ED or RD?

[fallenchemist]

<p>I think it is a rather big deal, and the evidence we have from the common app application is that the standard is to NOT penalize students that have to back out for financial reasons. Besides, if it isn’t that big a deal, why do it at all? AU must think it is important. AU might not be the only one that does this, but I have never heard of another school that does this and I have been around this game for some time.</p>

<p>With regard to your statement

@iamsirjoshua

But ultimately, the letter is merely words on paper and has no other repercussions, and therefore I don’t see how that is a failure to release someone from the ED agreement (and probably wouldn’t hold up in court as a case of defamation).

</p>

<p>I can easily see a scenario occuring after the school gets the letter whereby the student is put in the very uncomfortable situation of having the administration demand he explain why he “misled” them and why he is not doing what he promised. Now he is put in the unenviable position of having to share very personal information regarding their family finances. You might not think that is a big deal, but many families consider their financial situation a very personal matter. In addition, the student depends on these individuals of authority for at least another semester, and their reactions to this “embarrassment” that they might believe is his fault could have repercussions. So yes, in fact it is punitive and can cause harm. You can disagree on definitions all you want. I gave you ones straight out of the dictionary. Therefore for you to disagree you must be making them up.</p>

<p>As far as holding up in court, you clearly know little about this area of law. Here is the first paragraph from the Wiki article on defamation:</p>

<p>

Defamation—also called calumny, vilification, slander (for transitory statements), and libel (for written, broadcast, or otherwise published words)—is the communication of a statement that makes a claim, expressly stated or implied to be factual, that may give an individual, business, product, group, government, or nation a negative image.</p>

<p>In common law jurisdictions, slander refers to a malicious and defamatory spoken statement or report, while libel refers to any other form of communication such as written words or images. Most jurisdictions allow legal actions, civil and/or criminal, to deter various kinds of defamation and retaliate against groundless criticism. Related to defamation is public disclosure of private facts, which arises where one person reveals information that is not of public concern, and the release of which would offend a reasonable person. “Unlike [with] libel, truth is not a defense for invasion of privacy.”

Given their lack of disclosure and their contrarian practice, I could absolutely make a case against AU here.</p>

<p>You know Joshua, you really know virtually no facts, while I have cited what KBJ actually said and what AU says on their web site as well as what is stated by the common app and some other schools. Therefore you really are coming across as an apologist for the school. No school is perfect. I am not saying AU is a bad place. It is a great school where thousands of students receive a fine education and have a wonderful experience. It isn’t clear to me at all why you wouldn’t want to see it get better by discontinuing this practice. Obviously other schools have, otherwise that wording in the common app wouldn’t be the standard. The point of these discussions, for me at least, isn’t to bash a school. It is to discuss issues and, when certain things are found to be lacking, bring those things to light. Through KBJ, I would hope the AU admin would take a fresh look at their policy in this regard.</p>