If I get accepted Early Decision for another college do I have to withdraw my USNA application?

Nomak54

Nomak54

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ED is binding meaning I must go there. does that mean if during the spring I get appointed will I be unable to do that? Obviously I'm going to choose USNA in a heartbeat but I've heard rumors of students who back out of ED getting blackballed, meaning the school will notify other schools and give them a bad image. in some cases, people lose their entire acceptance to other schools.

On a slightly related note, I've also been applying ED to like 4 or 5 schools so far and I'm told that's dumb and I need to change it is that true?
 
The word Binding actually means something to schools (and most people) so yes, you need to make some changes. I'm not certain if they can blackball you, but signing binding agreements with multiple universities certainly exhibits a lack of integrity. What if more than one accepts you? In fact if the SA is your first choice you should not have applied ED anywhere at all.

The guidance counselor at your school should have stepped in and stopped this at the point your transcripts went out. Multiple ED acceptances from a student reflects badly on your high school as well.

EDIT: Go read up on Early Action vs Early Decision. EA is not binding the way ED is. Which do you mean?
 
You should not apply ED unless you can afford to choose this school above all other offers, period.

Unfortunately many people apply ED with a "string" attached saying "I will guarantee attendance IF I get a good FA package." To them it gives them an "out" if a service academy offers a late appointment in April.

It still a form of gaming the system.

Here is a good article about ED if you need Financial Aid....
https://studentloanhero.com/featured/early-decision-avoid-reasons-financial-aid/
 
@Nomak54, the ED process is painfully clear: You can only apply ED to one school because if accepted, you must commit to going there. I find it hard to believe that this is a surprise to you, as it’s spelled out very explicitly.

So, of course, if you receive appointment to USNA, you can back out of an ED commitment and attend USNA instead. Your high school could get quite a bit of grief from the college. That wouldn’t necessarily affect you. It might hurt a subsequent ED candidate from your high school. But perhaps that wouldn’t bother you.

The bigger questions for you are this: Will your conscience allow you to sleep at night, knowing you intentionally gamed the system in this way? Will you be comfortable entering USNA on a lie, and then abiding by an honor code that’s meant to guard against exactly this behavior? Is this how you’ll operate as a midshipman and officer, taking the easier wrong rather than the harder right?

It’s that last question that hangs the heaviest — it’s not easy for people to say, “just this once and never again.”
 
Nomak54 said:
ED is binding meaning I must go there. does that mean if during the spring I get appointed will I be unable to do that? Obviously I'm going to choose USNA in a heartbeat but I've heard rumors of students who back out of ED getting blackballed, meaning the school will notify other schools and give them a bad image. in some cases, people lose their entire acceptance to other schools.

On a slightly related note, I've also been applying ED to like 4 or 5 schools so far and I'm told that's dumb and I need to change it is that true?
Click to expand...

Like StPaul said, make sure your terms are correct.

Is it 4-5 ED or EA schools?

If it’s 4-5 ED schools, then dumb is lower on my list of descriptive words. Unethical would be more appropriate. You cannot tell 4-5 schools you WILL attend if selected. ED is a binding commitment. You can ED only 1 school. And yes, if you get accepted to an ED school, then you cannot accept an appointment to an SA later on. Ok. There will be posters in this forum that says you can get out of it. There are ways to get out of it in an ethical manner. Under normal circumstances though, a commitment to attend if selected is a commitment to attend if selected. Be ethical about it.

If it’s 4-5 EA schools, then it’s not a bad decision to apply. My DD applied to 3 EA schools so she should be hearing something between mid-December to mid-January from those schools. Those are all plans D, E, F, etc though.

My DD would have loved to apply ED to two of her other plan G and K schools because about 1/2 of the entering class get accepted in the ED round. She’s not doing that though because she knows she’s stuck with the ED school if accepted. My oldest applied ED to her dream school and it worked. She’s a junior at the school now. It was her best Christmas present that year. The latter half of her senior year HS was so relaxing knowing she was headed to her first choice school.

I believe there is an advantage to ED. Not all schools say it outright. Take a look at Duke’s application site about ED. Duke clearly says there is an advantage to applying ED.
 
Nomak54 said:
ED is binding meaning I must go there. does that mean if during the spring I get appointed will I be unable to do that? Obviously I'm going to choose USNA in a heartbeat but I've heard rumors of students who back out of ED getting blackballed, meaning the school will notify other schools and give them a bad image. in some cases, people lose their entire acceptance to other schools.

