<p>The word “contract” was never used in the correspondence my son received from Columbia. I doubt the word is ever used in the world of college correspondence. The word is never used when one sits down in a barber’s chair either, although it is acknowledged that the act of sitting in that chair is an “offer,” and when the barber steps up to the chair with scissors, the offer is accepted. Performance by the barber is achieved when the customer has finished leaving hair on the floor. Performance by the coiffed one is achieved by paying the two bits.</p>