<p>One of my students just got an acceptance from University of Utah. It's bad enough that they want a decision by March 31, when some acceptances come out after that, but you can't apply for scholarships unless you accept by March 1st. That means you must accept without knowing your scholarship award or the award (or whether you are even accepted) for other schools!!!</p>
<p>Any thoughts or ideas to help her out? She likes the school, but is dependent upon financial aid. She will most likely get a few other acceptances (she has another already). </p>
<p>Their university accrediting commission may or may not have guidelines on admissions practices. Their commission is the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. Contact them at <a href=“http://www.nwccu.org/”>A - NWCCU. </p>
<p>They do not appear to belong to the National Association of Schools of Theatre (NAST), which has its own guidelines that I believe include the May 1st deadline. There are plenty of good reasons not to belong to NAST, so do not take that as a negative. It just means that they may not be required to play by the same rules everyone else does when it comes to admissions.</p>
<p>Try <a href=“http://www.nacacnet.org/research/publications”>http://www.nacacnet.org/research/publications</a> resources/marketplace/student/documents/studentetsNEW.pdf
Ths is the national association of college admissions counselora. It very clearly states students have the right to wait and make decisions on accepting admissions and financial aid offers until May 1 unless you applied early decision. If the school you are considering is not in compliance with this I would refer them to this document. Furthermore, no school can require you to make an admissions decision before you know your financial aid package as obviously that will have an impact on whether a student can afford to go to that school or not. If that link doesn’t work just google student rights in college admissions decisions or go to nacacnet.org and use their search for more info on your rights.</p>
<p>Having seen this topic come up time and time again with a couple different schools, I would say you must first decide if this school is high enough on your list to fight for your spot and/or an extension. (Perhaps you have other acceptances already that you prefer? Or you might in the next two weeks.) If you still have interest in this or any other school/department that is making this kind of restriction, it is time to have a frank phone conversation with the MT department to ask what your options are. Do this sooner rather than later. Insist on speaking with someone who can answer your questions, and feel free to ask lots of them. Get their name and title, the date and time of your call and make sure they know you’re taking notes on everything. Ask if you need to confirm any of this information with the University’s office of Admissions as well. Of course, be exceedingly polite and respectful. You might consider saying something like: “we have not yet completed all our auditions and we are waiting to see a complete picture of all our offers and financial aid packages. As such, we had planned on replying to our school of choice by the national commitment date of May 1st. I’m sure you can understand what a big decision this is for our family - especially financially - and while we respect your need to solidify your class in advance of that, I wonder if we might request more time and still be considered for your program and for your departmental talent awards.” (Also ask what happens to your spot after March 1 – do you go on a wait list? Do they offer your spot to someone else?) The answers to all of this will be yet more fuel in deciding whether or not the program is right for you – i.e., what would you do if they give you a little extra time to commit to the MT department, but perhaps not give you an extension on the scholarship deadline? Certainly it is their prerogative to reserve their departmental scholarship money for students for whom Utah is their first choice – of which there are probably many in the local area. Anyway, don’t be nervous to call them and have a conversation. You won’t be the only one. </p>
<p>Last year I just called and asked for an extension and was given one. I explained I needed to see the complete financial picture before deciding. Also I made them aware that we couldn’t visit until my D’s Easter break so that bought more time. </p>
<p>Wow! Thank you so much for this great information! I realized that I had come upon this last year, but forgotten about it because none of my students applied to University of Utah. Overall, this is very helpful and I will pass it on to my student!</p>