<p>I was accepted to a school under an Early Decision agreement, and I'm now having second thoughts. I didn't apply to any other schools, so I'm not going to enroll at a different school this year, but is there a way that I can get out of going? I was thinking about enrolling and then withdrawing without attending, is this unethical and/or illegal? I'm not trying to game the system and back out so I can attend a better school, I was just really mistaken back in November about wanting to attend. However, if I did withdraw, I would probably apply to different schools next year (none ED this time), and I don't want to be blacklisted because I withdrew and broke my agreement.</p>
<p>Could you give us some more information? Second thoughts as "I do not like this school at all" or second thoughts as "May be I need a gap year?"</p>
<p>You should have no problem. It seems many are backing out this year because of the economy. As no other college is involved, I can't see them gving you a hard time.</p>
<p>Did you apply for Financial Aid? If they didn't give you a full-ride (in which case you should go), you can usually withdraw for cost reasons.</p>
<p>Also, you could ask them to defer your admissions for a year.</p>
<p>You can probably get away with this, but it would be wrong--period. This situation comes under the Super Chicken rule--you knew the job was dangerous when you took it. The right thing to do is suck it up and deal.</p>
<p>It would be better to suck it up and go and then transfer if you still feel the school is not appropriate. Transferring after an ED admission isn't a problem. </p>
<p>If you back out for a nonemergency reason, that will reflect badly on you and your school. When, for example, a kid at my S's high school backed out of ED, the admissions officers called up the GC and blamed her, and then didn't take any students from that school for a couple of years.</p>
<p>So... it's not likely that your GC will be very supportive of you if you decide not to go to your ED school. Yet, you'll still need to rely on your GC.</p>
<p>If, however, you go to the school for a semester then take a gap year and transfer, that shouldn't lead to problems with your getting paperwork, etc. from your high school.</p>
<p>In addition, it's normal for students to second guess themselves about college choices. This even happens to students who apply RD. Many find out that they did make a good decision by accepting their college. Those that didn't make a good decision can always transfer.</p>
<p>I see that your ED admission was to Duke. How bad could attending Duke for a semester or year be? It's gorgeous, one of the best schools in the country, and has a reputation as having an excellent learning environment. What's not to like or to at least be able to comfortably tolerate before transferring?</p>
<p>^^What Northstarmom said. Also, not to be harsh, but learning to abide by agreements is part of life. You were well-versed as to the implications of an ED app, including the risk you'd change your mind. Sometimes, we simply err in calculating risk. </p>
<p>So...congratulations on your ED acceptance! It says a lot about your work ethic. And if it's true the school is Duke, then you know you won't be damaging your future by going for a semester of two. And who knows? If you go with an open mind, you might just catch some Blue Devil spirit and happily decide to stay!</p>
<p>Have you gone to an admitted students event or done an overnight visit? If not, try to see if that is feasible. It might restore the positive feelings you obviously had when you decided to roll the ED dice.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>If you know in your heart that you need to take a year off, what you should do is contact the college/university in question and ask to defer enrollment for a year. During your year off, you can re-consider whether you want to go to that college/university after all. If you do, the space is waiting for you. If you decide that you won't, then you need to let them know as soon as you take that decision.</p>
<p>Every single year some students who are admitted ED decide to take a year off. Every single year some students who are admitted ED decide to join the Marines instead of going to college. Every single year some students who are admitted ED become terribly ill and can't attend, or develop a psychosis and can't attend, or even just plain drop dead and can't attend. Colleges and universities know about this. </p>
<p>Do not feel guilty for doing what is right for you.</p>
<p>The OP made a deal, knowing full well the terms and conditions. The suggestion that he should feel free to renege on what is essentially a whim leaves me speechless.</p>
<p>But what was the deal he made? My understanding is that the ED contract requires that you withdraw applications/acceptances to other schools as long as the ED school is financially feasible, but that it only applies to this year. You're not promising to never consider another school.</p>
<p>If he declines the ED school -- and doesn't send a deposit there or anywhere else for this year, isn't that meeting the terms of his ED agreement?</p>
<p>If he now takes a gap year without asking for deferral of his ED admission, and then applies to new schools in the fall, he should be good to go.</p>
<p>Why would you enroll then withdraw? Why not just contact them and tell them you won't be attending any college this term and you apologize for any confusion but you won't be able to attend? That way maybe they can open a spot off of a waitlist for someone else earlier.</p>
<p>^^ Doesn't work that way.</p>
<p>See the ED Agreement in the Common App. <a href="https://app.commonapp.org/CommonApp/docs/downloadforms/ED_Agreement.pdf%5B/url%5D">https://app.commonapp.org/CommonApp/docs/downloadforms/ED_Agreement.pdf</a></p>
<p>OP, parents and GC have already committed OP will "definitely" enroll. Deposit long ago paid and enrollment process well under way.</p>
<p>"If he declines the ED school -- and doesn't send a deposit there or anywhere else for this year, isn't that meeting the terms of his ED agreement?"</p>
<p>No. By signing an ED contract, he agreed to attend the school if admitted, and to immediately withdraw other applications if admitted to the ED school.</p>
<p>Otherwise, there'd be no advantage to colleges in offering ED admission.</p>
<p>Call admissions and speak to them. Perhaps you need a year off and can defer your attendance. Perhaps you have a career goal change.
whatever.</p>
<p>If your heart is not in going to this school then do not waste your money or time or the school's money or time.
