<p>A student received a letter on Saturday from the Univ. of S.C. notifying them they had received a significant scholarship. Today, the student was told by phone it was a mistake. Can they do this? </p>
<p>Student is distraught. What should/can the student do?</p>
<p>If he really wants to go there, say hey wait a minute! He has in writing something he can hold against. I'm sure they can or will eat their "mistake". First, however, they will try to see if you will.</p>
<p>Did the student act to his detriment in reliance on the notification, prior to the correction? Or is it just disappointment?</p>
<p>Very strange. At a minimum I'd want to speak to the head of the department and maybe whoever's over several departments that include this one. I would not stop at just a phone call from the admin staff. After speaking with them, if they still want to not offer the scholarship, I'd insist on a written letter from the head of the department explaining the mistake they made, how it was made, and what the current offer is (even if 'none'). They'll have to think about this before they write it all in a letter to you.</p>
<p>dt123, not sure what you mean.</p>
<p>Other than the emotional high of realizing "hey, now I can afford to go to college," and telling all your friends and teachers all day...</p>
<p>I'm learning more. Heard of another student who was also offered this "Lieber" scholars award which is for national merit or something. One student was a national merit kid, the other student may have been commended. Both accepted. Both got letters on Saturday, both called today and said it was a mistake. Said they weren't Spanish or something like that. Did somebody send out the wrong list?</p>
<p>One of these students is really, really distraught. It's the difference between going and not going; so for 24 hours the kid thought they were headed to college.</p>
<p>Well, it would be a lot more serious if the student rejected other offers of admission and aid in reliance on the erroneous notification. That would be "acting to his detriment in reliance." It would put him in a different legal category than just being disappointed and embarrassed.</p>
<p>By any chance, are you talking about the Univ. of South Carolina, and not U. So. Cal.?</p>
<p>I agree with Ucsd<em>ucla</em>dad.</p>
<p>Somebody made a huge mistake, but I'm not sure there's anything that can be done without the detrimental reliance that has been mentioned. From the USC website (and yes, it's South Carolina):</p>
<p>
[quote]
Lieber Scholarship
Annual Value: Up to $10,000</p>
<p>Four-Year Value: Up to $40,000</p>
<p>The University annually awards scholarships to National Merit Finalists, National Achievement Finalists, and National Hispanic Recognition Program Scholars. The competition for these awards begins when you take the PSAT/NMSQT in your junior year of high school. The award is up to $10,000 per year and is renewable for up to three years as long as you maintain at least a “B” average. To be eligible, National Merit Finalist must list the University of South Carolina as their first choice through the National Merit application. National Achievement Finalists must send a copy of the National Achievement Finalist certificate to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. The National Hispanic Recognition Program will send us the names of the scholars selected for the program. No scholarship application is required.
[/quote]
So if you don't meet those very specific criteria, you never should have received a letter.</p>
<p>Student should talk to a lawyer.</p>
<p>Sorry. Yes, it's Univ. of South Carolina. If it's a massive mistake, and I've heard of two kids so far, they probably can't make good on all the promises. But it's potentially a huge public relations fiasco. Financially, not sure the devastated kid could/would do that. I will encourage kid to continue to follow-up; was so upset at the phone conversation, they can't remember specifics of what the "mistake" was.</p>
<p>Any other advice appreciated. Don't want to take unfair advantage, but this kid is really really devastated.</p>
<p>It seems to me that the college should make good on the scholarship unless there was language in the original letter that should have tipped you off, such as, "Because of your status as National Merit Finalist, we are awarding you..." But that's just my feeling, not a legal opinion.</p>
<p>"they probably can't make good on all the promises"</p>
<p>Yea, most universities in America are dirt poor. Barely able to keep their doors open and buy a ball for the team.</p>
<p>At USC,the Lieber is for National Merit Finalists.They also give the same reward to National Hispanic Scholars and to National Achievement Scholars(African-American).Perhaps the applicants were contenders for those designations, and didnt reach the finalist status?Or perhaps the letters were truly sent in error to a wrong list of students.In either case, a call to the powers in charge are in order,and confirmation in writing that the original letter was a mistake.
Didnt a similar mistake happen at UNC this year with admittance letters sent out?</p>
<p>I agree with UCLA dad and others that it should be looked into a bit further. But could a letter be construed to convey contractual obligations, particularly if there is quick follow-up rescinding it before the admittee acts upon its contents?</p>
<p>If you had immediately submitted a deposit and turned down other college admittance offers, maybe you would have some legal standing. If you did not, you probably need to take your lumps and move on.</p>
<p>My D received a scholarship award at her designated school of choice for being a National Merit finalist, but it says on the award notification "if you are determined in the future to not be eligible for the National Merit Scholarship per the National merit Scholarship Corporation then this award will be cancelled"--see where the problem occurred--at the university level or at the National Merit Corp. level, and why the mistake was made--an explanation is in order!</p>
<p>I think that the ethical thing for the U to do is to replace that grant with another. The bad PR alone would be worth it, especially if more than one student is involved. </p>
<p>I cannot imagine getting said letter, making the mental decision that this is one's first choice, and realizing that the dream will be able to occur, especially in light of the scholarship....only to receive a communication a few days later that this was just a "mistake."</p>
<p>Yes, unless there is some consideration in return I do not think there was a binding contract by most rules.</p>
<p>Just heard of a Tufts app in a similar situation. On Friday, he rec'd a letter award a large grant; on Monday, the sch called, rescinded the offer and reduced the award to $3K. I don't know whether on Friday he declined offers from other school (reliance to his detriment), but the reduction in the grant puts Tufts out of reach.</p>
<p>I wonder if this is another college board snafu (ie, list of NMSF's sent out inaccurately? ) I noticed the SC scholarship was specifically tied to the NMSF program. Since it is a scholarship with very specific criteria I would think there had to be something like that involved.</p>