<p>There was at least one case last year in which a high school student claimed to have been admitted ED to quite a good college, and then admitted RD to a really, really great college, but after that he started posting as an admitted student to a much more mediocre college. I think his earlier postings were just wishful thinking, and that he was never admitted to either of those colleges.</p>
<p>Consolation: read my post. I didn’t say a court wouldn’t let College B withdraw an acceptance of a student admitted ED to College A. I merely doubted that a court would order College B NOT to admit the student if College B was willing to ignore the student’s violation of the ED rules. (That’s not so clear, by the way. The court could probably do it if it wanted to, on a tortious interference with contract theory.)</p>
<p>It’s the voluntary cooperation of competing colleges, not judicial enforceability, that makes this system work.</p>
<p>I did read your post. It seemed to me that were two potential lawsuits. In LS1–which we agree is farfetched–the ED college sues to require the student to attend. In LS2, which I consider significantly more likely to occur, the student sues an RD school for rescinding an acceptance because she did not comply with the terms of the ED program. I didn’t think you addressed that possibility. </p>
<p>“Tortious interference”–is that a legal term having to do with torts, or did you mean to say “tortuous interference”? I can see it going either way! :)</p>
<p>I agree that it is the voluntary cooperation of colleges that makes the system work. If students began gaming the system en masse, though, I wonder how high the legal bills would have to mount before the system crumbled…</p>
<p>Precisely because the ED agreement is nowhere near “unconscionable”, and because the student will have failed to inform the RD college that he agreed to attend another college, I don’t think a student’s suit against an RD college would have a snowball’s chance in hell.</p>
<p>If people thought lots of students were playing games, the first line of defense would be a common database with the names and addresses (or SSNs) of all students admitted ED, against which a college could check its list of RD applicants (or about-to-be-admitted students). A few rejection letters, a few calls from the ED school asking why there seemed to be unwithdrawn applications out there . . . one cycle of that would pretty much end gaming altogether. The reason it hasn’t happened, I presume, is that there isn’t enough actual gaming to worry about.</p>
<p>Yeah, I would have to ask a student trying to game the system, especially if he wanted to go to court, what part of the early decision agreement </p>
<p>Question has been answered.
What I don’t understand is why 1) anyone would want to do ED and not have the opportunity in getting a better financial aid package. 2) would anyone want to compete in a stronger Financial group, 3) would anyone want to compete in a stronger Academic group 4) limit their college choices, 5) not enjoy their senior hs year?</p>
<p>this thread smells like spoiled, blu cheese.</p>
<p>thisoldman, for a kid with one college picked out, a college fund or external scholarships, or a good handle on financial aid typically offered by that one school, I would imagine that ED would work very well. The application goes in early, the decision is made early, and the student, if accepted, gets to enjoy his/her senior year secure in the knowledge that the college admissions thing is DONE.</p>
<p>Contrast that to filling out a dozen applications (after having perhaps visited a dozen colleges) and doing all the other paperwork – test score reports, recommendations, etc. – required to apply to these dozen schools, keeping track of the different application requirements and deadlines, and then waiting for months for the results, unable to make plans for the following school year because where that school year will be spent is so up in the air.</p>
<p>(1) Either the student doesn’t expect financial aid, or believes (often quite reasonably) that financial aid will not differ materially among his or her top-choice group of schools.</p>
<p>(2) Because the odds of admission look substantially higher.</p>
<p>(3) Because not only do the odds of admission LOOK substantially higher, they probably ARE substantially higher, even taking into account the stronger academic qualifications. If ED didn’t deliver, it wouldn’t be popular.</p>
<p>(4) No one can attend more than one college at a time. Most of the kids who choose ED have researched and visited a number of colleges. My virtual niece, who applied to a LAC ED two years ago, had visited at least 10 colleges, three of them (including her ED choice) more than once, one of them (the school her parents wanted her to choose, but she didn’t) three separate times. Her choices weren’t limited at all, except by her parents (who ultimately insisted that she be within reasonably easy driving distance). She could have applied to eight or nine colleges, gotten accepted by many of them – she was at the top of her strong class – and had no more meaningful information than she had when she applied ED.</p>
<p>(5) Enjoying senior year is the #1 reason why kids apply ED. If they are successful, it’s all strawberries and cream by the week before Christmas. That’s NOT the experience others have.</p>
<p>I second JHS.
S1 researched extensively and did plenty of visits. It turned out that the school that looked best to him on paper and had a great program in his intended major was also the one he felt an instant connection with on visit (and we made him visit twice to make sure). Admissions-wise it was a match. He didn’t feel the desire to apply to any ivies because he knew this was where he wanted to go.
With years’ worth of college savings set aside, we knew we wouldn’t qualify for aid until S2 heads off to college, so this made ED possible. I will also say that since then, we have learned more about better ways to save and set aside money for college.
He was accepted, had a stress-free senior year, and loves his school.
That said, without careful research and financial planning, obviously ED could be a real risk or problem, as seen in this thread.</p>
<p>I still don’t get it. This person is now agonizing and taking such a big bet where s/he will probably lose it all, This is not strawberries and cream. (BTW, cream curdles if the strawberries are too tart; If the strawberries are not tart, then they are without flavor or sweetness.)</p>
<p>So if there is s/he was not accepted ED, then there is a real rush to get RD applications done by Jan 1, a two week push during Christmas-New Years? Not good.</p>
<p>“So if s/he was not accepted ED, then there is a real rush to get RD applications done by Jan 1, a two week push during Christmas-New Years? Not good.”</p>
<p>In some cases that is definitely true. To avoid this at our public HS the GC makes it clear to any ED applicants that they need their other applications completed and ready to go in December, in case or rejection or deferral. It means doing the extra work, but by then most have already completed the Common Application anyhow, and just hold off on maybe an essay or two.</p>
<p>Head Cheese gone last week (announced at Sinners Alley)</p>
<p>Food is one of the few things that people can relate to without too much thinking. For example, if I said that most of my posts are like a bowl of chili beans; I guarantee you very few people would not understand.</p>
<p>Lets try it:
OP has eaten a bowl of chili beans.</p>
<p>I am aware of a situation last year where a student tried to change their mind after accepting an ED offer from a LAC (they did not pull their other applications as required and were then admitted to an Ivy) They lost their offers to both schools.</p>