Plan B schools

To those putting down deposits on their back up, I didn't think a student could accept admission at two schools. According to the college board it's unethical.
 
SailorMum said:
My DS applied to four of five SAs, as well as all ROTC branches - and then felt obligated to apply to all the schools with ROTC programs he had listed on his apps. Certainly a "one thing led to another" process. But we felt like the numerous interviews and filling out civilian school, as well as SA, applications were all beneficial in the grand scheme of things. He accepted his offer of appointment to USNA last night, and was advised by his BGO to go ahead and withdraw all other apps in progress, as well as decline the ROTC scholarships and civilian school offers - in writing. He said this saves other academies and schools precious time in their deliberations, since DS has already made his choice.
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Bravo Zulu!
 
time2 said:
Lots of older (often contentious) threads about Plan B options. It is only early January and as mentioned above a lot can happy between now and time someone actually starts an SA. About the only thing that wouldn't make sense would be to accept appointments to multiple SA's as the chance of injury would equally impact all of them.
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Indeed. DoDMERB is the common thread to all officer ascension programs.
 
navymom17540 said:
To those putting down deposits on their back up, I didn't think a student could accept admission at two schools. According to the college board it's unethical.
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College Board is the last group that should be talking about ethics. The AP and SAT exams literally cost me thousands between my two oldest kids, and I still have a third to go. Most times I feel like it is legalized extortion.
 
Last year, when my son first applied, he applied to 4 schools in addition to USNA. He was offered and accepted the USNA foundation program. This year, coming out of the foundation program, he has all his eggs in the USNA basket.
 
Update: My DS accepted his SA appointment last year. He withdrew/declined from all other offers as well as the other SA. However, we convinced him to contact admissions at the state flagship engineering school. They were more than happy to agree to hold his spot with a deposit through plebe summer. Once he made it to parent weekend I called them and withdrew (he had no access to a phone haha). It was a very pleasant above-board $300 insurance policy that Mom and Dad were all to happy to pay!
 
navymom17540 said:
To those putting down deposits on their back up, I didn't think a student could accept admission at two schools. According to the college board it's unethical.
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Technically, the college board warns against dual deposits. There is no required deposit to an SA so, technically, not a breach, but the college board is not a legal body; it is a for-profit business. I agree with @brewmeist's comment that the CB is about the last organization that should talk about ethics.
 
brewmeist said:
navymom17540 said:
To those putting down deposits on their back up, I didn't think a student could accept admission at two schools. According to the college board it's unethical.
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College Board is the last group that should be talking about ethics. The AP and SAT exams literally cost me thousands between my two oldest kids, and I still have a third to go. Most times I feel like it is legalized extortion.
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Now we have to submit CSS for financial aid to a civilian school. There is a $25 fee. To apply for financial aid. Then I learned that CSS is owned by College Board. All makes sense now.
 
VelveteenR said:
navymom17540 said:
To those putting down deposits on their back up, I didn't think a student could accept admission at two schools. According to the college board it's unethical.
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Technically, the college board warns against dual deposits. There is no required deposit to an SA so, technically, not a breach, but the college board is not a legal body; it is a for-profit business. I agree with @brewmeist's comment that the CB is about the last organization that should talk about ethics.
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Technically, the College Board is a not-for-profit organization. While the College Board uses the language that students can't double-deposit, they also state it is unethical to "Tell more than one college that it's their first choice." So even though the academies don't require a deposit, then the students are violating this if they accept admission to an academy and to a civilian school. Additionally, the National Association of College Admission Counseling (NACAC) states: "Members must inform students and families of their ethical responsibilities in the admission process, including counseling students that it is unethical to:maintain an active enrollment deposit or the equivalent at more than one US college. (It is understood that students admitted conditionally to colleges outside the US may have no more than one active deposit per country.)" and "must inform students that they should notify colleges once they have decided to decline their offers of admission." Every single one of the 5 academies are members of NACAC. We have already seen confirmation this year of at least USNA withdrawing a candidates application this year to somebody whom violated the rules for Early Decision. On NACAC's website they also state: "NACAC encourages members to submit a complaint whenever they believe that a violation of the Statements of Principal of Good Practice (SPGP): NACAC’s Code of Ethics and Professional Practices has occurred. Nonmembers—including parents and students—are also encouraged to submit complaints. Complaints may be submitted directly to NACAC via its online Confidential Complaint Form or to the national or affiliate Admission Practices (AP) Committees. All complaints are investigated in the strictest confidence." Do we really want to inform those on this forum to violate this?
 
