Does anyone know about these?? My daughter said that her counselor told her not to fill these out unless it's your first choice college because if you're accepted, then there is no way to back out and you can't apply anywhere else.
Well, yes and no. IN THEORY, when you are accepted "early admission", you are committed to that particular school. You've already decided that it is THE school for you, and there's no chance that you want to go anywhere else. IN REALITY, it's something of an honor system, and people do end up changing their minds later in their senior year. Once you're accepted to a certain school, that school cannot FORCE you to attend the next fall. They can threaten to "blacklist you" so that other schools won't accept you, but that threat doesn't really have teeth. However, it is considered dishonorable (something that doesn't seem to bother some people) to back out of an early-decision admission -- unless, of course something serious happens in your life, in which case you'd be able to explain why you were forced to leave the school you were so certain about.
Example: Let's say that John, like many students in our state, is absolutely rabid to attend UNC-Chapel Hill. His parents were both Tarheels, and he grew up wearing Carolina blue. He is CERTAIN that there's no other school for him; however, he knows that UNC is extremely competative, and he wants to give himself the best possible chance of being admitted. Understanding that a larger percentage of early applicants are admitted, he chooses to go the early-admittance route. Because he's not stupid and he knows he needs a back-up plan, he fills out applications for a couple other schools. And he waits.
In the meantime, his counselors and senior teachers get together to choose nominees for the Parks Scholarship (a prestigious full-ride scholarship to NC State). His English teacher throws John's name out as a potential candidate. The guidance counselor says, "No, he's already done early admission to UNC." Instantly, the whole group forgets about John for this particular scholarship; they do not want their high school to look bad if John wins this scholarship and then turns it down. He is never considered for a scholarship that could very well have become his.
Something similar happens inside the walls of UNC. They have a couple merit scholarships, which they can award to entice top-notch students to choose UNC. The committe gets together to discuss potential scholarship winners, but they don't talk about John at all -- they don't NEED to entice him to choose UNC. He's already told them that he wants their school more than anything. The scholarships go to the students who might otherwise choose another school.
Early in his senior year, John receives the good news: He's been accepted to UNC. He's thrilled, and he immediately does the honorable thing by withdrawing his applications from the other schools. But let's not make life too easy for John: His dad's business hasn't been doing too well lately -- he's counting on some financial aid to close the financial gap. When the financial aid package arrives, John's father realizes the truth: he simply doesn't have enough money to send John to UNC. They're befuddled as to why such a good student didn't receive at least a small scholarship. They discuss whether he should take out loans against his future earnings, or whether he should attend another state school that's close enough for him to live at home and commute to college. The whole family realizes that they should've been more realistic about their finances before they chose to go early-admission, but it's too late. John has a tough choice to make.
John CAN attend the other school; he'll have to re-apply, which means that he'll have to pay another admission fee -- and he'll have to explain why he withdrew his previous admission form and is now applying again. Chances are very good that UNC won't bother to inform all the other schools in the state who walked away from early admission; if he is questioned, he can honestly answer that his finances just didn't allow him to go to UNC. UNC, however, will always look at him with something of a jaunticed eye. If he goes to the other school, he has no chance of transferring into UNC as a junior (which many people do).
Bottom line: Early admission status increases the student's chances of being admitted, but it locks him into his choice (even if only morally).
