This is just a random question with no relevance to our personal situation (S24 hasn’t even finished a college list) but I was wondering if students are allowed to withdraw from ED/ED2 prior to receiving a decision or are you bound to see the process through once you commit? I.e. kid freaks out and changes their mind a week after applying ED and wants out. If there is an out, how long do they give you to withdraw?
You are supposed to be sure before you commit to ED. The only reason that I’ve heard of to withdraw is if you have financial limitations. I guess it’s possible to contact the college before decisions have been made and ask to be moved to RD, but I’m not sure how that would be regarded. If the student has any hesitation, don’t do ED.
It might depend on the school, but most I’ve seen do have a “withdraw” button that is active up until around the time decisions come out.
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They can switch the application to RD. No need to withdraw.
The acceptable timing likely varies by college. A week after the application deadline is fine (and not uncommon). A week before the decision date will likely be an issue.
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Thanks. For some reason I was just wondering about this. Obviously, if a kid gets in they are obligated to attend, but I was just curious about those who might change their mind mid-stream since I haven’t read much about that (although there has been a lot written about kids being urged to switch TO ED 2 from EA).
As I said, it is not uncommon, particularly with recruited athletes. Admissions will not bat an eye at the request
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Yes you are able to “decommit” from ED/ED2 before decision day - my niece did so at UChgo prob a few days before results were announced (e2) as she received an invite to the Berkeley Scholarship interviews (which mean you accepted) in early Feb.
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Also, if you are admitted you are only forced to commit if the college is affordable, ie., if they’ve given you enough financial aid to attend. DO run the NPC beforehand to avoid such a situation.
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This was really a theoretical question since I hadn’t really seen it discussed. As we are full pay I am aware that any ED commitment would mean paying sticker price (if S24 decides he wants to go that route).
I think in reality most schools wont be able to enforce the ED agreement even if there isn’t a mechanism to change to RD. At some high schools. the GCs can hold the final transcript submission process as a forcing function to ensure ED compliance but even then if you make enough noise you could wriggle out of it.