<p>I apologize for lumping dzmlsience and the OP together. There’s clearly a difference between the two - dzmlsience entered into the admissions process intending to honor his commitment to the school; the OP entered into the process knowing in advance that he would not be able to. Big difference.</p>
<p>I appreciate dzmlsience’s suggestion that schools demand financial aid disclosures from all families - it’s an interesting idea. But most schools solve the problem by saying up front that they expect each family’s financial commitment to be honored for the full term of the student’s enrollment and cannot make any guarantee of assistance for families who are unable to do that. I wonder if the school dzmlsience’s daughter was accepted to isn’t one of the “need blind” schools (Andover or SAS), which would explain their more generous approach towards belated financial aid requests.</p>
<p>With regards to the OP, I think it’s a bit disingenuous to cut to the front of a line and then say, “Oops, I didn’t know there was a line.” As the parent of a child who knows what it feels like to be left at the back of that line, perhaps I am overreacting. But, at most schools, one of the criteria for admission is the ability to pay the tuition. If the schools aren’t making that clear, then they should.</p>