<p>Question is what the title says.</p>
<p>There is only ONE way to do this as it is a binding agreement. If you absolutely cannot afford to go to the school with the financial aid package you are given, then you may decline. Other than that, ED is called BINDING for a reason. You’ll notice most places (the common app does) require you to have a parent <em>and</em> counselor signature: most likely because they’re definately over 18 and can legally sign such things.</p>
<p>If you applied ED somewhere and suddenly changed your mind, you can withdraw your application NOW but not after acceptance. </p>
<p>If you renege an ED acceptance and it’s not for money, then as far as I know, the school has the right and ability (if you applied common app) to contact the other schools you applied to. I could be wrong, but why test it out?</p>
<p>Schools often share lists of ED acceptances. A school of similar selectivity will not admit a student who has been admitted ED elsewhere…in effect, you are “black balled”. So if you renege on a binding ED acceptance, you will then be looking primarily at in-state public school alternatives. ED is a contract, and as such you shouldn’t be cavalier about entering into this kind of contract or any other.</p>
<p>They cannot make you go to a school you don’t want to go, not even if it’s an ED with contract - they won’t hold you to 4 years of tuition, or even really prevent another school from accepting you. That being said, there could be a lot of fall out from it - you, your school, your GC could all be black balled. </p>
<p>A reputable GC may let your RD schools know you have been accepted to ED already. Some schools may go as far as not sending in your transcripts or recs to RD schools until they know the result of ED school. It really depends on what high school you go to. My kid’s private school takes ED very seriously, because they have other students they need to protect.</p>
<p>When a student at our high school applied ED, the GC would not have any problem sending initial transcripts, etc., to other schools that were appropriate…eg., regular decision or EA applications, but no more than the one ED school.</p>
<p>HOWEVER, most RD schools require additional transcripts with first semester grades, etc., and the GC would not send any subsequent documentation until the ED results were known. If you were accepted to your ED school, your folder was removed from the cabinet with the folders requiring further actions. The GC would at that point send documentation to your ED school only. This had the effect of removing your application from consideration at other schools even if you did not officially withdraw your application upon receiving your ED acceptance, because schools will not consider applications without complete information.</p>
<p>IF your financial aid from your ED school was realistically insufficient, then and only in that event, the GC would help you work with your ED school to see if your FA could be increased. If common ground could not be reached, the GC would help you properly withdraw from your ED agreement in a manner that would not impact other students or the school in the future. And the GC would help you research and apply to appropriate schools where better financial aid packages might be forthcoming. But the GC would block you from applying to schools in direct competition with the ED school just because you had changed your mind. You could certainly apply…but her LOR might be a problem…</p>
<p>Our GC was tough as nails and very, very ethical. Worked very, very hard for her students and had good relationships with a lot of colleges. But she would not stoop to ruining her, and the high school’s reputation, by playing some of the games that some students wanted to engage in.</p>
<p>“Some schools may go as far as not sending in your transcripts or recs to RD schools until they know the result of ED school.”</p>
<p>In California the UC RD deadline is Nov. 30, well before ED results are known, so it’s full speed ahead with RD apps, in spite of an ED app going out. Like oldfort says, it depends.</p>
<p>Oooh, I never thought about not having my Application info sent out via the school. It’s possible that could happen too.</p>
<p>I personally applied to about 3 places that only have RD or ED and am applying ED to one. I applied EA or rolling Admissions everywhere else, and have already gotten accepted once. So while all but my mid-year grades are out and about, I wouldn’t risk backing out of ED anyways.</p>
<p>What is ED, RD, GC, and FA ???</p>
<p>What I meant is that in the fall our high school GC will send out the RD and EA applications in addition to the ED application, but she will not send the December/January grade updates until the ED decision is in–and if the student is accepted by his ED school, she will not send updates to the other schools the student had been considering, effectively removing the student from consideration at those schools even if he fails to formally withdraw his application.</p>
<p>ED = early decision
RD = regular decision
GC = guidance counselor (college counselor)
FA = fiancial aid</p>