<p>jmmom,why do you enjoy torturing me?</p>
<p>I wish a lot of things. When I agreed to something I accept that I am stuck with the obligations which it brings.</p>
<p>Do you really think you are ready for Harvard, or the ED LAC, or any of the other schools on the table? Perhaps you should take a gap year to help reset your moral compass.</p>
<p>I’d like to highlight something that’s been mentioned, but not emphasized: Even if everything did work out for you (you get into Harvard, they don’t find out about your ED acceptance/don’t care, and you enroll there), you have still broken your ED contract. And there is the possibility, perhaps even the strong possibility, that the ED school will blacklist your school for a while, not letting in qualified applicants, as a punishment to your GC for letting you get away with this.</p>
<p>Now, I don’t know if this LAC is popular at your school or not, but are you willing to risk completely destroying the chances of other students at that school–other students who might really want to go there?</p>
<p>Also, why are you so set on Harvard? Do you want to go there for reasons other than that it is Harvard? Because that wouldn’t be a great reason to go even if you weren’t breaking an ED contract…it’s an even worse reason when you are. Do you really think you’d enjoy your time more there than at your LAC?</p>
<p>ETA: And I don’t think anyone here thinks ED is a divine thing. As someone who had a positive ED experiance, I, personally, think it is somthing that CAN benifit both the school and the applicant…but only if the applicant is sure they want to go to the ED school. If you weren’t sure, you shouldn’t have applied ED. But you did, and now the ethical thing to do is to honor that. (And yes, in an ideal world, my top choice would have had EA, I would have gotten in that way, and I could have applied to a couple of the even more competitive schools on my list just to see if I could have gotton in. But this isn’t an ideal world, and I decided that my curiosity was worth less than attending my not choice. ED isn’t perfect, but it’s a balancing act, and for some people it is the better choice).</p>
<p>^I am not ready for Harvard just because I do not wish to respect a rule which Harvard itself ignores?Give me a break.</p>
<p>“jmmom,why do you enjoy torturing me?”</p>
<p>You’ve done a dishonest thing that could have very serious consequences for you. Once you are caught, there is no fixing this. Why don’t you get that?</p>
<p>Because he wants to go to <em>Harvard</em> (or Princeton or Yale). Because he wants to tell all his friends he got into <em>Harvard</em>. Because he thinks people who go to <em>Harvard</em> are better than other people. Because he thinks he will be happier and his life will be better based on the label on his degree.</p>
<p>Because the name <em>Harvard</em> matters more to him than honor. </p>
<p>Sad, but true.</p>
<p>^You couldn’t be more wrong.</p>
<p>cogitoergosum: why are you so dead set on going to Harvard? Not picking on you, just curious. As I asked, do you really think you’d be happier there? It’s not the perfect place for everyone (I’m sure lots of people love it, but I know a few people who went just because it was Harvard, and now are miserable).</p>
<p>I agree with Weskid–
If you renege on ED, it could very negatively
affect admissions for students from your school in the years to follow.</p>
<p>I do not think the OP really <em>wants</em> to go to Harvard. I think the OP’s ego wants to know if s/he is “Ivy Caliber”, and acceptance to Harvard will serve as the ultimate proof.</p>
<p>Financial hardship is pretty much the only reason to back out of the ED.</p>
<p>^I am not dead set on Harvard.In fact I like Princeton better.
I want to hear anecdotal references from people who backed out of ED and get away with it.</p>
<p>Maybe this is said in later posts–I’ve only been through three pages–BUT last time I looked entering into an ED contract is a VOLUNTARY action in full knowledge of the binding nature of it. You don’t have to like it, but you are bound by it. That’s why EA works better for some people. From a strictly moral perspective, nobody twists your arm to enter an ED situation–it is a contract and you agree to abide by it or you have no business applying under those conditions. With hundreds of qualified applicants being denied, why ever would Harvard be interested in making an exception for someone who gambled like this?</p>
<p>bunsenburner,what are you talking about?You don’t even know me.</p>
<p>It’s dishonest.</p>
<p>You want to know that people got away with dishonesty.</p>
<p>Cogit, you haven’t gotten those anecdotes because there are so very few people who backed out of ED for less than excellent reasons and got away with it.
Personally, I think you’re taking a very foolish risk because no matter how stellar you may be, the odds are still slim that you’ll get into Harvard. It seems silly to me that anyone should risk a good admission for a pipe dream.</p>
<p>I keep wondering, if you like Harvard and/or Princeton so much, why did you not apply early to one of them?</p>
<p>Perhaps because you like the part of ED which gets you into another good school early on? It’s fine as long as it’s working for you; if it’s not…too bad for everyone else.</p>
<p>You’re don’t want hear the truth, which is that the only reason people GET AWAY with backing out of ED commitments is because of FA needs . And no matter how many times you ask, you’re not going to get a different message from people on this forum, who KNOW better then you. So I suggest if you are looking for someone to blow smoke up your ***, you go elsewhere.</p>
<p>OP, I doubt you will get the answer you want on this forum.</p>
<p>Are there any circumstances that made you change your mind about that LAC? There might be legitimate reasons besides finances, but “I want to go to Harvard/Princeton/Whatever!” is not one of them.</p>
<p>cogito, have you talked to your parents about this? It doesn’t matter whether they know anything about college admissions; I’m certainly they know something about honesty and integrity and keeping your word.</p>
<p>Would they be proud of you for acting in such a dishonest way?</p>