Accepted REA, but my school won't let me apply to others RD. How can I get out of this?

[Mwfan1921]

@roycroftmom

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.