There was a thread a few years ago that if a college is part of NACAC then a student can request an extension on accepting a scholarship and enrolling
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/135615-warning-about-merit-scholarships-offered-with-a-deadline.html
I would think any student could request of any college an extension for a scholarship offer even if the college isn’t an association member participating in the association’s recommended policies. It never hurts to ask. A college can say yes or a college could seemingly say no and depart from the association recommended policies perhaps to be able to allocate those particular dollars to another student. Although it seems to be occurring with less frequency, a few years back there were colleges that would pressure for the actual deposit acceptance. We see much more May 1 acceptance day “chatter” than a few years ago.
She did ask for an extension. The scholarship committee said no. Doesn’t NMS require the student to select a #1 school early? The school is not requiring a decision before May 1, the scholarship is.
I don’t see the scholarship committee as being in the wrong. They had the special weekend. They set the date for acceptance. It’s a take it or leave it. The school is not going to pull the acceptance to the school, just not award the scholarship if the student doesn’t commit. Schools offer these deals all the time. Sports scholarships are offered in November and if accepted (by signing an NLI) the student is agreeing to play at that school. The student can change his mind and go to another school, but can’t accept another scholarship from the new school. Some states offer awards that can only be used in the state, and if you don’t accept fast, and the state runs out of money, you can lose out.
“I don’t think non-ED schools are allowed to require acceptance by May 1st…and that includes those with merit
offers.”
This is a gray area. The school is requiring her to accept the scholarship. They are not taking her offer of admissions off the table, but taking the offer of the scholarship off the table. I can understand why they want to do that with a merit scholarship. The school wants to be able to offer it to entice another desirable student if your daughter declines it. If she waits until April, those prospective students may have committed to other schools.
It’s a tough spot to be in. She can always withdraw after committing, since there is no way the school can force her to attend. You would lose the deposits for admission and housing, but they can’t force you to pay a semester’s tuition.
I think it’s wrong to commit and then withdraw. If the scholarship makes attendance financially feasible, and one decides to accept, then withdrawing later because a better school/offer comes along does not, IMO, seem right.
And while the school can’t require acceptance of its admission offer before May 1, it can make its scholarship offer time dependent.