In ED - need advice on how to withdraw other apps

<p>Me son was just accepted this week to his ED school. We know he must withdraw all other apps promptly so is it ok to email/call the schools rather than send a letter? I just think with the holidays, the letter may take a while and I hate to waste anyone's time or worse, take another kid's spot. Thanks.</p>

<p>Some schools will accept an e-mail, but snail mail is much for official, IMO. And, no, there is no such thing as taking another kids' spot -- adcoms have sophisticating modeling to predict yeild but, more importantly, RD decisions won't be made until March.</p>

<p>My son had been accepted to three schools (guess they had rolling admission) when he was accepted to his ED choice on the 15th. We wrote letters to all the schools and mailed them a couple of days ago.</p>

<p>Personally I think that's a better way to handle things things than email or calling.</p>

<p>agree that the handwritten note is best especially for the small LAC.</p>

<p>Thanks. I will remind him to write the letters this weekend. He had mid-terms all week (finished yesterday) and with the excitment of his acceptance, we just haven't focused on withdrawing the other apps. I'm sure getting him to focus on anything at this point will be a challenge -- he really thinks he is "done"!</p>

<p>I just added "application withdrawal letters" to D's winter break to-do list. </p>

<p>Hah! And she thought my college application nagging days were over....;)</p>

<p>I'm going to go against the grain here and say that e-mails are fine and may even be preferable because you will generally get an immediate response. My older daughter (HS class of '06) did just that. She did send a letter to the one school that didn't respond to the e-mail. Younger daughter will be sending her regrets by e-mail this week. If any don't respond, she will follow up with a letter.</p>

<p>He actually wound up having to write an extra letter; he just got another acceptance today, so his letter and theirs must have crossed in the mail.</p>

<p>Nice to be wanted though.</p>

<p>I called Wesleyan and asked how to rescind. They said "send an e-mail" and gave me the address.</p>

<p>So e-mail is fine for Wesleyan!</p>

<p>if you are looking for wording, something like:</p>

<p>Dear (admissions counselor):</p>

<p>I was so happy to receive acceptance to your college. I know I could have been very happy and challenged there. However, I have been accepted early decision elsewhere and must now withdraw my acceptance. I appreciate all you did to help me through this process.</p>

<p>Sincerely,
dwhiteson</p>

<p>would be appropriate.</p>

<p>You can send a form letter to each school. My kids' school provides preprinted postcards for them to send to the colleges. Emails seem OK too, if you have a good email address to send it to.</p>

<p>Ok I'm confused here, I thought with early decision you were not allowed to apply to any other schools?</p>

<p>you're allowed to apply to other schools... you just shoudn't apply to more than one binding ED program- in case you're admitted to both. the only stipulation is you must withdraw all pending applications, including early non-binding acceptances, if accepted into a binding ED program</p>

<p>No, with ED you can still apply RD anywhere else you like but, if accepted by the ED school you are supposed to withdraw all other applications immediately.</p>

<p>crossposted with smartalic, whose answer is more complete than mine.</p>

<p>I think e-mail or letter is fine these days. My daughter sent a personal e-mail to any regional admissions officers who had been nice enough to correspond with her and answer questions for her -- just to explain the ED acceptance and reason for withdrawing. Kind of like the "we had a record year of excellent options and this should in no way reflect poorly on ...." letter than colleges send. Seriously though, just a courtesy to adcoms so they aren't left wonder what happened to a student who had shown obvious interest.</p>

<p>I agree with ID. </p>

<p>Also, you do not want to burn any bridges you may have to cross again in the event that the bloom comes off of the rose at your ED school and you want to seek options elsewhere.</p>

<p>Many colleges keep your application on file for 2 years where all you will have to do is amend it with the new information.</p>

<p>My personal feelings are a little different on this. The way I see it there's no obligation to withdraw apps from RD schools just because an acceptance has been made to an ED school. My child's contract with the ED school is to attend ED school. That contract will be honored. </p>

<p>On the other hand, I paid a $60 or $70 non-refundable fee to the RD school. Their contract to us is to evaluate child's application and issue acceptance, waitlist or denial. It's only at that time is the child obligated to reply to RD school. I see nothing wrong in obtaining the full service from the RD school in exchange for the application fee paid. We want to see which RD schools are going to accept and deny; we want our money's worth.</p>

<p>My S, who was just admitted ED, emailed the admissions officers in charge of our region at all the schools he where he had applied, and also the schools where his transcripts and scores had been sent, even if he had not yet sent in his app. He received incredibly cordial emails back from all the private schools and one of the publics almost immediately, all wishing him congratulations and good luck. One adcom mentioned that they would miss him on campus (even though he hadn't even sent in his app), and another encouraged him to think of her college for graduate school.</p>

<p>NutonaBike,
You might be confusing EA with ED. Our ED contract stipulated that S was required to pull other apps; his offer will be rescinded if his ED school finds out that he still has apps floating around out there. Also S's high school requests ED students to pull apps immediately to make room for his deferred and RD classmates. I agree it's tempting to wait and find out where he would have been accepted, but it is forbidden by contract - and it's probably bad karma to take away another kid's place.</p>

<p>Nut:</p>

<p>In your other posts, it appears that your D applied to Scripps College ED. Perhaps you missed the part of their applications that says: "applicants are expected to withdraw thier applications to other colleges....". Or, perhaps you are taking this parental moment to teach your children about not following rules and making it more difficult for the RD colleges and for those applicants where yourD's RD colleges might be their first choice.</p>

<p>
[quote]
On the other hand, I paid a $60 or $70 non-refundable fee to the RD school. Their contract to us is to evaluate child's application and issue acceptance, waitlist or denial.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>When a student is accepted ED they are to withdraw all other applications and not to make any new ones. As I wrote in my most on another thread, if your child is accepted ED, until your ED school tell me you are being released, your child application process goes no further (no transcripts are sent, no letters are written or sent). </p>

<p>Because I have professional relationships I like to maintain and I work really hard to do what is in the best interest of ** all of my students**, if the school contacts me as to tell me that your child's application is incomplete, I will let them know your child is attending ED elsewhere. If I make a call to the college (and I make plenty to inquire about the status of kids on my case load, I do let them know students who were admitted ED and are no longer in consideration. If it is an adcom that I have a really good working relationship with, I will let them know that your child is attending ED somewhere else.</p>