Acceptance at non-SA

BGMom25

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My son received an acceptance to his #1 non-SA school. We both thought that we read that if he accepts it, his SA applications will be closed automatically, but neither of us can find where we saw that. USAFA is his #1 by a landslide, but his #1 non-SA school is the only non-SA that he really wants to be at.

Is it true that if he accepts a non-SA school his SA application will be withdrawn? If so, where can I find that in an official statement?
 
You can be accepted and even register at a non SA. This is Merica :p. Seriously though, there is no rule against applying to as many schools as you want. Take a deep breath and celebrate his acceptance. Good luck on USAFA appointment.
 
I second that. In fact, I had accepted the offer from my back-up school in November because of housing purposes. Selection for housing there is based on who submits the enrollment deposit form first, so I submitted the form to get a good dorm choice in case I actually ended up going to that school. I accepted my appointment to USNA yesterday, so short answer is no, it doesn't pull your SA app unless it's ED.
 
My son received an acceptance to his #1 non-SA school. We both thought that we read that if he accepts it, his SA applications will be closed automatically, but neither of us can find where we saw that. USAFA is his #1 by a landslide, but his #1 non-SA school is the only non-SA that he really wants to be at.

Is it true that if he accepts a non-SA school his SA application will be withdrawn? If so, where can I find that in an official statement?
My son will accept his number 1 civilian college, before their May 1 deadline, if he does not have a full academy appointment by then. Heck, even if he does have a full appointment, we may still send a deposit to that civilian college. There have been a few comments on here about candidates who were injured before their report date, or even during summer programs, so I want his plan B solidified.
 
My son received an acceptance to his #1 non-SA school. We both thought that we read that if he accepts it, his SA applications will be closed automatically, but neither of us can find where we saw that. USAFA is his #1 by a landslide, but his #1 non-SA school is the only non-SA that he really wants to be at.

Is it true that if he accepts a non-SA school his SA application will be withdrawn? If so, where can I find that in an official statement?
That would only be true for Early Decision, and to my knowledge only USNA has specifically stated that the application would automatically be closed. Of course any applicant, to any college, is required to withdraw all other applications once admitted Early Decision.

It clearly does not apply to Regular Decision, and he is free to continue the process with the other school with no repercussions from USAFA. The only requirement is that he not be committed to more than one school after May1.
 
I guess we both were thinking of what we saw in regards to the EA acceptance. Thank you for the clarification!
 
I second that. In fact, I had accepted the offer from my back-up school in November because of housing purposes. Selection for housing there is based on who submits the enrollment deposit form first, so I submitted the form to get a good dorm choice in case I actually ended up going to that school. I accepted my appointment to USNA yesterday, so short answer is no, it doesn't pull your SA app unless it's ED.
That's exactly why - for housing. Thank you!
 
This is one interesting thread on the same topic.

 
My son will accept his number 1 civilian college, before their May 1 deadline, if he does not have a full academy appointment by then. Heck, even if he does have a full appointment, we may still send a deposit to that civilian college. There have been a few comments on here about candidates who were injured before their report date, or even during summer programs, so I want his plan B solidified.
Lot of past discussions on keeping a Plan B. It comes up every year about this time. Do so at your own risk, but best to know the risks beforehand.

Since the typical response is, "huh, what risk?", here is a cut and paste from last year:

Most colleges do not take it lightly when they find out that a student has violated their agreement not to be committed to more than one institution. Whether or not they will do anything about it is debatable. It is not correct that most families maintain a Plan B, but if you do, make sure you do not get caught in an uncomfortable situation as some others have.

Here are the facts:
  1. If you make arrangements with the backup college beforehand and they agree to be the backup - no problem whatsoever.
  2. Almost all colleges consider it an ethical/contractual violation to use them as a backup without their knowledge. Most applications, including the Common Application, contain a clause that applicants agree not to be committed to more than one institution after May 1st. The fact that SA's do not use the Common Application is irrelevant; the agreement is between the student/family and the civilian institution.
  3. The two ways previous appointees have been caught and found themselves in an uncomfortable situation are: high school college counselor discovered violation, or appointee told college when calling/emailing to let them know they wouldn't be attending.
  4. Virtually all colleges and high schools are institutional members and many individuals at those schools are individual members of the National Association of College Admissions Counselors (NACAC) - USMA, USNA, USAFA, USCGA, and USMMA are members. The NACAC code of conduct states that it is unethical to be committed to more than one institution.
  5. There are known instances of appointees being threatened by colleges for using them as an unwitting backup.
  6. No SA has issued a policy on this practice and there has been no test case for how an SA will respond - there are no known instances of a college reporting the infraction to an SA.
 
