If you’re set on a specific dream college or university, you might just want to apply through their early decision application option. Early decision means if you’re accepted to the school, you’re agreeing to attend. But what happens if the college accepts you and, after a few visits, you don’t like the school anymore? Can you back out? Here’s what you need to know about what happens if you change your mind on an early decision school.
What is Early Decision?
Flickr user denisbin
Early decision is an early college application period, usually a month or a few months prior to the regular decision deadline. Early decision is considered “binding” – if you’re accepted, you’re expected to withdraw all other applications and attend that college the following fall.
Students usually only apply through this application type if they’re positive they want to attend that particular school. It lets the college know you’re serious about attending, and many schools have higher acceptance rates for early decision and early action application cycles compared to regular decision.
What Happens If You Change Your Mind On An Early Decision School?
While colleges and universities advertise that “early decision is binding” and you must attend if you’re accepted, it’s not actually legally binding. Instead, it runs more like an honor-based system. You can back out of the agreement for any reason. Some reasons are acceptable, but simply saying, “I just don’t want to attend” could reflect poorly on your character and have some consequences.
Accepted Reasons for Not Attending
One major reason students back out of an early decision college is due to finances. If the student didn’t get the amount of financial aid they needed to attend, the admissions department isn’t going to force them to attend. Instead, they’ll release these students from the agreement.
In addition, many colleges allow students to back out if they’ve experienced extenuating circumstances, such as an illness or a death in their family. In these cases, the school may let the student defer enrollment until a later semester or year, depending on the situation.
RELATED >> What Happens If You Can’t Afford Your Early Decision School? | College Raptor
Consequences for Backing Out
If you don’t have an “acceptable” reason for backing out of an early decision, you might run into some consequences.
For example, students shouldn’t apply to two different schools under early decision. If they do and they’re accepted to both, they run the risk of losing out on both acceptance letters. Colleges can and do share early decision applicant lists.
In other cases, a school might not accept you at a later date if you decide you do want to attend later on. Or, if they shared your decision with other colleges, other colleges may send you a rejection letter as a result.
Your high school can refuse to send transcripts or other important documents to additional colleges if they know you were accepted to your early decision college.
Since the contract is not legally binding, the college or university cannot generally go after you for tuition. In the long run, though, it could affect your options for higher education and burn bridges before you’ve even graduated high school.
What Should You Do If You Don’t Want to Attend Your Early Decision School?
If something happens where you no longer want to attend your early decision school and you don’t have an “accepted reason,” talk to the college’s admissions department (you’ll have to talk to them even if you have an acceptable reason). They may be able to help you, answer your questions, address your concerns, and more. In some cases, even without an “accepted reason,” you might be able to get a deferment for your enrollment.
In the event you can’t back out of your binding agreement without consequences and burning bridges, you can always attend the college and transfer out after a semester or your first year. You’re not obligated to attend past that point.
When Should You Apply Under Early Decision?
It’s always best to only apply to a college under early decision if you are 100% certain you want to attend a specific school. Decide what type of application you’re going to send in after you’ve done extensive research into the college, their programs, and other factors. Plan a visit to the campus at least once if not more to ensure it is the right fit. Knowing ahead of time can save you (and potentially your high school counselor) a lot of headaches and worry.
If you’re not sure, you can always apply under early action, which isn’t binding, or regular decision, which gives you more time to complete your application.
Use College Raptor to discover personalized college matches, cost estimates, acceptance odds, and potential financial aid for schools around the US—for FREE!
