<p>Wow, the answers (and speculation) were more than I expected. Thanks for your responses. To clarify, it was a conversation with an actual person from the admissions office of a school from the TABS list my child compiled – these acronyms are plentiful – and it was about an admission but with less financial aid than requested. We didn’t know the school would notify us ahead of time and thought it would just be a yes or no when decisions are released next week. That’s what took us by surprise. Apparently this is a fairly common practice, but we were not aware of it. I didn’t expect so much discussion around the issue, nor did I intend to provide fodder for the masses. For those that replied directly, I appreciate your information. With all of that said, I don’t plan to comment further on this specific issue – we will make our decision on our own, privately. Good luck to everyone on March 10 or thereabout. </p>