<p>My daughter had a college offer to fly her to their school for an accepted students weekend. She accepted and they sent her the eticket. Since that time they have sent their financial aid package and, while they offered her some aid, the amount we have to pay out of pocket is higher than all her other offers. So I am thinking that she should not go on this overnight visit. </p>
<p>Since they paid for her plane visit does she have a moral/ethical obligation to attend? Can they charge her for the plane tickets? What will happen if she contacts them and tells them she can’t go? Are there any ramifications? Or should she just go and enjoy the trip?</p>
<p>It is not immoral to go on a trip to a college if you are not planning to attend. This isn’t any different than test driving a car that you’re not planning to buy, doing an interview at a company you are not planning on working at, touring a house that you are not planning on buying, going to a timeshare presentation when you’re not planning on buying a timeshare, or trying on clothes that you are not planning on buying.</p>
<p>If you are concerned about the cost, you should ask the school if there is any obligation to repay should she decide not to attend. Most likely, there will not be.</p>
<p>Now - it may be immoral for you to have your daughter go if you know that you will not allow her to go to school there. She might get excited and decide she likes that school better than all of the others. She might decide she has to go to school there. She might decide that if she goes anywhere else, she will be doomed and forced to work at Walmart for the rest of her life. So, you will for sure want to let her know to enjoy the trip but she won’t be going to school there (or something like that) to be fair to her.</p>
<p>Well, if she’s interested in going on the trip, there’s no harm in just going to look around. Schools know that even the kids that they fly out might not end up attending. They offer to buy the ticket so that at least the applicant knows the college is very interested in them, and to give them an edge over other colleges in hte decision. It’s not an iron-clad committment. </p>
<p>But if the aid package is such that you think it’s impossible for her to attend, it may not be a good idea to send her. What if she really falls in love with the school while she’s on the trip and then she gets back really wanting her ot go there? Are you prepared to say no? Does she think it’s worth her time to go to a place she won’t be able to/doesn’t want to attend?</p>
<p>If she calls and cancels nothing will happen. THe school will say sorry to hear that and just cancel her reservation.</p>
<p>Why don’t you have her attend, and then if she loves it, perhaps you can bargain for a better financial aid package? I wouldn’t just not show up, though, without contacting the school in advance.</p>
<p>Are the other schools with better FA offers peer or higher than the one giving her the flyin? If so, there is the possibility that the school will match the higher offer if they really want your D to attend.</p>
<p>I don’t think she has an obligation to attend. If she is sure she is not going there, it is a waste of everyone’s time. She could contact and tell them that since the finaid is insufficient, there is no point for her to come.</p>
<p>On the other hand, if they want her enough to offer a free visit, maybe she should go, and if the school becomes her first choice, you could try to negotiate the finaid.</p>
<p>^ The school MAY match the higher offer if they want her daughter to attend, but they won’t necessarily do it automatically. Many schools fly accepted students in for special admitted students weekends, it’s not always an indication of exceptional interest in a particular student.</p>
<p>They must want your student, and they must have some money…so have D go and bring copies of her other offers with her. They may talk about her coming and she can show them the better offers.</p>
<p>If your daughter is really interested in this school, I’d suggest that she contact her regional admissions rep by email and say something to the effect that she’s very interested, and really appreciates the ticket to come out for accepted student day, but now that the financial aid offer has arrive she it doesn’t look like it will be feasible for her family because of x,y, and z, and that it looks like she will need to accept an offer from one of the schools that the family can afford. If she’s strongly wanted by the school, perhaps the admissions officer can intercede with FA.</p>
<p>If it were me I would call the school and say exactly what the dilemma is. She really really seems to like the school, but at the current financial aid package that it might not be doable. You are torn in letting her come to visit knowing she might fall in love and feel badly that they were so generous in flying her there. Is there any chance that the financial aid award could be revisited?</p>
<p>The worst thing anyone can say to you, especially in this case, is no. They were taking the risk in buying the ticket but it could very well be that because you showed such interest they are giving slightly less aid (the value to you may entice you to pay more). I say, call them and lay it out straight up. And I would not rely on the GC who might very well be up to her ears in kids getting accepted or not, let alone their financial aid. That is usually a family matter regardless.</p>
<p>Sometimes you take the free trip with a smile. I realize that this is ethically questionable, but I actually applied for travel grants for prospective student visits at schools I had no intention of applying to.</p>
<p>No. I’ve never been on vacation in my life, and I’ve never flown. I’ve left the state (excluding DE, I live on the border) maybe 2-3 times in my life. These schools offered the visits “even if I wasn’t previously considering the school” (as per their mailings). I took them up on it, made friends, had a great time, and got to see the US.</p>
<p>Exactly. I wasn’t considering those schools otherwise, and came out of it still not considering those schools - I did like a lot about Carnegie Mellon and could have easily applied there, but it was a poor academic fit (I also hated the dorms).</p>
<p>Not at all. All of the programs I visited were targeted toward me; i.e., I received an invite. That is, I received an invite even though I had not, to my knowledge, ever expressed interest in the colleges. They only paid for the students who were invited, as far as I can tell. In that sense, I was already budgeted for by the school, as were the other candidates.</p>
<p>Many of the colleges accepted days have time for the students to meet with financial aid, meet with department heads, etc. Perhaps your daughter should schedule time with finaid and/or admissions while she is there for the accepted student visit.</p>
<p>I would have actually attended more fly-to programs if I hadn’t been sick for a while first semester. (I didn’t have enough days of leave left). I would’ve gone to Grinnell and Reed, at the least. As it was, I went to Scripps a bit peaked in interest, and ended up applying mainly because they gave me a fee waiver. I flew to vist Connecticut College with the intention of applying, and by then, I had applied ED. But they invited me. I was wishy washy about Reed, and mildly interested by Grinnell, so why not? It’s not often I can travel anymore, they were offering to pay if I was chosen to view the campus, and I didn’t know if I would end up loving the school or not! Everyone, in most every college book and even here suggests visiting colleges before applying or enrolling. But that just wasn’t possible for me. So I visited three of the 8 or so colleges I applied to (one, obviously, state school.) </p>
<p>For example, Scripps invited me. I took up their invitation, and visited, as I heard the school was good. It was, but something was ‘off’ about it for me. There’s no way I would’ve known without going, and I got a free vacation to Claremont out of it. I might’ve loved Reed, or hated it, but I didn’t go (as I said, not enough “sick” days left). </p>
<p>If the whole point is to sway me into considering the college, of course I won’t feel guilty going.</p>