D wrote a letter of continued interest which included a statement that if she got off the waitlist, she would accept the offer. D’s high school college counselor told her the letter had to include that language. D got off the waitlist and now the high school is pressuring D to accept because they said her letter said she would accept the offer, only the college she enrolled at gave her a good merit aid package, but there is no merit aid at the waitlist school. I understand the high school office spoke with the waitlist school earlier and backed her up, but I feel the decision is ours to make and should be based on how comfortable my family feels about spending thousands of dollars more at the waitlist school. I was not aware at the time the letter was written that the waitlist school does not offer merit aid (I guess I should’ve checked, but it didn’t occur to me earlier) and we did not apply for financial aid. However, my financial situation has changed dramatically since the original college application was submitted and therefore, financing college is a significantly bigger issue than I initially thought. Of course, it was a big deal originally since it was a stretch to begin with, but now it’s a much bigger obstacle.
Turn it down. You shouldn’t have said she would accept no matter what, and I see why your GC is annoyed. You may have damaged the chances of future students from her HS, and the GC’s future credibility with the college. And students on the WL don’t get merit – they picked your D partly because your words told them she was full pay. Your change in financial situation hasn’t been since the letter was written, so isn’t really an excuse. But if you can’t afford it, then you can’t. You are not legally bound. You should apologize to the GC, though.
Merit aid is offered to top applicants at most schools. Someone not initially accepted would not be a top applicant for that school. You can ask the waitlist school if they’ll consider her for FA based on this new info. Hopefully they won’t hold it against your HS if your D doesn’t attend.
You don’t have to accept the new offer. But really…if you have another kid (or someone else is reading this)…don’t say you WILL attend, if you actually might not.
- Don't say this unless you mean it.
- Before you say this, make sure you understand all the financial aid policies and implications.
The waitlist language to the school implies: * “she will attend, no matter what”* and this translates to “she’ll be full pay” so she was accepted off the waitlist. You can ask for FA, but they will probably state that their funds have been assigned.
You need to contact their admissions and state that your financial situation changed, and that your daughter and HS counselor were unaware.
I agree everyone above^, that you need to apologize to the counselor; her credibility, as well as the school’s, is on the line for future students.
Also, this school accepted your daughter off the waitlist thinking she would be a full pay student…since you did NOT apply for need based aid.
Please…just notify the college ASAP so that they can offer that spot to a student who actually plans to attend.
And yes, the counselor did stick her neck out on your daughter’s behalf.
Is this the Colby acceptance? On another thread, you mention Hamilton and Colgate as well. I don’t believe those schools give merit aid either.
But it sounds like Lafayette and Kenyon came through for her. Which one did she commit to before May 1? Sounds like that should be her option.
But do let Colby know that you are not accepting the admissions offer…ASAP.
No, she is under no obligation to choose the school where she was un-waitlisted! Nobody but the school REALLY knows if her statement about definitely accepting the offer factored into the school’s decision to un-waitlist her. We can speculate until the cows come home, but that doesn’t make it true. Regardless, you are not obligated, and don’t let anyone guilt you into it.
I did not say we are not accepting the admissions offer. All I said to the high school was that I wanted to at least have a conversation with the financial aid office just to find out if we might be eligible for any money, that’s all. Whether they give us any money is not a big part of the equation even though my financial situation has changed dramatically. Sorry if I was unclear earlier.
That is how the waitlist usually works – and why GCs suggest that wording be included. Obviously the OP’s kid was qualified otherwise, or they wouldn’t have gotten on the waitlist. But that statement that you will attend means something in the admissions world. It is not speculation.
Did she commit to Lafayette? Or Kenyon? How much of a difference per year will it be for her to attend Colby?
And on your other thread…folks did urge you to talk to financial aid ASAP…especially since you didn’t apply for need based aid before admission…which the school requires.
Agree…have those conversations…but have them ASAP. If your financial situation has changed, you would be asking for a special circumstances consideration. BUT you are in a funny position, because you never applied for need based aid to begin with. Nothing to “specially” consider.
This is all very new to me, including my changed circumstances, so everyone’s input was very helpful. Thanks, I appreciate it.
When you visited Colby this past weekend, what did she think? Is it now her first choice, with finances being the only question?
If you visited Colby this week…did you sit down WITH a financial aid person to get the answers you need?
Schools like this are often “need aware” when choosing students off the WL. It’s possible that your DD was quickly chosen because no aid was requested.
You can try asking for aid, but unless something really drastic has happened in the last few weeks (like breadwinner died), the school may say, “no,” with the idea that you’ll decline and they’ll (again) pick someone who has no need.
I don’t think the GC should be informing students to include specific language (in this case, that the student WILL attend the school if offered a spot off the WL) unless they know it’s true. The way OP worded this, sounds like GC wasn’t very clear about what student was committing to…
Why do you think the GC doesn’t know what it means? They know… it is the poster who did not understand, or chose to engage in some wishful financial thinking. The GC probably told the student what it meant, but it didn’t register with the student.
I assume the GC DOES know what adding ‘will attend if offered a place’ means, of course. But if this is really such binding language, I would expect the GC to make sure the family knows to what they are agreeing by adding this language. My impression from OP is that they either didn’t fully understand, or that it came across to them as the standard language any student puts in to a WL school to show interest but doesn’t really bind them. This is OP’s only child so she is new to the wonderful world of WL and is relying on GC for guidance…