Lot of past discussions on keeping a Plan B. It comes up every year about this time. Do so at your own risk, but best to know the risks beforehand.

Since the typical response is, "huh, what risk?", here is a cut and paste from last year:

Most colleges do not take it lightly when they find out that a student has violated their agreement not to be committed to more than one institution. Whether or not they will do anything about it is debatable. It is not correct that most families maintain a Plan B, but if you do, make sure you do not get caught in an uncomfortable situation as some others have.

Here are the facts:
  1. If you make arrangements with the backup college beforehand and they agree to be the backup - no problem whatsoever.
  2. Almost all colleges consider it an ethical/contractual violation to use them as a backup without their knowledge. Most applications, including the Common Application, contain a clause that applicants agree not to be committed to more than one institution after May 1st. The fact that SA's do not use the Common Application is irrelevant; the agreement is between the student/family and the civilian institution.
  3. The two ways previous appointees have been caught and found themselves in an uncomfortable situation are: high school college counselor discovered violation, or appointee told college when calling/emailing to let them know they wouldn't be attending.
  4. Virtually all colleges and high schools are institutional members and many individuals at those schools are individual members of the National Association of College Admissions Counselors (NACAC) - USMA, USNA, USAFA, USCGA, and USMMA are members. The NACAC code of conduct states that it is unethical to be committed to more than one institution.
  5. There are known instances of appointees being threatened by colleges for using them as an unwitting backup.
  6. No SA has issued a policy on this practice and there has been no test case for how an SA will respond - there are no known instances of a college reporting the infraction to an SA.
These are the things that make us nervous, and could be part of what we originally saw. We were originally going to wait until May 1 to see if he receives a SA appointment, but campus housing has become a concern. It's a very large campus and the "better" housing options fill up fast.
 
This is one interesting thread on the same topic.


Several good points and some great discussion made in that post!
 
Lot of past discussions on keeping a Plan B. It comes up every year about this time. Do so at your own risk, but best to know the risks beforehand.

Since the typical response is, "huh, what risk?", here is a cut and paste from last year:

Most colleges do not take it lightly when they find out that a student has violated their agreement not to be committed to more than one institution. Whether or not they will do anything about it is debatable. It is not correct that most families maintain a Plan B, but if you do, make sure you do not get caught in an uncomfortable situation as some others have.

Here are the facts:
  1. If you make arrangements with the backup college beforehand and they agree to be the backup - no problem whatsoever.
  2. Almost all colleges consider it an ethical/contractual violation to use them as a backup without their knowledge. Most applications, including the Common Application, contain a clause that applicants agree not to be committed to more than one institution after May 1st. The fact that SA's do not use the Common Application is irrelevant; the agreement is between the student/family and the civilian institution.
  3. The two ways previous appointees have been caught and found themselves in an uncomfortable situation are: high school college counselor discovered violation, or appointee told college when calling/emailing to let them know they wouldn't be attending.
  4. Virtually all colleges and high schools are institutional members and many individuals at those schools are individual members of the National Association of College Admissions Counselors (NACAC) - USMA, USNA, USAFA, USCGA, and USMMA are members. The NACAC code of conduct states that it is unethical to be committed to more than one institution.
  5. There are known instances of appointees being threatened by colleges for using them as an unwitting backup.
  6. No SA has issued a policy on this practice and there has been no test case for how an SA will respond - there are no known instances of a college reporting the infraction to an SA.
Thanks. I was aware of some of these risks, not all. And I’ve just revisited the long 2017 thread about this.

