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- Feb 20, 2016
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if anything you are making a donation to that school.
Thanks, @MidwestDad! That's a great way to look at it!
if anything you are making a donation to that school.
It's called a hedge, sophisticated investors use this strategy all the time.
Having dealt with Public University for 4 years with older sibling my sympathy is quite low for their distress.
I think they call that "a business "!Don't think the Privates are any better. Admissions Departments may employ some decent humans, but as an institution they are mostly shameless.
The issue of morality is not with respect to the college, but with other applicants waiting for an opportunity to materialize. Those who insist that no individual is denied an opportunity are sticking their heads in the sand, the same as those who rationalize their decision by referring to yield management. Watch the College Confidential forum for Plan B wait list. If Plan B is a competitive school, there will be many wait listed applicants checking in every day hoping to find information about movement on the wait list.The issue of the morality of sending 2 or more deposits is interesting because morality doesn't come into play. The colleges have created a system that is supposed to benefit them.
It's called a "call" option. It is your right, but not obligation to "exercise" it. The deposit is the "premium", which usually is lost.
Words to live by: "Keep the greatest number of options open to the last possible moment."
Don't think the Privates are any better. Admissions Departments may employ some decent humans, but as an institution they are mostly shameless.
The issue of morality is not with respect to the college, but with other applicants waiting for an opportunity to materialize. Those who insist that no individual is denied an opportunity are sticking their heads in the sand, the same as those who rationalize their decision by referring to yield management.
Schools provide more offers than spots in a class.... why? Because not everyone will accept an offer. It has nothing to do with morality and it's already built into the offer numbers.
The same logic would apply to someone holding multiple service academy appointments until R Day/I Day, and no one knowledgeable of the appointment process would fail to see a moral issue with that scenario.Schools provide more offers than spots in a class.... why? Because not everyone will accept an offer. It has nothing to do with morality and it's already built into the offer numbers.
Call it a put (from a school), call it a call (from the applicant).... it's an option and it's being used to hedge his chances.
He said he had the opportunity to spend time in a part of the U.S. he had never visited and was going to take flying lessons during the year.
Actually, the College sold the call. They took the opposite side of the trade and accepted the call premium(deposit).
The applicant paid for the right but not the obligation to claim a spot. The University is obligated to provide a spot if the applicant exercises his/her right to claim it. The call buyer is out the premium and the college keeps the premium regardless of whether or not the call option is exercised.
The same logic would apply to someone holding multiple service academy appointments until R Day/I Day, and no one knowledgeable of the appointment process would fail to see a moral issue with that scenario.
The yield management absolves morality issues argument is false. If one person double deposits, in most cases no one is harmed. It is a small sin. A breach of a signed agreement that was required by colleges using their leverage and a situation of "no harm, no foul" with respect to other applicants. When many people double deposit, it is more likely to negatively affect other students. Admissions cycles close and students get too entrenched with their Plan B to reverse course to Plan A.
Rules against double depositing were implemented for good reason - to prevent individual behavior from harming the group as a whole. But the target is selfish students holding multiple spots because they can't decide, not service academy cadets/mids trying to protect themselves against unforeseen mishaps. Many colleges will recognize the difference and agree to Plan B status. This option is without moral issue and without risk of getting caught.
I am on my college's admissions board, and gaaahhhh, this makes me really angry when colleges do this to parents and young people.
We understand that some proportion of the students we offer admission won't come. They'll join the military, or the Peace Corps, or go to community college, or get that coveted spot at their Plan A, or work, or decide to go to Australia. Even with the relatively small class we admit, our admissions office is pretty good about anticipating that. I understand we'll even give the deposit back if they ask real nice-like because who wants to tick off a family over their hard-earned $500 when a few of those every year are chump change to a college? Accepting offers of admission to college is not a binding legal agreement, period. They have no legal recourse. They have no ANY recourse except keeping your deposit (which they're petty and small if they do).
If it were me, I'd tell them to stop threatening me and go take a flying leap. Well, maybe not that last part - but I'd think it.
Thank you for this post! I really appreciate it. And would you believe it is $900? I was going to call and ask for it back, but I was appreciative of their counter offer to defer his admission to Spring of 2018. Our HS counselor is very well acquainted with this school and she was in full support of doing this as well. She had more to lose than we did!
Praying for a healthy and successful Beast experience!!!
Thank you everyone!
Glad it worked out. You are correct that it is significantly different than double depositing at two civilian colleges, but many colleges may not see it that way. I am completely in favor of having a Plan B as long as the Plan B college agrees to it. There is too much risk to doing it on the sly.Just reading this thread for the first time and here's our experience. DD was accepted EA to academy before Thanksgiving, accepted appointment soon after, but mom said let's put deposit at state school just in case. DD and dad felt that wasn't necessary, mom insisted, but was ignored. DD gets an injury after May 1, medically DQd. After a couple of weeks of tremendous worry and loads of paperwork/emails- granted waiver, conditional on exam during the first week at academy. DD scrambled and was able to get state school to agree to take her if she was unable to go to academy. Very stressful 6 weeks (including AP exams, final exams, graduation, etc) made way more so because no plan B deposit.
Bottom line- This is different than double dipping that other kids do. The safety net of a civilian college needs to be there because you just don't know what can happen. If you are worried that your kid will look at that Plan B as an easy "out" then you should really dissect the academy decision. My daughter would have been devastated if she had to use Plan B, but I am thankful it was there (eventually) because some things are beyond their control.