Colleges are not meanies - they understand "life" and want a student body who is happy.
Call 'em up and have a chat.<br>
BTW - 90% of all colleges won't care if you "broke" a ED contract by taking a year off. </p>
<p>Northstarmom - for how many years are you contracted? Are you indebted forever? </p>
<p>IMO - since the application is for the 2009-2010 school year the ED "contract" should expire after that year. I can't imagine anyone holding this over a student head forever.</p>
<p>In any case - this is just one more reason why ED is a scam.</p>
<p>TXArtemis, true, but most admissions offices are quite humane; if there has been a change in circumstance that makes it impossible or a hardship for OP to attend, Duke will probably release op from his ED contract. </p>
<p>And contacting the office means explaining the circumstance and then apologizing profusely for seeking release at such a late date. OP should not, as post #11 suggests, announce that he will not be attending and apologize for any "confusion" (there was no confusion, he is seeking release from a contract and without such release he will be in breach of that contract).</p>
<p>JustAMom, deferring for a year and then enrolling at the ED school is one thing, but OP is proposing to bypass the ED school all together and apply to different schools for fall '10 admission. Needless to say, understandably, colleges and unis view the former far more sympathetically or favorably than the latter.</p>
<p>Also, while the ED contract is to enroll for a specific academic year and should, therefore,expire after that year, as part of the contract, the college is entitled to the year's tuition.</p>
<p>However, the OP didn't mention any kind of change that would be considered a major problem. He just changed his mind.</p>
<p>What he promised to do was to attend his ED school. That doesn't mean he needs to stay there and graduate. It doesn't mean that he can't take a gap year before attending that school. It does mean, though that he needs to attend there for some time, but still can transfer if he doesn't like it.</p>
<p>I can't even wrap my mind around the question and proposed solution. </p>
<p>Enroll and then withdraw without attending? Huh? Wouldn't that cost you a fortune (not to mention the ethics of depriving someone else of that slot)? Do you have a full ride or huge trust fund such that money means nothing? </p>
<p>I say go, make the best of it, be a Blue Devil, have some fun. And honor your agreement unless you have a really good reason not to, in which case you should get on the phone with the school STAT. IMHO.</p>
<p>OP- get a grip.</p>
<p>Don't make a decision now that you will regret in August when all your HS friends are heading off to college. Don't make a decision now that you will regret in December when you are slogging away at a minimum wage job and your friends are talking about their summer internships in the Senate or working on an immunization program on a Navajo reservation.</p>
<p>You may, in fact, not be ready for college, or not be ready for this college, or just getting buyers remorse.</p>
<p>But it seems to me that blowing off college now is just a premature thing to do, especially in the absence of a better plan for yourself.</p>
<p>If and when the time comes to withdraw I think it's an easy thing to do. You call the admissions office and tell them that you aren't going, and then they admit one of the lucky kids off their massive waitlist. But what has actually changed in your life so suddenly????</p>
<p>I have one further thought about this. Essentially, the OP is asking if he should be allowed to game the system. At many highly selective schools (I'm not sure about Duke) ED admission is easier than regular admission. At the very least, ED admissions are based upon an estimate about what the regular pool is going to look like. He would be OUTRAGED if the school called him in March and said "We're sorry. The regular pool turned out to be stronger than we thought it would be, so we are withdrawing your offer." What he is asking about is functionally no different. Could he get away with it? Almost certainly. Is it scummy? Yes.</p>
<p>Are you all proposing he enroll, stay a week and then leave?
that would surely be ludicrous. </p>
<p>The OP is proposing taking a year off. I don't see that as gaming the system. What if he took off two years? Five years? For how long is he beholden and where does it say that?</p>
<p>Seriously, he should talk to admissions. Hopefully a good counselor can help him explore his reasons. There could be many that he doesn't want to share.</p>
<p>Anyway - I am no fan of ED - in case you couldn't tell. They favor the colleges and only one group of kids - the wealthy. I also think it's ridiculous for a 17 year old to be forced into making a decision on where he will attend a year ahead.
Beyond all that - if he has cold feet about college, he needs to go visit and talk to people.<br>
If his reasons are "valid" - not for me to judge- I think the school would rather him be honest now. They can then admit someone who WANTS to go.</p>