So, my DD21 applied to a school and was deferred back in December. Last week she got a financial aid award letter from said school. Does that mean she was accepted? We didn’t know so we called saying she got the financial aid letter but not an official acceptance letter from admissions. I had to leave a message. A counselor just called me back (a week later) saying “No” – in fact, she had not been admitted yet. They are still waiting for her 1st semester senior grades to make a decision! The financial aid letter had been sent out by mistake! Thank goodness this wasn’t her number 1 school. What if she had withdrawn her other applications and accepted?! Basically all she said was “oops, our mistake, sorry…UUGGHHHH”
Needless to say, this school which had been in her top 3 has now fallen out of favor…if not off the list entirely!
You need to take emotion out of the equation, colleges are struggling right now, many staff members are working from home. There have been some issues at my daughter’s university due to staff being off campus, we just need to be patient. This is not a normal year.
Also, at many colleges, admissions and financial aid are fully separate (though necessarily related) processes. So while getting a financial offer without an offer of admission is rare, it is certainly possible.
Everything hangs on the actual offer of admission, though.
This isn’t limited to admissions and financial aid, BTW. At my D17’s college, for example, she was accepted to the honors program before she was admitted to the college, and the letter made it clear that while acceptance to honors was a good signal that admission to the college was likely, it wasn’t a guarantee and honors admission was contingent upon college admission.
(Now, it would be optimal if that were made that clear in all cases, I agree. But still, that’s the reality we’re in, and as mentioned by another, the usual processes aren’t running as smoothly as usual this cycle.)
There’s a story almost every year that college send out acceptance letters/emails to the wrong students. It’s unfortunate, but it happens. In a year of record application volumes and a pandemic, I won’t be surprised to see a surge in these issues.
I wouldn’t let an admissions office error rule out a favored college.
Good grief, people, the OP and their D21 had an upsetting experience during a difficult admissions year. How about prioritizing validation over pontification?
@TwinMom0419, I’m sorry you had this frustrating experience where it took a week to learn whether or not your D was accepted. If your D21 is anything like mine, she’s taking things harder than usual right now. If you haven’t already, check out the Parents of Class of 2021 thread—people are really nice. Best of luck to your D!
My point was that a college should not be taken off of the list do to a clerical error, especially when a lot of staff have been laid off. Deciding where to go to college is a big decision.
Acceptances need to be weeded down anyway. I think deferring her and then sending a financial aid offer by mistake is as good a reason as any to take this school off the table.
Really? My daughter applied to 18 schools, the top reason for her to decline acceptance is affordability. Then she will look at the strength of her program, campus, location, average salary after graduation…