<p>I was accepted into a music program, and confirmed my decision pretty soon after recieving the acceptance letter. Does this have any influence on the financial package I will recieve, since they already know I will be attending? Would they have offered me more aid had they not known, to try to “lure” me there?</p>
<p>Most places provide the financial package with the acceptance and in that case, there’s no harm in confirming early. I would have held my cards a little closer to the vest if I was in your position. However, that being said, if it’s the program that you really want and money isn’t an object, then you did the correct thing.</p>
<p>Thanks for the response Imperialzep. It IS the program I really want, but money is definitely an issue, so I hope I didn’t make a huge mistake.</p>
<p>In general, I would not recommend sending in your deposit until all of your financial offers are in and until you know which teacher’s studio you will be in. I don’t know of many schools that have more than one classical guitar teacher, so that is probably not an issue in your case.</p>
<p>In general, don’t sweat the timing of your acceptance on the basis of finances. Most colleges do not like to be perceived to be competing on the basis of price, particularly the ones who do exactly that behind the scenes. Unless they were really hot to get you and you get a substantially better offer from one of their direct competitors, it is unlikely that you would have gotten a much different offer by simply waiting a few weeks.</p>
<p>If school #2 subsequently makes you an offer you can’t refuse, rescinding your acceptance and forfeiting your deposit may be a tough choice to make, but it will not hurt that much financially because of the great deal the other school will be giving you.</p>
<p>Thanks BassDad.
I’m not sure what you mean by deposit; the form I sent in was an agreement saying that I wouldn’t consider any offers from other colleges, there wasn’t any money involved in this form if that’s what you’re saying. I know this was kind of stupid, but it was my first choice school, and I was really excited. Also, I think one of my friends told me that if I didn’t confirm someone else might take my spot, which NOW I see was not very sound advice. Well I’ll be getting my award in about a week; my fingers are crossed.</p>
<p>Wait a second. What kind of program are we talking about here? Regular Decision, Early Decision, Early Action or Single Choice Early Action?</p>
<p>If it is Early Decision, you gave up any financial aid leverage that you may have had when you applied. You would have had to promise up front to attend if accepted and the additional form was probably just their way of reminding you of that commitment. Note that even in this case you can still get out of attending and consider other options if their financial aid package is demonstrably inadequate.</p>
<p>Otherwise, what they are doing seems borderline unethical to me. They should have given you an acceptance card and asked you to return it with a deposit by a certain date (May 1 for RD, perhaps earlier for EA or SCEA.) By returning that card and deposit, you are securing dorm space (if you plan to live in the dorms) and agreeing to forfeit the deposit if you change your mind. Generally, the perq associated with responding early is first choice of dorm rooms or guaranteed space in the dorms if they cannot accommodate everyone who wants to live there. If they ask for an early commitment while offering nothing in return, they are taking unfair advantage of people who do not fully understand the process.</p>
<p>For an idea of how the process should work, check out <a href=“http://www.nacacnet.org/NR/rdonlyres/9A4F9961-8991-455D-89B4-AE3B9AF2EFE8/0/SPGP.pdf[/url]”>http://www.nacacnet.org/NR/rdonlyres/9A4F9961-8991-455D-89B4-AE3B9AF2EFE8/0/SPGP.pdf</a> specifically noting items B3 and B5 on page 4.</p>
<p>Note that if we are talking about CCM, the University of Cincinnati is a member of NACAC. The items that I pointed out above are mandatory practices for NACAC members. They would be on shaky ground even if they did promise something in return for a commitment prior to May 1.</p>
<p>Furthermore, if you check out page 9, you will see that you can send in a written request for an extension until May 1 that will negate the form that you have already sent in. The school is not allowed to penalize you for doing so by jeopardizing either your admissions status or your financial aid. As long as you are not an Early Decision applicant, that form you are worried about is completely meaningless.</p>
<p>Ok, thanks a lot BassDad, that answers my question. I can still withdraw my confirmation until May 1st. Are you saying (about the shaky ground) that they shouldn’t be soliciting a confirmation decision before May 1st? Because as soon as I was confirmed, I was informed that I could confirm my admission online, and received a confirmation/rejection letter in the mail as well. Should they not have done this?</p>
<p>OK, after looking at a copy of the confirmation form again, I now see that it says “I agree that after May 1 of the calender year of matriculation, I will not consider any other offer of admission from another college or university, except with the express written consent of the Assistant Dean of Admissions.”
So the confirmation doesn’t come into effect until May 1st, so I can still consider other offers until then. Thanks for your help BassDad.</p>
<p>They are allowed to do it, but they are supposed to make it clear that there is no penalty either in admissions or financial aid for waiting until May 1. They are on shaky ground if they try to force you to make a decision before May 1 or fail to tell you that there is no penalty for waiting until the last possible day. The only exception to that rule is for Early Decision students, and not many performance majors can go the ED route because auditions generally are not until February or March.</p>
<p>Your objective is to get the best possible deal from school #1. At this point, you do not want to rock the boat unless you really do get a better deal elsewhere. If that happens, there should be nothing that prevents you from A) seriously considering that better deal and B) trying to negotiate with school #1. School #1 may say that they will not give you a better deal, but simply asking will not be grounds for them to penalize you in any way. </p>
<p>You made a mistake by sending in the acceptance early but, unless the school really did tell you that there was no advantage to doing so, they also made a mistake. Since you have not yet sent them any money, you have very little to lose.</p>
<p>EDIT: we cross-posted. They did tell you, but also said that the agreement does not go into effect until May 1. Both what they did and what you did were fine, even though the agreement you originally thought you had signed would not have been such a great idea on your part or theirs.</p>
<p>Ok, thanks BassDad. So do you think me sending my acceptance in early will efect my award at all?</p>
<p>At this point, there is no real way way to tell unless you somehow get the inside story from their financial aid office. What’s done is done, so you might as well stop worrying about the past. In a couple of weeks you should have all of the information on the table and can take things from there. Hopefully, your #1 choice will come up with a financial aid package that allows you to go there. If not, sending in that form will not prevent you from pursuing other possibilities until May 1. If you are forced to go elsewhere, you will need to notify your first choice school before that date.</p>
<p>Ok, thanks for all your help BassDad!</p>