Deferred Enrollment

[scualum]

<p>My son was fortunate enough to be accepted at a number of colleges - and was in the process of deciding which one to attend. He is a baseball player and wants to play in college so that was a complicating factor.</p>

<p>The reason for the past tense is that he just suffered a serious injury which will require 6-9 months post surgery physical therapy - and he will not be able to play this year or most likely next. While we won't know for sure until after the surgery, the odds are that he will not attend college this fall, instead enrolling part time in a local Community College so as to preserve his eligibility. </p>

<p>The question is - can (and is it ethical to do so) he defer enrollment at more than one school? If he can play baseball, one school would be his first choice. If he can't, he would probably go to school number 2. Since both of these schools are extremely high academic schools, he does not want to risk going through the application process all over again if he can avoid it.</p>

<p>Thoughts? Suggestions?</p>

[owlice]

<p>No advice, just ouch! and sympathies and wishes for a complete and speedy recovery!</p>

[WayOutWestMom]

<p>I believe you can only request a deferral from a college only AFTER you have accepted their offer.</p>

<p>And to preserve your son's eligibility--can't the coach 'redshirt' him for his freshman year? He can attend the school, get a start on his coursework and still retain his 4 years of sport eligibility?</p>

<p>While I have to admit neither of my D's are athletes--but a neighbor's son is starting forward for the state U's BBteam. I know he was redshirted as a freshman and will stay for a 5th year next year to play ball (on scholarship) and finish his business/engineering degree. Also D2's BF was redshirted as a freshman in soccer to preserve his eligibility because the coach had too many upperclassmen players at his position. (The BF had no injuries and had a 3.6 GPA so was certainly academically eligible.)</p>

[scualum]

<p>Owlice: Thank you - it has not been an easy couple of weeks :(</p>

<p>WOWMom: The issue in part is that the doctor does not want him switching physical therapists in the middle of his recovery - and therefore he may not be able to leave this area until October/November - too late for the fall semester. </p>

<p>He could attend full time starting in the spring - and may well do so - but another option is that by taking 11 units each semester at a JC instead of 15, he would be a true freshman in the fall of 09 - but come in with 22 Units (plus 15 AP units). He would then still have his red shirt year available if he chose to do so. This would be useful if he transferred to another school for graduate school and wanted to play baseball while in grad school.</p>

[WayOutWestMom]

<p>OK, I've checked on several college websites (including several elite colleges)..,</p>

<p>Deferred enrollment--more typically called delayed matriculation-- is done on a case by case basis at most schools. The likihood of the request being granted depends... however, every school site that I checked requires the student commit to enroll (aka signing his contract) and send in his enrollment deposit before he may apply for delayed matriculation.</p>

<p>I would suggest that you check the admission site of the colleges your son has been accepted to and see what policies each school has.</p>

<p>Seems like your son will be facing a tough decision--I wish him luck!</p>

<p>And I do understand about the PT thing-- D1 spent considerable time in PT after a major knee surgery.</p>