Forgot to withdraw after accepting ED- now what?

[Anonymous]

It’s fine. My kids was accepted ED to his top choice. Withdrew his other apps but forgot to withdraw one at a satellite campus (had withdrawn the main more competitive campus(. Just declined it as soon as it came in. It was earlier back in Jan but was no big deal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Telephones work. So does snail mail.

It’s really, really hard though when schools don’t give us a single button to click. Unless it’s there, there isn’t any option but to keep the app pending.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Telephones work. So does snail mail.

It’s really, really hard though when schools don’t give us a single button to click. Unless it’s there, there isn’t any option but to keep the app pending.

It's very odd to me, from a security standpoint, when schools *don't* have a button in the portal. Other options seem like it would open the door to bad actors declining students' acceptances/withdrawing their applications under false pretenses.

For those who have said students should call the admissions office: how do you think the person answering the phone is going to verify that the person on the other end truly is the applicant? Likewise, emails coming from outside the portal. And yes, I am sure there are safeguards a school can implement -- but the biggest safeguard at all would be a button in the portal.

[Anonymous]

This discussion is proof that colleges DO NOT CARE whether you officially withdrawn or not.

My son sent an email to admissions to decline the various spots he didn't want. But the experience of others shows that all the colleges care about is receiving the deposit.

That's all, folks. Stop agonizing, fuming and ranting about this. There is no consequence for forgetting to decline a spot. You just attend the school you pick, or the one who accepted your ED application, and you don't pay deposits for the rest. It's more polite to send an email to admissions, but whether you do or not - that's not what colleges care about!

Now give it a rest with the finger-pointing and shaming.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He didn't forget, he wanted to see if he'd get accepted for bragging rights. So many kids now are counting off mid level school after mid level school where they were accepted and the ED kids miss out.

This, for sure. You don't accidentally forget one school.

Not all the schools make it easy to withdraw.
For one school my son tried and the process was so cumbersome just gave up. It was at a safety so we did not feel as if he was messing up another students opportunity or the school's stats. The school had rolling admission and he declined as soon as the acceptance came.

I do not believe you. Please name the school that made/makes it difficult for an applicant to withdraw an application for admission.

Indiana (Kelley, specifically.) There is no button on the portal, nor is an email address listed in the portal. My son hunted through some old emails and emailed the local rep to decline. She never replied and he STILL receives invitations from them, two months later.

Then you call Undergrad admissions (took me 10 seconds to find) and leave a message if no answer. But a kid qualified to gain admissions there should be able to find alternatives to inform someone, really not that challenging

You cannot call on the phone and leave a message to withdraw someone's application. It could be anyone calling in order to sabotage the student, and the college has no way to verify whether the call is legit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

This discussion is proof that colleges DO NOT CARE whether you officially withdrawn or not.

My son sent an email to admissions to decline the various spots he didn't want. But the experience of others shows that all the colleges care about is receiving the deposit.

That's all, folks. Stop agonizing, fuming and ranting about this. There is no consequence for forgetting to decline a spot. You just attend the school you pick, or the one who accepted your ED application, and you don't pay deposits for the rest. It's more polite to send an email to admissions, but whether you do or not - that's not what colleges care about!

Now give it a rest with the finger-pointing and shaming.

No, there is no proof of that. There is proof of:

People being lazy and not withdrawing (usually under the thinly veiled excuse of knowing nothing about how to do so without a button to click)

Some people let the wrong place know (regional officer)

A handful of schools admitted a kid (but we don’t know how they conveyed their withdrawal)

Many people think it’s nbd but then honoring your word and commitment to do certain things to be nbd to you either

Many think it’s an issue but bc it’s a game your family is playing to see where else you’ll get in, you don’t care

That’s what we’ve learned.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Telephones work. So does snail mail.

It’s really, really hard though when schools don’t give us a single button to click. Unless it’s there, there isn’t any option but to keep the app pending.

It's very odd to me, from a security standpoint, when schools *don't* have a button in the portal. Other options seem like it would open the door to bad actors declining students' acceptances/withdrawing their applications under false pretenses.

For those who have said students should call the admissions office: how do you think the person answering the phone is going to verify that the person on the other end truly is the applicant? Likewise, emails coming from outside the portal. And yes, I am sure there are safeguards a school can implement -- but the biggest safeguard at all would be a button in the portal.

Yes, all over the news when this happens, am I right? We read hundreds of stories of people waiting for results and when they don’t come, they find out from admissions a stranger pulled their app. If only this would stop!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Telephones work. So does snail mail.

It’s really, really hard though when schools don’t give us a single button to click. Unless it’s there, there isn’t any option but to keep the app pending.

