Early Decision loophole?

colbye
Fri, 26 Aug 2011 09:15:33 +0000

I don’t think you need to worry about a school compelling attendance. But… the problem is having another school accept you. It is my understanding that your school counselor would be required, ethically, to inform another school that you broke an ED agreement - and most (all?) of the top tier schools will frown upon that, unless you can REALLY document the financial hardship.

You may end up with a gap year, or a local/community college year if you do not honor an ED agreement, and cannot satisfactorily prove that there was a true financial hardship. This is why schools have only a handful of ED kids not honor their commitment each year.

I’m not expert - that’s just the way it was explained to me when my son was considering ED.

I would suggest you talk to the school you are considering for ED and ask how often an ED acceptee cannot afford the school. Talk to your guidance counselor about the logistics of “backing out” of an ED agreement. Maybe do some more thorough internet research - but don’t rely solely on an internet forum of random parents and students for this important information. Then make an informed decision.