Help needed with unfair rejection at Purdue

[deesal]

@chmcnm

I think the point of hiring a lawyer at this point would be to speed up the process and get a documented answer either way.

I am in discussion with a lawyer who informed me that he has worked on cases with Purdue. If anyone has a reference for a lawyer that would be right for my need, please share it with me.

[deesal]

@chmcnm

You need to be working on a plan B, C, D, etc in parallel to pursuing your case with Purdue. Every day you wait is opportunity lost.

Thank you so much. Plan B is community college and a transfer. I have already started working on that plan.

[derakiii33]

Reach out frantically to the 7 non-Purdue offers first thing tomorrow and explain to them the situation, and see if any of them would be willing to still take her. Unless the finances were an issue at the other acceptances, then this would be a MUCH better “plan B” than community college.

[MMRose]

Just wanting to clarify: if @deesal calls her #2 (or #3 or #4…) school and explains the situation and they say yes, and if OP accepts the #2 or #3 school, what happens if Purdue comes back in a few days and says they’ve got it all figured out and offers her a spot? Can OP’s daughter still enroll in Purdue the way she wants? Can she tell the #2 school “no thanks” and enroll at Purdue? I know she will lose her deposit at #2, but is she allowed to do that?

[vpa2019]

What would her second choice have been? It might be worth calling them to see if she can attend. Especially if making friends and immersing herself into campus life is important to her. Second @derakiii33 suggestion if she’s adamant about starting fall ‘21.

CC is fine but she won’t get the opportunity to integrate into the college community the way she would as a freshman and transferring is basically reapplying all over again (unless Purdue gives her a guaranteed spot for fall ‘22) with the added challenge of making friends and such after everyone has a year of doing that very thing. If the school has a good sized transfer class that can help ameliorate the issue but not completely.

I know taking a gap year doesn’t seem appealing but I’d sincerely encourage your D to consider her options in lieu of taking the CC route. There are travel, volunteer, work/internships opportunities that would be significantly better than going to CC for her first year of college.

[deesal]

@itsgettingreal21

You are being super nice and they are taking advantage.

It is my D’s future. I feel responsible.
It is also Purdue’s reputation, I would not take steps to impact it if I have a choice as this is where she will study.

[deesal]

@derakiii33

Unless the finances were an issue at the other acceptances,

Finances were an issue for all options, including Purdue but I guess this is same for all of us. CC will not cost as much as Purdue and they will acceot her. D 's SAT score is in 99th percentile.

[deesal]

@vpa2019

CC is fine but she won’t get the opportunity to integrate into the college community the way she would as a freshman and transferring is basically reapplying all over again (unless Purdue gives her a guaranteed spot for fall ‘22) with the added challenge of making friends and such after everyone has a year of doing that very thing. If the school has a good sized transfer class that can help ameliorate the issue but not completely.

I appreciate your points. I will talk to D again.

[deesal]

@MMRose

if @deesal calls her #2 (or #3 or #4…) school and explains the situation and they say yes, and if OP accepts the #2 or #3 school, what happens if Purdue comes back in a few days and says they’ve got it all figured out and offers her a spot? Can OP’s daughter still enroll in Purdue the way she wants? Can she tell the #2 school “no thanks” and enroll at Purdue? I know she will lose her deposit at #2, but is she allowed to do that?

I don’t know. Good question though.

[deesal]

@am9799

I strongly suggest hiring a lawyer. If the school is right the lawyer can explain that to the OP and help them understand their options.

Thanks for the suggestion. It is helping me figure it all out.

[derakiii33]

May I ask what some of the other acceptances were? Some of them may be more willing to reconsider your financial aid situation and give you a better package. If I could get one of the stingiest private universities to budge on my family’s FA package, then anything is possible, and it doesn’t hurt to ask.

I understand that CC would be a much cheaper option than a 4-year, but you really get what you pay for. The classes, the teachers, the students are likely going to be of lower quality than a 4-year, and it sounds like your daughter is worried about the “formative months” she would miss. If that is something that is really important to her, then she should be very wary of a CC.

