<p>I have a couple of questions about the May 1st National Response date......1st kid going to college!</p>
<p>i have heard about a number of schools asking for decisions prior to that date. Can they do that? Or is it just that parents/kids are worried they might "take back" an acceptance if we don't? Can you just say "no, we will respond by May 1st"? Can they rescind offers if you do?</p>
<p>Can you actually respond ON May 1 if you needed to? Does it have to be in writing? Can you just call? Or do you really need to respond a few days ahead of time in order to get it their by snail-mail?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>This question seems as annual as the first red robin of spring. You can refer to other threads on this, but briefly…
The May first date is a sort “best practice” agreed to by many schools. It has no legal force behind it. Any school can request sooner or later commitment dates if they desire. Having a set date does lend a measure of good order to what otherwise could be chaos. So, some schools have earlier dates due to parameters on various scholarship monies or other internal needs. It is OK that they ask for earlier decisions. In any case, it is helpful to any program, if you have made up your mind, to let them know as soon as possible. This allows the school to have an idea who is coming, where they might further allocate scholarship money, and, in some cases, allow them to make offers to other students on a wait list.</p>