<p>My dd applied to schools where she thought she had a chance at merit money, and she has begun receiving scholarship offers from some of them. They typically come with a letter saying, "To accept this scholarship, sign and return this document within 30 days."</p>
<p>She hasn't even heard from all her schools yet, and she may not hear from some of them within the next 30 days. Certainly she has not yet decided which school to attend. However, she doesn't want to lose these merit offers, since she may very well end up choosing one of them.</p>
<p>If she signs and returns the scholarship acceptance, is it viewed as making a commitment to attend that school?</p>
<p>Is it a faux pas to accept a scholarship from more than one school, knowing that she would later have to withdraw that acceptance from all but one of them?</p>
<p>Curmudgeon, I'm thinking you might have some experience with this issue?</p>
<p>This does not sound ethical and it has come up before. NACAC has rules about this. I believe that you have until May 1, but it may not apply to money for housing (could be wrong about the latter).</p>
<p>I wonder what happens if you put this in writing, and ask for an extension (explain that she has not received all acceptances yet).</p>
<p>At two schools (big state U's) my DS is considering, they said to accept scholarship offers even if you are not definite about attending. I imagine it might be different for small LACs or private schools. The universal reply date is May 1st, and you are supposed to be allowed to request in writing an extension of scholarship deadlines until May 1st.</p>
<p>It is a violation of NACAC's rules if they have not clearly stated that you have the opportunity to request an extension in writing until May 1: </p>
<p>My daughter was offered a scholarship with a deadline last year and submitted a written request for an extension. When we got the FA package, lo and behold, the scholarship had disappeared. My only regret is that we didn't report this violation to NACAC; schools will continue this practice unless somebody reports them.</p>
<p>I suggest your daughter make the written request, mentioning that she is writing per NACAC guidelines; maybe that will keep them honest.</p>
<p>When my S was a senior he applied for a merit scholarship at the school he knew he would attend. He got a letter in April saying he did not get the scholarship "so many worthy applicants this year....". In June he got a letter congratulating him on getting the scholarship. When I called FA, they said the person it was originally awarded to decided not to attend the school and S was "next on the list". So I guess that student had "accepted" the scholarship and then declined later.</p>
<p>I think phone calls to the schools in question are in order, followed up by written correspondence.</p>
<p>A friend's D had a similar situation regarding an acceptance deadline of 30 days. After reading through the info they were sent several times, they finally noticed the fine print that said there was an option to extend the deadline to May 1st. You may want to reread through the packet as my friend's family missed the extension clause the first time through. Good luck and congrats to your D.</p>
<p>I believe Jefferson Scholars at UVA are supposed to accept/decline their "full ride scholarship"by April 20. Not sure about UNC's Morehead or Pogue.</p>
<p>D was offered the Murcheson Scholarship at Trinity (SA) and was told to accept even if she wasn't sure that she would be attending. She did, and then rejected the school. If she did attend, she would want the $, if she didn't then they kept it.</p>
<p>I looked back at the fine print on the paperwork sent to my dd.</p>
<p>One scholarship offer, from a large public univ, says in boldface: "The deadline for accepting this scholarship is March 1, 2007." No possible extension is mentioned anywhere in the paperwork.</p>
<p>Another, from a small LAC, says "please sign and return ... within thirty days. If additional time is needed, please contact the financial aid office to request an extension."</p>
<p>When DS was dealing with a similar situation this time last year, I called the first institution that awarded a merit scholarship. Yes, there was a deadline to accept said scholarship. And, yes, they sure hoped he would attend if he accepted it, but, if he later decided to not to enroll, the institution would certainly appreciate being notified as soon as possible.</p>
<p>So, he accepted the scholarship, was later accepted at his dream school, notified the first institution, with thanks, of his change of plans, and that was that.</p>
<p>My daughter got a bunch of scholarships from non-elite schools and non had a deadline before May 1, although one stated that housing is first-come, first-served.</p>
<p>This situation is JUST accepting or declining a scholarship offer - not an offer of acceptance to the school - it happens all the time - if the student does not decide to attend - if offered acceptance - no problem</p>
<p>I wouldn't be so sure. The school that offered me a scholarship said that by accepting the scholarship, I accept admission. It's really messed-up. The OP's situation, however, could be different I suppose.</p>
<p>Mmkay, NACAC is not just counselors; it's also enrollment professionals from colleges. If a college is a member of NACAC, they agree to a certain code of conduct and principles: </p>
<p>The school which reneged on the scholarship offer made to my daughter last year was a NACAC member, and I should have reported them for violating the code of conduct of NACAC. I didn't think of it at the time (it was my daughter's financial safety, and we were extraordinarily fortunate that we didn't have to go that route); now it's too late because I didn't save all the paperwork so I could document the violation. </p>
<p>The point is that students do have rights in these situations, and I think there are too many schools which assume the student won't know any better. Obviously, not all schools belong to NACAC, but if they do, they should be called on their attempts to bypass the code of conduct.</p>
<p>The language that applies in this situation says: </p>
<p>B. Admission, Financial Aid and Testing Policies and Procedures
Postsecondary members agree that they will:</p>
<ol>
<li>work with their institutions’ senior administrative officers to ensure that financial aid and scholarship offers and housing options are not used to manipulate commitments prior to May 1;</li>
</ol>