<p>I have heard of people withdrawing before acceptance was received- on these boards anyway- generally when they freaked out about the possiblity of little aid and being tied to the school.</p>
<p>It sounds like if he did withdraw in December it possibly crossed in the mail?
My daughter didn't apply ED precisely for that reason so I don't have all the info, but in a case like this I would have wanted a confirmation phone call or email at least before I applied to any more schools</p>
<p>Carolyn,
Jaknap did not actually say that the ED school accepted his son now. It sounds more like his son withdrew and ED rejected the withdrawal, all in December.
But yeah, with the March 1st date, and no timeline on events, it's all very odd.</p>
<p>Amen to that emerald,
and that is why even a phonecall to cancel a cable t.v. service, warrants a "who am I speaking with?", and a scribble on my bill, with name, date, conf.#, etc.</p>
<p>I wonder about the signature thing too. To withdraw from what is essentially a signed contract, I would assume that not just the kid, but the GC and/or parent who signed would also have apply in writing to withdraw - and the school would have every right to say no, unless they said about front that you have 72 hours or something to withdraw.......</p>
<p>Sorry, but I do not feel it warrants any more discussion since it is obvious making a mountain out of a mole hill does not help ANYONE. Ultimately, the issue is upto the student and his college so kindly please respect the privacy concerns and let the matter rest. All points raised are valid but this becomes a personal matter agian between the student and school. It really is nobody's business. Many thanks for your thoughts though. Have a nice evening - Goodbye</p>
<p>Satisfied Dad</p>
<p>Sorry dad, but you raised some issues and kind of accused the school of ignoring what your son requested. If that is the case, we as parents, all get concerned because if our D or S had the same change of heart, will it be respected by the school. If your son made a mistake, and you asked our advise, I am sorry we got a little personal. Considering we have no idea who you or your son is, or who the school is, why the snippiness? You brought it to use as a community to advise you and now that we have raised some questions, you dismiss us. Very nice.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Charming indeed.</p>
<p>How can it be nobody's business if it was brought up in a thread-opening message on a public discussion board? The original post certainly looked like it was asking everyone to pitch in with advice, and most of the best advisors on this forum like to be well informed about a situation (often by asking follow-up questions) before giving their advice. </p>
<p>(Yes, my asking this question on a public forum means that I agree that it is everyone's business to answer the question I pose in this post.) ;)</p>
<p>Call me a cynic, but I think that Jacknap was fishing for information and when he didn't get the answer he obviously wanted .... he's bowed out. It is only our business if we are able to tell him what he wants to hear... and he framed the question as best he could to try to solicit that answer. </p>
<p>But I wouldn't be too hard on him. The ED racket puts an unconscionable burden on kids and families. I can't think of any other business or industry that would make offers contingent on an advance agreement to accept the offer, without knowing the precise costs involved, and that wields such power that it can prevent the prospective purchaser from dealing with any of its competitors. In fact -- as I framed the practice -- I'm sure it would be considered a violation of antitrust laws in any other business -- And the college admissions racket does this routinely to 17 year olds.</p>
<p>I did not respond to the original post due to its lack of clarity, particularly the "March 1st deadline. I never heard of a march 1 deadline for ed.</p>
<p>I don't blame jaknap for not mentioning the school as it is pretty apparent that current and past admissions people offer their advice on the forums.</p>
<p>It sounds like an ignorant, though honest, mistake may have been made last fall. This is, in part, the problem with ed. Parents and students should, in a perfect world, be completely informed on their education choices. All too often they are not.</p>
<p>As to the signed contract, it may be that many students have never signed a contract of any note prior to having signed this contract, and parents have spent the last 12 years signing things for their children involving school functions without ever thinking they were signing something akin to a mortgage contract (although, as calmmom noted, not to many contracts involve one party committing to an unknown quantity; certainly, this contract favors one party). It is at least nominally different.</p>
<p>I suspect someone has been hoister by their own petard. Not having realized that this signature will be part of a new variety of signatures. People often say, poor people should just get out and get a job, we did it.........but there are always many factors involved. Jaknap and his son should have known, but they would not be the first to underestimate the implications of this last of high school choices.</p>
<p>I remember another thread in which the writer said something similar - "this discussion is over." But it is not the OP's decision to make, as one of the moderators pointed out on that thread. The subject of ED may still interest other posters.</p>
<p>As far as the contract, it's obviously not like a binding legal contract. They can't sue you if you refuse to go. But it certainly is a matter of honor and integrity. Why would you sign the thing if you didn't understand what it meant? The paper you sign makes it perfectly clear, and you are perfectly free to decide to go RD.</p>
<p>To me, jaknap sounded like a kid, posing as an adult.</p>
<p>I agree. (Ten Characters)...</p>
<p>jaknap: "Just A Kid; Not A Parent"</p>
<p>But I too have started discussions where I was "done" after a certain number of posts. I got the answer I needed (meal plan, for example), and was ready for the thread to go away. But people kept posting, and then I thought of another question myself and posted it. It's just the nature of this beast.</p>
<p>In this case the OP probably got the answer he didn't want.</p>
<p>Digmedia, in the case of your meal plan query you were very specific that you needed information by a certain date, and I remember you got lots of responses, which I hope were helpful. I suspect the OP, as the previous poster and others have said, just didn't like what he heard.</p>
<p>Just a quick comment, Nedad--my S did not have to sign anything for his ED app, nor did the GC or I. The contract we all signed came only with his acceptance.</p>
<p>Additionally, as has been mentioned briefly here, it's been my understanding that one can reverse an ED app before the decisions have been made (after the deadline). Numerous posters have discussed contacting adcoms and being allowed to do so. The idea that parent and GC would also have to assent to the change seems to be pure speculation; at least, I've never heard even one case of that being necessary.</p>
<p>None of this may be applicable to the OP's case, which he's being very unforthright about. But I think it's important for general education that we keep speculations clear as speculations, and realize that blanket assertions about what an ED contract consists of may not be true of every school.</p>
<p>I find it hard to believe that most states would consider an ED application a binding contract, particularly with a minor. For that matter, everything anyone's posted here says schools don't try to hold kids to them anyway -- though there may be other consequences.</p>
<p>I also believe that a school would have to honor a withdrawal made before they accepted a student who applied ED, though they'd be right to insist on the withdrawal being in writing. This is the most basic contract law; anyone can withdraw from a contract offer up to the time it's been accepted by the other party. If the school hasn't accepted you, i.e., they can still reject you, there's no binding obligation yet, moral or legal. You have every right to withdraw your application. Being past the submission deadline has nothing to do with it.</p>
<p>Could the OP possibly be talking about EDII?</p>
<p>I agree with Strick. Up to the time when an offer has been made, it should be okay to withdraw; and it would be better to do so in writing, so that there is a record.
But whether an ED acceptance is binding or not is a bit besides the point. It is ethically wrong to wait until after an offer has been made then decide to wait until March to see what else is on offer. From a pragmatic point of view, the student puts himself at risk of being rejected elsewhere, since quite often ED lists circulate among selective colleges. The refusal of the ED school to allow the student to refuse the ED acceptance strongly suggests to me that the adcoms will be upset enough to alert other colleges.</p>