<p>I will answer this as honestly and as best I can. </p>
<p>In the circumstance you mention above, I would state that it is out of the candidates hands. I would accept the offer to the second choice school [in this case, USMA] in good faith, waiting as long as reasonably possible for the first choice school [USNA]to weigh in. The candidate will have done everything in their control to wait as long as possible, and when it is no longer possible, made the best decision available to him/her in good faith.</p>
<p>If the offer for the first choice [USNA] comes after that, it is no fault of the candidate’s. The candidate should be afforded an opportunity to rethink the decision. If USNA remains top on the list, then I would advise the candidate to accept USNA and make a PERSONAL PHONE CALL to USMA and explain the circumstances, thank them for the appointment, and, most regrettably, rescind the acceptance. MIND YOU- ALL OF THIS PREDIDICATED on the fact that USMA has NOT requested the candidate to pull back all applications. </p>
<p>In the case presented back in this thread, right now it is still in the candidate’s hands as there is still time to avoid this situation. There is absolutely NO RUSH to send in an acceptance to what they know is their second choice, knowing it will be rescinded should an appointment to USNA [their stated first choice] arrive. The USNA is, right now, still within its stated timeframe, of all notifications going out my APRIL 15th. THAT is still 2.5 weeks away!</p>
<p>Having said that, I would NOT let the USMA deadline pass, even if USNA is the first choice. A bird in the hand. But I would give USNA every opportunity to respond, within reason,[April 15th is within reason] fully recognizing that May 1st is still just shy of 5 weeks away.</p>
<p>If, on April 23rd, one full week before the May 1st deadline, the candidate has not heard from USNA, my advice would be to send the acceptance in to USMA, in time for the stated deadline, and send it return-receipt-requested. The candidate will be acting in good faith based on the information at hand AT THAT TIME.</p>
<p>Should a USNA offer come after that, and IF the candidate feels USNA is still his first choice, then I would advise the candidate to accept USNA and make a direct call to USMA and state the facts. In this case, the candidate is still acting in good faith, however was subject to circumstances outside THEIR control.</p>
<p>It is a fine line, granted, and some will find it a matter of semantics. But since you asked, that would be the way I would handle it.</p>
<p>So this is how we DID handle it.</p>
<p>Our son had appointments to USMA, USMMA,and acceptances to several of his civilian choices - and he was STILL waiting to hear from USNA. Understand, he had the above acceptances and appointments in hand before Christmas - in fact, USMA was a Thanksgiving gift! </p>
<p>It as now APRIL and he was STILL waiting to hear from USNA. He turned down USMMA in January, as well as most of his other schools. He delayed his decision on 2 schools- USMA and Notre Dame- waiting to hear from Navy. An offer of the foundation program for USNA finally came- which then meant weighing that option against a direct appointment to USMA and a seat at ND. Tough choice. Many of the older posters on here lived through the angst of that one with me!!!</p>
<p>The one difference is that every coach knew what his CLEAR first choice was. He was 100% forth-right with the coaches at Navy, ND, USMMA, USMA, and EVERY OTHER SCHOOL to which he applied. He had a very respectful relationship with the coach from USMA in particular- and it is no exaggeration when I say that this coach called every Sunday in December, January, Feb, March and April, with the same question… “So, have you heard anything from Navy yet?..” It was as honest as we could make it. </p>
<p>MOST coaches were first-rate and respectful of that…MOST, not ALL. One coach- a civilian school- outright told him that if he did not accept the offer right then and there, the offer for admission would stand; however the scholarship [which was substantial] would be pulled and given to someone else. It was enough to turn him off. </p>
<p>Had the offer for USNA not come through, chances are good he would have graduated with the USMA Class of 2009, or wearing the same blue and gold at ND, Class of 2009. Both stellar choices in our view. Fate had other plans. USNA was HIS clear first choice, and if it meant another year of foundation to get there, it was OK by him. To be honest, while I hoped this would be his final decision, I was not trusting enough that a 17 year old could see the bigger picture. I posted my angst on here, and several of those long-gone posters- Jamzmom, candidatemom, sistersunny- suggested I have him revisit the schools- he was THAT unsure. So I took that advice, and revisited the schools in back-to-back weekends- the rest declared itself. Personally, I would have been proud to put ANY of those stickers on the car… I bought them all- just needed the nod as to “which one.”</p>
<p>So when I say “I understand” the dilemma, I understand.
When I say “there is time,” it is because there IS time.</p>
<p>The candidate, at all times, should act IN GOOD FAITH.
For me, that means waiting a bit longer to let the chips fall.
There comes a point where a decision has to be made, and NO ONE will fault the candidate for making the call AT THAT TIME.
And if an offer for USNA comes after the fact, it is outside the control of the Candidate, who has ACTED IN GOOD FAITH, and who, if the option had been available ON TIME, would have made THAT decision. Thus, the candidate continues to act IN GOOD FAITH, even if that means rescinding the first acceptance. </p>
<p>Hope this answers the question.</p>
And worth every penny, too? :rolleyes:</p>
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