I get it. You got in as an Early Decision (ED) applicant to College X, but a much more attractive College Y also accepted you. “Why did you apply ED to College X then if it isn’t your dream school?” many might ask. I can think of two reasons.
Applying ED is a Strategic Decision
Any savvy applicant and colleges themselves know that applying on the ED track requires pragmatism and strategy. Clearly, you should not waste your only ED opportunity on Stanford if you scored 1250 on the SAT (unless you qualify as a formidable athlete, have legacy admissions status, and won a Nobel prize or something).
Financial Concerns
Moreover, your ED college might be too expensive, given unanticipated changes in your financial situation. Take my college journey, for example. The 2007-2009 economic recession hit my family hard. At the same time, a scumbag, for lack of a better term, sued my family to take $5,000 from us. In my case, even a 5 percent difference in tuition and living costs would have significantly impacted our finances.
Legitimate Reasons: Money and Parental Pressure
But there’s hope! You are lucky if you have genuine financial reasons to back out of an ED agreement. Contrary to popular belief, Early Decision deals can be broken without repercussion. The most compelling reason for doing so? Money.
In 2021 and 2007, the New York Times covered the financial exception to ED’s binding agreement. If financial aid packages do not suffice, the student may attend another school with significantly more affordable tuition and living expenses.
But what if money is not a concern? A Johns Hopkins admissions officer stated in 2007 that the University would “back off” if an admitted ED applicant applied under parental pressure. In the same year, an NYU official echoed this: “They [the students] are, after all, 17 years old,” she said. “This is not a legal agreement they have signed. If a student says to us, ‘This is really where I thought I wanted to be, but I can’t see myself there now,’ we release the student. It doesn’t make sense to have students who don’t want to be here.”
Caveats
Caveats on Financial Concerns
That said, keep in mind a few caveats. First, what constitutes a “significant difference” in financial aid, tuition, and living expenses is unclear. I asked ChatGPT to give me a ballpark, and it said that 10-20% is a “moderate” difference. A more than 20% difference is typically considered “substantial and more clearly justifiable.”
Also, note that your ED college might offer you a more generous financial aid package if you communicate your financial concerns to them. If they do give you a much more adequate financial aid package or if they meet your stated needs, then it is hard to see how you can back out of the agreement.
Caveats on Parental Pressure
Remember how JHU and NYU stated parental pressure as a sufficient reason for backing out of an ED agreement? That was back in 2007. Sixteen years have passed, so things have likely changed. Indeed, an NYU admissions officer mistakenly stated in a since-deleted post that students must withdraw applications to other schools when they receive notice of their ED acceptances. Though this is false (students must rescind applications to other schools when they accept an admission offer from their ED school), it does signal how more recent admissions officers from the same schools might not treat ED renegers so leniently.
Furthermore, every school has a different attitude toward ED. If you do not want to attend an ED school that has accepted you, you should check with their admissions office to see if they will punish you for backing out (more on that in the next section).
So, How Do I Back Out of an ED Agreement?
If you want to break an ED agreement with a school for nonfinancial reasons, and reliable information on their ED policy is lacking online, I suggest doing the following.
First, call the school anonymously and ask if parental pressure justifies your decision to renege on your ED promise. If the school says you can back out without penalty, reveal your name and politely indicate your wish. If the school does not want to communicate with an anonymous caller, thank the school and hang up.
Say that your first course of action does not work. What should you do? Consider a financial aid package you are willing to accept. The amount of financial aid you aim for from your ED school should match or exceed the difference between the expenses for your ED school and those for your desired school. And if your preferred school is more expensive than your ED school, perhaps the best chance of attending the former is to lie about your financial situation.
The Long-Term Consequences of Lying
But we advise you not to do that! If you are caught, there is a slight possibility that your ED school will notify other schools. And if that happens, you may be rejected by your preferred school, ED school, or even every school.
If you still want to enroll in your non-ED dream school by any means necessary, I suggest citing financial reasons for not attending your ED school. Don’t publicize where you attend college, and live with the possibility that more colleges will reject you at the graduate level (if you go on to graduate or professional school). Academia is a small world; people talk, and many faculty members and admissions officers go from one school to another.
I’m not casting any moral judgment here. It’s not my job to do so. But it is my job to guide you in your college application journey so that your academic career can be as long and fruitful as possible!
Conclusion
There you have it, the ins and outs of breaking Early Decision agreements. It’s a complex landscape, and every situation is unique. If you need to navigate these tricky waters, remember to assess your circumstances carefully and consider both short- and long-term consequences. Need more guidance or have questions? Feel free to reach out to Milestone College Consulting’s founder, Raymond, for personalized advice. We take your academic success personally, and making informed decisions is critical to your success. So, why not contact us or book a session today?
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