Is there any reason why you want her to be in a rush to start and go to college. I can completely understand that finances might be a big factor, but you could craft a gap year in which she gets a job to help support the experience.

[MarylandJOE]

@deesal

I just wanted to chime in and say I’ve been reading this thread and I’m pulling for your daughter and you. Purdue needs to step up and make this right and I don’t blame you for taking any action necessary to make it happen. Your daughter called to clarify she had done the right thing and the Purdue representative assured her it was fine. I hope they correct this to your daughters satisfaction very soon. In the end a bit of their reputation is on the line. Might be a small bit but it’s still a bit. I can’t see the harm in admitting one student that they obviously wanted and took the deposit from. Good luck.

[deesal]

@MarylandJOE

I can’t see the harm in admitting one student that they obviously wanted and took the deposit from. Good luck.

Thank you so much for reading the thread for days. You don’t know how these messages kept me going.

[deesal]

@derakiii33

May I ask what some of the other acceptances were? Some of them may be more willing to reconsider your financial aid situation and give you a better package. If I could get one of the stingiest private universities to budge on my family’s FA package, then anything is possible, and it doesn’t hurt to ask.

Thanks, I had not thought about the situation this way. I will think it through. I too don’t want CC for her. I will talk to her again about plan C/D.

[MYOS1634]

Beside what I typed up thread (feeling let down and dispirited, social difficulties linked with transferring) her 99th percentile SAT may indicate a mismatch between her skills/already completed classes and what the CC offers.
Check what courses are offered in her major and whether they transfer. Some CCs primarily cover technical certificates and remedial material, math goes to precalculus and calculus 1, etc., and if she took lots of APs the appropriate offerings may be meager.
Have her review her choice #2, choice #3 and decide where she’d like to go if Purdue doesn’t come through. Call Purdue on Monday and get ready to call #2 to see if admission+scholarship are still there. No need to explain why - NACAC rules were changed so that universities can “poach” students after May 1st, meaning if you hint you might still be interested some universities may offer the same scholarship as before whereas at others it got offered to someone else when you turned it down. “We’re reconsidering our choices since you were #1 till very late in the decision process and are wondering if…”
What were choices 2 and 3?

[deesal]

@MYOS1634

No need to explain why - NACAC rules were changed so that universities can “poach” students after May 1st, meaning if you hint you might still be interested some universities may offer the same scholarship as before whereas at others it got offered to someone else when you turned it down.

I will do that. Thanks for suggesting it and explaining it so well. Her #2-#8 were all in US news top 100 list. I am just not writing the exact names on a public forum. I did receive an email from one of those that they are on rolling admissions, I will call them to identify backup options.

[eyemgh]

@deesal

another option could be a community college and then a transfer.

Assuming her acceptance can be deferred and that she keeps sufficient grades in CC. You might want to ask if they’d be willing to do that before committing.

[deesal]

@eyemgh

Assuming her acceptance can be deferred and that she keeps sufficient grades in CC. You might want to ask if they’d be willing to do that before committing

What they had told me was that upto eleven credits are allowed if she wants to join as a freshmen in fall 22. Any credits more than 11 will make it to a transfer student.
If she goes to CC and gets more than eleven credits then for transfer, she will have to apply and transfer only if selected.

[MYOS1634]

11 credits means part time - AFAIK 12 is the minimum for being considered full time for federal financial aid eligibility and satisfactory progress.
It’s a rather rotten offer frankly.
It’s 2 science classes and 1 humanities rather 4 or 5 as would be necessaryfor a normal 1st semester. It does not cover 1 semester’s worth of credit so if she started in the Spring she’d be behind compared to classmates and it would unbalance all her sequences if she chooses a sequential major.

[deesal]

@MYOS1634

It’s a rather rotten offer frankly.

I had not understood that. Thanks for explaining it to me. She has about 6APs as well so I am assuming that the some of transfer credits will come from APs.