I guess one question I would ask you is what you’d have a candidate who does not have an offer of appointment do, come May 1st. That’s the deadline for deciding for most civilian colleges so let’s assume they go ahead and send their deposit. Likelihood is that they aren’t getting an offer of appointment after May 1 but these forums would have you believe that you still stand at least a slim chance. A few weeks later, their dream comes true and the academy they’ve dreamt of for years offers an appointment. You would have them say, I’m sorry but I’m already bound to university x because I had to send them my deposit by May 1?

I’ll do more research on my own and of course read the fine print of what we’ll be promising university x by sending a deposit - but the above scenario doesn’t sit right with me.

Perhaps the academies should try to make all offers by May 1 (and maybe they do for the most part). Otherwise, it seems like they are putting candidates into a very difficult position.
 
I am going to pay the university's enrollment deposit this week and if DS gets into an SA, he is going to the SA and not the U and we are out $200. Big deal. It's also the same university where DS has an ROTC scholarship which he has accepted but apparently can give back with no issues if offered an appointment at a SA. So I don't see the moral dilemma at all. I asked U's Admissions about this (and Housing directly to see if the ROTC kids all live together anyway and housing preference isn't even an issue) and both said we should wait with the deposit until we are absolutely sure as the deposit is non refundable. Paying it just to make sure that Plan B is solid.
 
Thanks. I was aware of some of these risks, not all. And I’ve just revisited the long 2017 thread about this.

I guess one question I would ask you is what you’d have a candidate who does not have an offer of appointment do, come May 1st. That’s the deadline for deciding for most civilian colleges so let’s assume they go ahead and send their deposit. Likelihood is that they aren’t getting an offer of appointment after May 1 but these forums would have you believe that you still stand at least a slim chance. A few weeks later, their dream comes true and the academy they’ve dreamt of for years offers an appointment. You would have them say, I’m sorry but I’m already bound to university x because I had to send them my deposit by May 1?

I’ll do more research on my own and of course read the fine print of what we’ll be promising university x by sending a deposit - but the above scenario doesn’t sit right with me.

Perhaps the academies should try to make all offers by May 1 (and maybe they do for the most part). Otherwise, it seems like they are putting candidates into a very difficult position.
There is no problem at all with accepting an appointment after May 1st.

If appointment comes after May 1st, simply accept appointment and withdraw acceptance from civilian college. Happens all the time, and is specifically authorized in the agreement, when students get accepted off the waitlist of a more preferred school in May, June, July, or August.

The only requirement is that when you accept an offer from another institution you must withdraw from the original one, so that you are only committed to one college.

Many colleges are very accommodating for SA appointees and will refund the deposit - just ask. Some will willingly be Plan B backups. Many will brush off being used as unwilling backups if they find out, but some will stir the pot, in one case even going after the student for lost tuition.
 
There is no problem at all with accepting an appointment after May 1st.

If appointment comes after May 1st, simply accept appointment and withdraw acceptance from civilian college. Happens all the time, and is specifically authorized in the agreement, when students get accepted off the waitlist of a more preferred school in May, June, July, or August.

The only requirement is that when you accept an offer from another institution you must withdraw from the original one, so that you are only committed to one college.

Many colleges are very accommodating for SA appointees and will refund the deposit - just ask. Some will willingly be Plan B backups. Many will brush off being used as unwilling backups if they find out, but some will stir the pot, in one case even going after the student for lost tuition.
Got it, your issue is keeping two “in play”, just in case of injuries. My mistake. We’ll discuss with the school and the ROO, since my son’s civilian college is one where he would use his ROTC scholarship.
 
We paid the deposit and did not withdraw from the civilian school until my DS got through BCT. Too many stories of injuries prior too or during BCT and getting booted and with COIVD, who knew what could happen. We wanted to reserve a fallback just in case. I have no qualms about this in the slightest. Schools overbook knowing kids will drop. USAFA does not commit and guarantee anything either. The institutions can handle the impact of him not showing up a heck of a lot easier than he can handle get jerked around by the system. I am not going to argue that the SA should accept injured kids or let them graduate BCT. However, I am going to avoid letting my DS be put in a position where he can get left out because of bureaucracy or an accident. I wouldn't feel the least bit of guilt or anguish over protecting your child from being caught in a bad situation.
 
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