I got accepted restrictive early action (REA), but my school has an unofficial policy that I cannot apply to other schools regular decision in order to give other students a better chance. However, I now realize that my REA school is not the best fit for me, so I want to apply to other schools regular decision.
How can I get out of this?
Thanks!
I have never heard of a HS having this policy…is this a known, written policy at your school?
Have you spoken to your GC about your concerns with the REA school, and desire to apply to RD schools? Is the REA school affordable?
If your GC holds firm, your parents would likely need to get involved to ask for an exception to the policy (assuming this is a formal, written policy).
Below I have detailed ideas, but I don’t think they have a 100% chance of working.
(Note before Number 2: there’s one school in particular that I really really want to apply RD. I would be fine if my high school allow me to only apply to that 1 school RD.)
Thanks for the note! See the elaboration I just posted.
The REA school is affordable (but pretty tight on money (FinAid would help but not necessary.))
I have not yet spoken to my GC about this yet, but I don’t know how to bring this up.
I’m not sure if getting my parents involved is a good thing. (Unless I’m convincing my GC that I need FinAid now because of some emergency or something financially happening.)
You are playing games. If you don’t want to go to the REA school, turn down the spot at the school and apply to other schools.
If you want FA, apply for it.
REA is not the same a ED. Is the second school you want to apply to one that you couldn’t have applied to with the REA? Is it now within the rules to apply? Tell your GC you ARE following the rules and now want to compare two (or more) schools.
So basically, your high school wants you to treat REA like ED, at least for colleges that require high school support on application (recommendations, transcripts). Did you know this before you applied?
Does the other college you want to apply to require high school support on application, and is it a reach, match, likely, or safety?
I would get your parents involved. The GC and administration is far more likely to feel they can push you into backing down on this than your parents. You also have to be fair to other applicants. If you are not interested in your REA school, cut bait and let someone else have the spot. While I understand your desire to have a backup, you’ve got to be prepared to compromise in the negotiation. After all, you must have been aware of this policy when you applied to begin with, and you still pulled the trigger.
Hello. First of all, congratulations on your acceptance. I’m sorry to hear that you have changed your mind about fit. It happens!
I definitely disagree with Twoinanddone about turning down the spot. Don’t do that! So risky.
I’m assuming that you may be into H, P, Y, or S, because those are the only schools i heard of that have REA, but of course there could be others that I’m not aware of. If that’s the case, turning it down and then applying elsewhere RD may not work out as the acceptance rates at these schools are so low. It also may not satisfy your high school because it sounds like they want you to be “done”.
I had heard that certain top private schools like to manage their applications this way, and personally I understand how it works out best for the total school population, but I’m not a fan of limiting choice. However, it sounds like you agreed to it. In which case, if you want school permission to defy the rule (and their permission is needed for recommendations and transcript), you need to be very very nice and do your best to make a case for why you think it’s no longer a good fit. You catch more flies with honey, plus a persuasive argument.
I’ve never heard of a policy like that. It seems draconian for your high school to tell you which college you’re supposed to attend. That’s not their decision. I would get your parents involved and let them know that the EA isn’t working out and you need to find a college that’s a better fit.
This didn’t make any sense to me until @EmptyNestSoon2 said:
If this is true, I think you have to get your parents involved. However, it might be difficult because they have likely seen this before. It is also more likely that they have their bases covered and that you agreed to this when you applied REA.
My nephews and nieces attended a private school that had this policy. You are unlikely to get better results in RD as @EmptyNestSoon2 said.
Your school counselors and administration are likely to take a dim view of your attempts to back out of your agreement. It can affect school admissions results for years to come. You and your parents probably signed something that said you would treat REA as binding. You are likely not the first family who has tried to back out. It’s a fight you’re unlikely to win.
I would be very concerned about backing out of this school and even if you can apply to the other school RD - what kind of recommendation do you think you would get from your counselor now? You might not get into your RD school for whatever reason and then where would you be?
I am shocked that this could be legal and enforceable.
OP, do you have any updates?
OP applied REA which is non-binding at least from the college’s perspective…they would not be backing out of anything. Perhaps the private high school had the family sign some type of agreement that REA would be binding, but I definitely question the ethics of limiting a student’s choices like that.
As there would be no way for OP to apply RD without the school’s cooperation (sending transcripts, uploading already written GC and teacher recs, etc.), the likely only recourse is for the parents to get involved.
IMO if the parents state the the student is uncertain about attending the REA school (which doesn’t have a decision deadline until May 1) should be enough to let this student submit more apps. That’s why schools have a May 1 deadline…so that students have time to grow (lots of growth senior year) and reflect on what they want in a college.
It actually incenses me that counselors put in these artificial and controlling rules, and if they are NACAC members, I would report them in a nano second because I expect limiting apps this way, while maybe not a clear violation of CEPP rules (but maybe it is), certainly violates the spirit of maximizing student choice.
Edited to add: under normal circumstances and rules, those admitted REA are allowed to apply ED2 elsewhere, as well as apply RD to as many schools as they want. Again: more choices = better outcomes for students.
Me too. I’m shocked that other posters seem to think it’s ok!
Some private schools try to maximize good results for the class as a whole, with parental buy-in. So the high school may have pushed hard for this particular student’s admission to the REA college with the understanding that they would not so push, and he would not apply, to others. This helps to prevent 1 or 2 superstars from getting admitted everywhere and leaving the other kids in the dust with no acceptances to top schools. The family agreed to that. So while the student may legally apply elsewhere, the school will not recommend someone who backs out of an agreement this way. You xan only attend one, and will have to choose soon anyway, so the choixe is moved up just a little bit.
There often is some animosity towards those who accumulate acceptances, particularly at schools they likely won’t attend, perceived to occur at their classmates expense.
While I understand why a school might do this, I expect there is little actual data to support their policy. Even if there were said data, I would still think it’s wrong to limit choices…strong students earn those choices.
Whose purpose does it serve to literally make a student attend somewhere they might not want to…or take a gap year or potentially just transfer after a semester or two? Nothing the HS can do about a student transferring at some point in the future.
Edited to add: And if the family signed something agreeing to these practices, it can and should be difficult to walk that back. Caveat emptor.
Regardless of whether one agrees with the school policy, it should be expected that recommendations to other colleges will be poor if the student and parents successfully force the issue.
So the only realistic alternative colleges to apply to would be those not requiring support from the school, meaning no recommendations, and SRAR* instead of transcript for academic record. But then the school could still retaliate by withholding the student’s final transcript.
*SRAR = self reported academic record
But the recs are written. Are you saying the GC would write another rec, potentially less favorable, to retaliate?
And yes, I know whether I agree or not doesn’t mean anything.
Yes, that could be an alternative to target other apps, but sounds like OP just has one other school in mind.
Hey All!
So my high school is a private school with this policy to prevent top dogs from getting in and taking all the spots. I never signed any legally binding document or anything with my school, but it seems to be a rule that the school firmly holds. I would need a strong reason to convince them to allow me to apply to another top 20 school regular decision.
I wouldn’t need them to write another rec or anything, but I don’t want to just go behind the cc office back and then not being supported by my own school in case information is requested or mid-year grades are needed to be sent to the RD school.
I also don’t want to give up my REA spot, as I don’t want to end up with no options.
Is there a valid reason I could give to my cc office that could get me through this?Thoughts?
Thanks!