<p>How do you figure out if a school is part of the NACAC? I tried using the member search thing on their website, but it doesn't seem to be working or I don't know what I'm doing.</p>
<p>Hopefully this is what you are looking for. Actually I tried to use this and had trouble too.</p>
<p>Thank you. I don't know why, but I couldn't get that to work before. Anyway, so the school that is requiring me to respond by march 15 is a member. I'm going to have to look in to their rules, etc. because I wanted to wait for Penn's response. Good luck OP and thanks everyone else.</p>
<p>As many have pointed out, you can accept many scholarships without enrolling in a school.
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The school that offered me a scholarship said that by accepting the scholarship, I accept admission.
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This is definitely against policy. I would write to NACAC about this and copy the Director/Dean of the Office of Admission at the school in question.
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I believe Jefferson Scholars at UVA are supposed to accept/decline their "full ride scholarship"by April 20.
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Accepting the Jefferson is not the same as enrolling at The University.</p>
<p>MMKAY - have you been offered an acceptance at the school that is offering this scholarship?? Or are they offering you a scholarship to attend - is it in writing that accepting it means a committment to attend - unless it is ED acceptance - no school can force you to attend just because they offered you $$ - sounds weird for sure</p>
<p>Well, I've already been accepted. But the scholarship was a hard one to get. I had to take a test and go through an interview, and then I was selected as one of sixteen who got it. On the letter that they sent me, it says the criteria for accepting the scholarship. One of them is enrolling at the school. To accept the scholarship, I would have to enroll for sure. The bad thing is, while this full-ride has made the school one of my top choices, I won't know from my real top choice (Penn) until the end of march, while the scholarship response deadline is march 15. Also, most schools that i've applied to (NYU, Miami, OSU) won't give financial aid letter until after march 15 too.</p>
<p>I believe the NACAC prohibition is that of accepting MULTIPLE college acceptances. It does not address the issue of accepting a scholarship, putting down a deposit for a room, or even accepting a school unless it is under early decision provisions, and then changing your mind when other offers arise. It is a pain in the neck though, to pay acceptance fees, some which are very hefty, when you know that you won't be going there if other options open up later, but what can you do? The same with housing reservations. You may get the deposit back, but sometimes not, but if you do not reserve early you may end up in a quadruple room in Outer Siberia. I believe it is a failing of NACAC that it is not addressing these situations with the COLLEGES, as I am seeing this occur increasingly. I do believe it violates the spirit of the May 1 deadline that NACAC likes to brag about as one of their accomplishments. I have also seen schools not respond with scholarship or aid packages until after the May 1 deadline which puts the student into quandries and possible lost deposits. Both the housing and scholarship issues should be something addressed by NACAC members instead of being so danged concerned of multiple acceptances on the part of the student. In my book, if a college does not specifically address that issue (saying NO multiple acceptances, or having student sign that they are the one and only with waitlist situations the only exception), they are wide open since it is no big thing to add that to the enrollment contract. It seems to me that colleges are really pushing it in some areas to make students have to put down deposits or even commitments earlier than the May 1 deadline if they are not to lose out in some way.</p>
<p>Dean J, though contacting NACAC and enlisting your GC's aid in all of this, may gain you the extra time, sometimes it does not. If the college stands firm, then, oh well, you have a problem, especially if the consensus then becomes that you cannot accept the admissions offer, and therefore the scholarship. I personally don't see the problem in accepting, other than if a deposit is involved when you have to make the financial decision. This is really something I am seeing more and more of, and it really should be addressed. Some state universities have limited housing, and if you do not lock in a room early, you may be out of luck, and most of us don't want our freshmen on off campus rooms. The May 1 deadline is a joke for getting any kind of room priority. And the state school is often the financial and admissions safety school, so it is natural that kids are awaiting further acceptances before truly making a decision. </p>
<p>I have also seen some highly regarded schools require kids to come on campus to get their scholarship award right before the final college acceptances are out. So it's your third choice school, but it may end up being your best choice so you can't really afford to say know, especially if the merit award is nice--actually any amount is helpful. So what the heck do you do? Not in the spirit of NACAC rules at all, in my opinion, and I am seeing this increasingly.</p>
<p>At plenty of schools, the group awarding scholarships (Alumni/Development, financial aid, honors program, specific academic dept., etc.) is separate from the Office of Admission. They simply may not be aware of the National Candidate Reply Date. A letter to admission and NACAC would make sure everyone is on the same page.</p>
<p>I wish people would go a step further and publish the names of the schools in question. Everyone's quick to post a rumor about a school's admission policy, but when it comes to a fact (I believe someone has a letter in hand with a date on it), they're reluctant to spread the word. Schools will learn pretty quickly if word is out there that they're making unusual requests of students.</p>
<p>By the way, there's no problem with a student accepting an offer of admission early. In fact, I wish everyone would tell us as soon as they've made their decision...we're biting our nails leading up the May 1st! The point is that no school should force a student to make a decision before they know all of their options.</p>
