Back up Plans?(even when appointed) Thoughts?

H

hopefulmominla

10-Year Member
Joined
Jun 18, 2011
Messages
138
As always the SA forums are always helpful, sometimes they prompt me to think about things that I never thought of. So I ve read about parents of kids headed off to various academys who still pay deposits and accept scholarships at Plan B schools in case they don't make it through the summer. Is this routine, or not really? Are there any hard statistics anywhere about how many kids don't start the fall? Obviously most of our kids are high achievers so theres lots of scholarship $$$ on the line at the plan b s ... Just curious what the different schools of thought are on this. Thanks
 
You have to decline ROTC scholarships prior to reporting to a service academy. You can put down a deposit and hold onto scholarships at the school, I suppose. My DS did not, we put all our eggs into the basket, crossed our fingers, and hoped for the best!
 
I dont know if there are statistics on this, but from what I have read on this forum, people do so in case something bad happens. For example, the student breaks his or her leg sometime in June and is not allowed to attend the academy. Or possibly, you havent received word yet negative or positive about being accepted to an academy, so you need a backup just in case. By having a deposit on a civilian college, you have an insurance that the student will attend a college no matter what happens. There are two philosophies on that. One, you are taking someone spot and being unethical to the college or my philosophy, which is that colleges are no bastion of ethics and will always take care of themselves first. So, people need to take care of their needs first also without breaking any laws. As for taking a spot, colleges always offer more spots than seats becasue they know not everyone will accept or even show up
 
Good question. Without a doubt, contact Plan B school first and make sure it's ok. Some will give you the green light to make the deposit, others will not. Don't count on getting deposit back. DS1 did this after getting approval from the Director of Admissions (at Plan B), and Plan B school was nice enough to return the deposit in the fall.
 
This is what I am working through now. DD has not decided yet, but has full appointments to her top 3 SAs. At this point, civilian college is only if medical reasons.

Help me understand the main dates:
May 1st
R-Day, 06/25-07/08/2020 range depending on SA;
A-Day?
all the way to 1st day of classes - whether at Plan B school or SA?

For those that DID communicate with Plan B schools
Were you able to retain scholarships, specifically NOT ROTC scholarships, and specifically university merit aid?
What about special programs, like Honors or other super duper special programs?
And when you say "You" contacted the civilian Plan B school, do you mean you, the parent, or your child?
 
HCopter said:
For those that DID communicate with Plan B schools
Were you able to retain scholarships, specifically NOT ROTC scholarships, and specifically university merit aid?
What about special programs, like Honors or other super duper special programs?
And when you say "You" contacted the civilian Plan B school, do you mean you, the parent, or your child?
Click to expand...

DS1 Plan B was elite school so no merit scholarship. Lost all 3 ROTC scholarships on day of reporting to USMA. DS1 contacted Plan B via email.
 
HCopter said:
This is what I am working through now. DD has not decided yet, but has full appointments to her top 3 SAs. At this point, civilian college is only if medical reasons.

Help me understand the main dates:
May 1st
R-Day, 06/25-07/08/2020 range depending on SA;
A-Day?
all the way to 1st day of classes - whether at Plan B school or SA?

For those that DID communicate with Plan B schools
Were you able to retain scholarships, specifically NOT ROTC scholarships, and specifically university merit aid?
What about special programs, like Honors or other super duper special programs?
And when you say "You" contacted the civilian Plan B school, do you mean you, the parent, or your child?
Click to expand...
I was reading thru past posts about this, too. The idea of deferring a semester, if possible, is REALLY appealing. Pay the deposit and then switch before May 1st to deferred. I assume not all schools will allow, but hopefully DS/DD has chosen a school that is appealing and will.
 
Be very careful about deposits to Plan B schools. Most will keep the deposit and let your student go on to attend the SA, or other college if all goes well, and a few will even refund the deposit.

However there are some colleges that will actually include in the fine-print an obligation to attend based on the deposit. This means your student could be on the hook for a full semester of tuition for a school that they don't attend!

See the thread below for an example of a particularly onerous scenario:
https://www.serviceacademyforums.com/index.php?threads/insurance-at-local-u.65556/page-2#post-643766
 
Last edited:
Our son kept his alternate plan A school until the end of Beast. No one’s spot was taken and no laws were broken, but do read all fine print—always, not just with school deposits.
 
We are continuing to pursue all other options with our DS including all civilian schools and SA's that he has applied to. Call me a pessimist (or at best a realist), you just never know what the future may hold and you want to make sure that your child will continue to have as many quality options available for as long as possible.
 
WOW everyone has GREAT input!!!

Do most college require you accept before you can get to the housing portal? I'm not so concerned with housing, and willing to lose that deposit, but it seemed that all my older DD's portals required you to accept first.

I will have DD speak with her GC and college advisor about it - they may have additional insight with such close relationships with the local colleges.
As soon as DD decides on which SA, i'll also reach out to that SA parents group and see what they did - especially since they probably had the same thoughts with the very same local colleges!

DD is getting her "second wind" and getting excited about special program essays/invites etc at civilian colleges. Mad scramble this week to ask her recommenders to tweak LORs and replace "nomination" "service academy" with "your special program"!
 
Our son accepted and paid all deposits, including housing at the alternate school. We did not care whether or not those deposits were returned; we were happy to forfeit them (and we did). When he finally indicated he would not matriculate (which, by the way, was just an online tick box), he did not give a reason other than to say he longer required the spot. Some schools will return deposits for students who choose service academies and some won’t. It’s worth finding out ahead of time in which camp your student’s alternate school resides.
 
In the past, cadets leave SWAB summer at various times either as a DOR (Drop on Request) but more often as a medical. Either a waiver did not go through, the SWAB week one physical at the academy found something, or they get a significant injury during SWAB summer. In the past, if it has been an injury during training that they can recover from, USCGA may offer them a spot in the next years class. Also, some do not meet weight standards either on R-day or at the end of SWAB.

I can't emphasize enough how important it is to report in shape for SWAB summer, not just to do well, but to avoid injury.

That said, many families have prepared well, and if the unthinkable happens, are at least able to Activate their Plan B school and start at a civilian college in the fall. Parents have reported back that when they have had kids leave SWAB unexpectedly having the Plan B to focus on has really helped them make the unexpected transition back to civilian life. I can only imagine how difficult it is for a cadet to have to leave due to injury.
 
TexasAggie204 said:
We are continuing to pursue all other options with our DS including all civilian schools and SA's that he has applied to. Call me a pessimist (or at best a realist), you just never know what the future may hold and you want to make sure that your child will continue to have as many quality options available for as long as possible.
Click to expand...


same here @TexasAggie204 !
 
Read ALL of the threads on Plan B and understand the risks - it has been discussed every year ad nauseam. It is not as simple as forfeiting a deposit.
 
There is an old thread under USNA where this was discussed in depth....including the ethical and legal considerations. There was one reported instance where a public university held the prospective student who submitted a deposit liable for the entire 4 year tuition. This may be outrageous, but illustrates the importance of reading everything and knowing what you are committing to when you put down a deposit as a backup.
 
It's hard to get overly concerned about the "ethical" issues with admissions at US universities when the highest paid employee in nearly every state is the state university's head football or basketball coach. I think I'll just do what's right for my kid and sleep very well at night.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top