It's very odd to me, from a security standpoint, when schools *don't* have a button in the portal. Other options seem like it would open the door to bad actors declining students' acceptances/withdrawing their applications under false pretenses.

For those who have said students should call the admissions office: how do you think the person answering the phone is going to verify that the person on the other end truly is the applicant? Likewise, emails coming from outside the portal. And yes, I am sure there are safeguards a school can implement -- but the biggest safeguard at all would be a button in the portal.

Yes, all over the news when this happens, am I right? We read hundreds of stories of people waiting for results and when they don’t come, they find out from admissions a stranger pulled their app. If only this would stop!!!

Students try to sabotage each other all the time. This happened in my town this year: https://06880danwoog.com/2024/01/18/college-admissions-stress-a-sad-tale-of-student-sabotage/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Telephones work. So does snail mail.

It’s really, really hard though when schools don’t give us a single button to click. Unless it’s there, there isn’t any option but to keep the app pending.

It's very odd to me, from a security standpoint, when schools *don't* have a button in the portal. Other options seem like it would open the door to bad actors declining students' acceptances/withdrawing their applications under false pretenses.

For those who have said students should call the admissions office: how do you think the person answering the phone is going to verify that the person on the other end truly is the applicant? Likewise, emails coming from outside the portal. And yes, I am sure there are safeguards a school can implement -- but the biggest safeguard at all would be a button in the portal.

Yes, all over the news when this happens, am I right? We read hundreds of stories of people waiting for results and when they don’t come, they find out from admissions a stranger pulled their app. If only this would stop!!!

Students try to sabotage each other all the time. This happened in my town this year: https://06880danwoog.com/2024/01/18/college-admissions-stress-a-sad-tale-of-student-sabotage/

That has nothing to do with EDs and subsequent withdrawals. Contacting a school and sending fake info could happen to anyone at any time. But it’s incredibly rare- and it doesn’t happen all the time

Again, this has NOTHING to do with EDs. I don’t see a single person saying they didn’t withdraw because they were afraid someone had already withdrawn them. The question is whether there’s an ethical duty to stand by your word or not. Clearly you don’t think there is.

The excuses people are making to not make sure this is done are crap. Just admit you don’t think it’s a big deal bc you or your kid want to see where else your child is admitted, and possibly keep options open.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He didn't forget, he wanted to see if he'd get accepted for bragging rights. So many kids now are counting off mid level school after mid level school where they were accepted and the ED kids miss out.

This, for sure. You don't accidentally forget one school.

Not all the schools make it easy to withdraw.
For one school my son tried and the process was so cumbersome just gave up. It was at a safety so we did not feel as if he was messing up another students opportunity or the school's stats. The school had rolling admission and he declined as soon as the acceptance came.

So you email the admission counselor that you want to withdraw your application and cannot find it in the portal. Or you CALL. Only takes 5 mins max.

Even at your kid's safety, someone did not get an acceptance because your son did.

Even after doing these things - there are schools that processes suck and you still get the announcement in the portal.
I had my kid call. It is things they need to learn how to do in order to be an adult.
My kid followed the directions.
I saw the email that was sent.
You do your best and you move on. These are 17 and 18 year olds and some have better awareness than others.
Please give them grace and believe that the OPs kid made a mistake.

She stated they forgot to do it. Not that it was difficult to reach someone. Just pointing out that there are 3-4 options for communicating. Then obviously if the school doesn't respond then it's not your fault.
But I don't get how you do 18 withdrawals and "forget" one.

It doesn't change the fact that yes it does mean that one less kid got an acceptance letter at that school. Schools plan to send out X acceptances in RD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He’s totally fine. Seriously, calm down. This is a non-issue. He just needs to go into the portal where he was accepted and decline the admittance. He doesn’t need to talk to his counselor or anyone else. Just take care of it.

There is no secret network where schools are communicating with each other to say who still an application in place after getting an ED admittance.

This but it really sucks when people do this. Even if there were 19 other apps, this is a simple task and should have been done.

It doesn’t really suck. It’s a small mistake that doesn’t hurt anyone. This admissions and decline will either be part of the decline that the institution expected, or it will mean that the spot goes to someone on the waitlist who really wanted it.

Actually it Does hurt at least one person. That school offered spots to X kids in RD. Had he pulled his application, 1 additional kid would have gotten an acceptance that did NOT get accepted. Sure the school will be fine and will pull from the WL if needed, but fact is ONE additional kid 99.999999% would have gotten an acceptance had he pulled his application.

One kid who also has twenty apps in and is every bit as unlikely to take the offer. This is not a school that was yield protecting, or following up in any way, and they probably did make it cumbersome to withdrawal the app.