On a slightly related note, I've also been applying ED to like 4 or 5 schools so far and I'm told that's dumb and I need to change it is that true?
Click to expand...

ED can only be to one school and yes it could be an issue if you get an appointment. Early ACTION is not a problem.
 
There is an ethical component here. You are basically lying when you knowingly apply binding Early Decision with the intent of only considering that school. You can not in good faith apply ED to multiple schools. If everyone did that it would undermine the term and the process. No special snowflakes. When applying to a service academy, if that is your number one choice, you must apply early action or regular decision. Not to mention, if you go service academy and then hope to pursue your masters at one of those fine establishments you will be in their systems.
 
At this point, you have already screwed up by applying ED to 4-5 schools. I dont know how hard it is to get into of these schools but if you get accepted to any additional schools, you are going to be in some sort of trouble. Having said that, if you get accepted to USNA and that is what you really want, then you should choose that. Hopefully there is no backlash from the school that accepted you or from USNA. If financial issue is a reason not to accept a ED school, then paying zero against paying 40,000 per year is a financial issue. Honestly, the whole thing is mess and while it is true there is a big ethical issue here, personally, if this is the most unethical thing you do in your life, I could live with it. I know most people here wont agree with me but I also believe that those who attend SA arent angels either. I would however notify the other colleges you applied ED and notify them you screwed up and should be EA and not ED
 
If you truly did apply ED (binding) to 4-5 schools, I would immediately contact those schools and ask them to move your application to the RD (Regular Decision) round. EA (early action) is not binding and not a problem in this scenario.

And if USNA is your first choice, I would not have any outstanding ED applications.
 
@Nomak54

If you truly applied to 4-5 schools via ED (not EA) round and your conscience is getting to you and you want to do the right thing, the easy thing to do is to send an email and ask your application to be considered in the RD round. It’s simple. You won’t be the first student who submitted ED and decided to changed to RD.

If you go to College Confidential, there’s plenty of posts there where kids say they accidentally hit the ED button instead of RD and wonder how to get out of it. Again, the simple thing is to send a nice email and ask to be considered in the RD round.

So to answer the title of your post... Yes. If you get accepted ED, then the agreement you, your parents, and your counselor signed says you will withdraw all applications or decline offers you have already gotten.
 
I didn't know Early Decision was real like that. I always thought you could just simply not accept going there and nothing bad would happen. I thought if I got accepted I could just close my other ED applications.
 
Nomak54 said:
I didn't know Early Decision was real like that. I always thought you could just simply not accept going there and nothing bad would happen. I thought if I got accepted I could just close my other ED applications.
Click to expand...

You didn't read what Early Decision meant at the 4-5 schools where you applied Early Decision? Sorry but that is just idiotic.
 
@Nomak54, sorry, but I don’t buy it. You’re engaged in arguably the biggest endeavor of your young life — applying to colleges — and you didn’t know? Come on! And you want to be a midshipman and an officer?

Whether we want to call this unethical or not, it’s a gross and willful lack of attention to detail — at best. With all due respect, you gotta do better than that!
 
From everything I have read here I would not spend too much time worrying about a USNA appointment. You should probably jump at an ED offer if one is sent your way..
 
Just for the heck of it, since I haven’t applied to college since the 20th c., I looked up my own alma mater’s Early Decision info on the Admissions page.

It’s crystal clear what the rules of the game are. The Early Decision info is followed by the Early Action info. Equally clear.
It seems very real to me.

Here’s the ED text:

“When you know, you know. If you have decided without a doubt that Wake Forest is your first-choice college, you may apply Early Decision or Early Decision II. Early Decision applicants are given some preference in the admissions process. Approximately 10 to 15 percent of applicants apply Early Decision each year; those students made up about 50% of the incoming class in 2017.

Under the Early Decision plan:
You may submit an Early Decision application any time after completion of your junior year, but no later than November 15.
Wake Forest must be your first choice and only active Early Decision application (you may submit regular decision applications to other institutions).
You, your parents, and your counselor must sign the Early Decision Agreement agreeing to enroll if admitted and to withdraw regular-decision applications from other colleges upon acceptance to Wake Forest.
Decisions are made on a rolling basis. Applicants are notified by mail only. A $500 nonrefundable deposit is due within two weeks of acceptance notification.”

Now - you’ve had a pile of negative opinions heaved your way. Focus on what you need to do to clean up the situation you created and get back to a better path.
 
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I mean I knew what ED was I just didn't read the fine print that said you could only apply to ONE school. I was thinking "well what are they going to do if I decline? Arrest me?"
 
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