<p>Here’s the problem with that (from the common app agreement):
</p>
<p><a href=“https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/docs/downloadforms/ED_Agreement.pdf[/url]”>https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/docs/downloadforms/ED_Agreement.pdf</a></p>
<p>There is no ED acceptance until the ED FA offer from the school is accepted by the student/family.</p>
<p>How exactly would the clearinghouse work? Applying to both the ED college and MIT EA is perfectly acceptable so a more sophisticated test would be needed to detect gamesmanship.</p>
<p>Also, the seemingly critical text in this case is
</p>
<p>^ I think the second sentence is more critical then the first. Indeed, this student should wait to withdraw his/her other apps until getting the financial aid package and deeming it doable.</p>
<p>In case it’s not clear, #11’s quote appears before #12’s on the form, stopping the process before #12’s takes effect.</p>
<p>^ What?</p>
<p>10char</p>
<p>First, (re post #11) the family accepts the ED FA offer from the ED school (or declines and the issue is moot, proceed to RD), then (re post #12) withdraws apps to other schools.</p>
<p>So it would be considered immoral to say that the ed’s school offer of fa was not enough and accept the ea from MIT?</p>
<p>@Bullride It would depend on the ED college’s financial aid offer. If the offer is clearly insufficient for the student to attend it would be perfectly acceptable for the student to turn down the offer. If the OP’s family could comfortably afford it then it seems like it would be probably immoral. The phrasing (is probably be necessity) kind of vague. Is attendance possible if it requires huge loans or major financial financial sacrifices for the family? It’s not exactly clear what the line is in these cases. The standard for whether the financial aid is sufficient should probably be whether the OP would accept the offer in the absence of acceptance of MIT but I imagine it would be quite difficult to assess the counterfactual without the knowledge of the MIT acceptance coming in. Others may have different views though.</p>