Yield protections doesn't matter in this case. It's simple math. U of Y says "we need to accept Z students in RD to meet our yield" so they offer acceptance to Z students. Had the withdrawal gone trhu/been processed, another kid would obviously have gotten an Acceptance in RD.

I get some make it cumbersome. So you try the portal, email admissions/Admin rep, call and talk to someone or leave a message. Do all of those (or one if you get confirmation) and then you are done. It will take less than 15 mins to do all 3 or everything except the portal (If it's too confusing/not possible). If a kid is applying to college, they should be able to do all of this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He didn't forget, he wanted to see if he'd get accepted for bragging rights. So many kids now are counting off mid level school after mid level school where they were accepted and the ED kids miss out.

This, for sure. You don't accidentally forget one school.

Not all the schools make it easy to withdraw.
For one school my son tried and the process was so cumbersome just gave up. It was at a safety so we did not feel as if he was messing up another students opportunity or the school's stats. The school had rolling admission and he declined as soon as the acceptance came.

I do not believe you. Please name the school that made/makes it difficult for an applicant to withdraw an application for admission.

Indiana (Kelley, specifically.) There is no button on the portal, nor is an email address listed in the portal. My son hunted through some old emails and emailed the local rep to decline. She never replied and he STILL receives invitations from them, two months later.

Then you call Undergrad admissions (took me 10 seconds to find) and leave a message if no answer. But a kid qualified to gain admissions there should be able to find alternatives to inform someone, really not that challenging

Disagree. Once the kid emailed the local rep, they fulfilled their end.

I actually agree with that. Was just saying to call if you cannot find an email.
I get portals are not setup to withdraw sometimes, but email or call---do that (either one) and then you are done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He’s totally fine. Seriously, calm down. This is a non-issue. He just needs to go into the portal where he was accepted and decline the admittance. He doesn’t need to talk to his counselor or anyone else. Just take care of it.

There is no secret network where schools are communicating with each other to say who still an application in place after getting an ED admittance.

This but it really sucks when people do this. Even if there were 19 other apps, this is a simple task and should have been done.

It doesn’t really suck. It’s a small mistake that doesn’t hurt anyone. This admissions and decline will either be part of the decline that the institution expected, or it will mean that the spot goes to someone on the waitlist who really wanted it.

It hurts someone. The school’s algorithm set forth a specific number of kids to admit each year. His failure to withdraw his app before decisions means someone else got waitlisted who would have been in (if the school waitlists). That’s exactly what happened.

And someone will get off the waitlist who otherwise wouldn't have.

That is not how it works. The algorithm expects a certain percent to decline acceptance. So most likely nobody will.
Also, getting an acceptance in March is very different than June or beyond from a WL.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP - first, totally no big deal. Sounds like you all handled it well.

Second, I just have to say that I love how you didn't get defensive re all of the negative comments. It's so over the top. Your reply just addressed the issue in a friendly manner and ignored all of the rest. I have a hunch you're a mom who role models the right behavior and your kid really made an innocent mistake.

-1 I don’t see the comments as over the top. Things can be forgotten but it doesn’t mean there aren’t consequences. In this case, there was a consequence but not to her child, which is the only thing she was worried about. Including comments about how it affects others may prevent this from happening in the future, esp if the excuse is that it’s so “hard” to decline when there isn’t a single button to do so.

[phone]

We need a world were more people care about how their actions affect others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He didn't forget, he wanted to see if he'd get accepted for bragging rights. So many kids now are counting off mid level school after mid level school where they were accepted and the ED kids miss out.

This, for sure. You don't accidentally forget one school.

Not all the schools make it easy to withdraw.
For one school my son tried and the process was so cumbersome just gave up. It was at a safety so we did not feel as if he was messing up another students opportunity or the school's stats. The school had rolling admission and he declined as soon as the acceptance came.

I do not believe you. Please name the school that made/makes it difficult for an applicant to withdraw an application for admission.

Indiana (Kelley, specifically.) There is no button on the portal, nor is an email address listed in the portal. My son hunted through some old emails and emailed the local rep to decline. She never replied and he STILL receives invitations from them, two months later.

Then you call Undergrad admissions (took me 10 seconds to find) and leave a message if no answer. But a kid qualified to gain admissions there should be able to find alternatives to inform someone, really not that challenging

Disagree. Once the kid emailed the local rep, they fulfilled their end.

I actually agree with that. Was just saying to call if you cannot find an email.
I get portals are not setup to withdraw sometimes, but email or call---do that (either one) and then you are done.

I don’t agree. An email to admissions is what was needed. It’s incredibly simple and easy. Once that’s done OR the button in the portal if there’s one, the duty is over.