<p>When I say accepting an offer of admission early, I mean doing it simply to get a decent room (or make sure you have a room) or for a merit award as OP is discussing. The acceptance would be withdrawn if other colleges further up the choice list accept the student. The student has not accepted two or more colleges at the same time,as the withdrawal of the acceptance would be before accepting another school. Clearly this would not be allowed in an ED scenario, but what about EA or rolling or just plain early notification? You would not have to look far at all for housing assignment preference for those who respond early at limited housing schools. This happens alot. Some schools do separate out the housing from the admissions acceptance, but others want a combined check and enrollment sheet filled accepting admissions before a room is assigned.</p>
<p>Dean J</p>
<p>I am puzzled by your comment about accepting the Jefferson. Would that not also be agreeing to enroll at the University so that they can confirm their yield/ be in a position to offer to someone else if declining?</p>
<p>The Morehead requires accepting the Scholarship by April 15 and signing a contract with the Foundation that also includes what is essentially a Morals Clause that spells out how you can lose the scholarship. When you accept The Morehead you are also saying that you will enroll at UNC.</p>
<p>UT-Austin clearly says that a student must enroll before getting a housing contract. I emailed them and asked whether it was okay for my son to put down an enrollment deposit, since he didn't want to end up without a room but wasn't sure he was going to attend. They said, 'Oh yes, everyone does it. Just let us know before May 1st, so that we can refund his enrollment deposit if he chooses to go elsewhere." His other big public schools have asked for housing deposits, but not enrollment deposits. All have dates of late April or May 1st as their last day to get full refund of housing or enrollment deposits.</p>
<p>Eadad, if you accept the Morehead and do not complete the enrollment forms for Admissions, are you enrolled? I rather doubt it. I think a Morehead recipient has to fill out the same forms everyone who enrolls at UNC does, in addition to the contract. When you don't enroll, you lose the scholarship, simple as that, I would think. Also most schools will have sent acceptance letters by mid April, and you should know under what circumstances you would not go to UNC. The problem would be if you have to enrolled in order to get the scholarship. You then have accepted a spot at the university which would be fine, but what if you are awaiting info from other schools yet to send their acceptances or aid/merit packages? I don't see a problem, but schools might. </p>
<p>Anxiousmom, I was given the same spiel from our state U. Can't remember if the enrollment was with the room deposit, though in our case we did not send the stuff in until a week or so before the due date. Result was that our son ended up off the main campus, which was a pain and not something I was happy about at all. I know that CMU specifically has you sign a statement upon accepting their offer of admittance that you are not enrolled in another school with consequences if they should find out otherwise. And they are a school with spread out housing where your kid could end up in a hotel if he is in a late group sending that housing request which has to be accompanied by the enrollment contract.</p>
<p>Good friend of mine's daughter was awarded a scholarship a few weeks before most of her college's decisions were out. In order to get it, she had to come to the campus. She was not even given the amount of the award which would be revealed when she arrived. Since she was not accepted by her ED school (she was an academic match and legacy), and therefore not at all confident she was getting in any where. So the family forked over the money for her to go to Sewanee, and she took off the time to go. Don't remember whether the award was enough to have paid for the trip LOL. I don't even know if she was accepted there yet--will ask about that. Her mom, one of close friends was not very happy about the position that timing put them. Tantamout to blackmail, she was mumbling. She then put down money for a housing contract on the safety school upon learning that there was an acute shortage there, and that the previous year, anyone who sent their housing deposit too close to May 1st would risk being stuck in doubles made into triples or put in grad housing off of the campus.</p>
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Dean J</p>
<p>I am puzzled by your comment about accepting the Jefferson. Would that not also be agreeing to enroll at the University so that they can confirm their yield/ be in a position to offer to someone else if declining?
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We’re not aware of the communication between the student and The Jefferson Scholars Foundation. Aside from sending them our "at large" candidates, we don't have much contact with them. In fact, when I’m reading a file, I don’t know the student is a nominee unless they tell me in their application. </p>
<p>Obviously, it'd be kind of odd to send an acceptance to The Foundation and then decline an offer of admission.</p>
<p>From what I hear, they don't maintain a waitlist. If they offer to 40 students and 35 accept, I don't think they offer to five more.</p>
<p>I think Dean J makes a valid point about naming the schools, so I'll bite...my daughter's disappearing scholarship last year was with Central Michigan University. She was invited to compete for their Centralia scholarship, and while not chosen as a finalist, she was offered a $5K scholarship. She wrote them asking for an extension on the decision date (which I believe was in early March sometime), although I don't thinks she specifically mentioned the NACAC guidelines. When we received the FA package in April, the $5K was gone. It was a moot point by then, as the school she is now attending came up with a phenomenal scholarship package for her (she's attending her school for much less than she could have at Central, even if the $5K hadn't disappeared). Still, I could kick myself for not saving all the documentation...</p>