Colleges and Universities hold all the cards when it comes to admissions processes. They want your unconditional love up front - ED, interviews, campus visits, essays, etc. They typically want a deposit to further demonstrate your love for them. They want to limit your options, but not theirs. They want to be the "only one" because yield is the admissions metric. They want to be the popular girl in the class as prom approaches - they want to be the one that does the rejecting - not the boys (pardon this analogy). Furthermore, they practice this every year so they know how to do this, whereas for a college applicant and parents, this may very well be their only time at it.

Selective schools are in a particularly good position because, in most cases, there will always be an equally good alternative (with the possible exception of some applicants who are particularly desirable because they are rare and meet diversity goals, are relatives of famous people, have parents who donate money, or are clearly going to be a Nobel laureate someday) if their first choice, for whatever reason, says, "no". But they want to avoid "no" because it affects yield and that is their metric by which they are judged. They have the leverage and they make the rules. You want them more than they want you. We may not like it but it is what it is.
 
If I have been accepted to other colleges and it hits May 1, and I still haven't gotten a positive or negative answer from USAFA should I commit to another college and just hope for a positive response from USAFA?
 
That's what I would do, otherwise you might not be going to any college next year. This is what we call a no brainer.

If an offer comes in from an academy later yo can accept it at that time. No one can make you attend any particular college, despite what some folks might say.
 
DS is still waiting on USAFA and USNA. Many on this forum have given the advise to lock down Plan B firmly even if you receive an appointment. If something happens to you such that you cannot physically participate in BCT this summer then you will have to wait a year to begin at the Academy. It would be a shame not to have a contingency plan ready to go so you have something to do for that year. At this point, its looking like Plan B is going to be THE plan for the next year anyway...
 
Tucker2023 said:
DS is still waiting on USAFA and USNA. Many on this forum have given the advise to lock down Plan B firmly even if you receive an appointment. If something happens to you such that you cannot physically participate in BCT this summer then you will have to wait a year to begin at the Academy. It would be a shame not to have a contingency plan ready to go so you have something to do for that year. At this point, its looking like Plan B is going to be THE plan for the next year anyway...
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We are in the same place. Waiting on USAFA and USNA. Hopefully we will hear soon!
 
I received a denial from the Academy during the March 28th mass TWE wave. Just submitted my preliminary application for the class of 2024! Round two! Best of luck to everyone who is still waiting and to those who are planning on reapplying! There is no doubt in my mind that I will be at the Naval Academy with the class of 2024.
 
2023applicant said:
I received a denial from the Academy during the March 28th mass TWE wave. Just submitted my preliminary application for the class of 2024! Round two! Best of luck to everyone who is still waiting and to those who are planning on reapplying! There is no doubt in my mind that I will be at the Naval Academy with the class of 2024.
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Rah motivator.
 
I’ve read through this thread and am curious as to thoughts on our situation. DS has a LOA but we are still waiting for medical waivers. He received more remedials last Thursday that we are frantically trying to get records together to fulfil. DS has a full-ride Plan B that he has to accept by April 15th. So, does the April 15th date apply to him (waivers) and if he technically doesn’t have an offer is it unethical to accept Plan B if we don’t have an answer by April 15th? He fully intends to accept USNA if the waiver is granted. He does have an email in to admissions asking but I am nervous to wait until the last minute.
 
SaBrMC4 said:
I’ve read through this thread and am curious as to thoughts on our situation. DS has a LOA but we are still waiting for medical waivers. He received more remedials last Thursday that we are frantically trying to get records together to fulfil. DS has a full-ride Plan B that he has to accept by April 15th. So, does the April 15th date apply to him (waivers) and if he technically doesn’t have an offer is it unethical to accept Plan B if we don’t have an answer by April 15th? He fully intends to accept USNA if the waiver is granted. He does have an email in to admissions asking but I am nervous to wait until the last minute.
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JMPO, but accepting Plan B at this time does not pose an ethical issue as your son has neither received nor accepted an offer of appointment from the USNA. Thank your son for his willingness to serve.
 
There is certainly nothing unethical about accepting plan B. If you have to accept by the 15th and you haven't heard, what else is one supposed to do? You want to make sure DS is attending college somewhere next year.
 
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