UPDATE in Post 1: Beware short turnaround response possible for offered scholarships

[Pegasus]

DD only applied to 3 schools, all instate publics.  She recently received a scholarship offer from one but they only gave her a few days to accept the scholarship by filling out and signing a form and either faxing or mailing it back.  Online and email were not offered options.

 

We had to scramble to get it returned in time.  I think it would be EASY to miss such a tight deadline, especially the students who apply to several schools and are juggling multiple due dates, etc.

 

What I find especially strange is that this scholarship can be applied for through December 15. . .why require such a quick response in early October?!?

 

Edited for clarity

 

UPDATE: I thought I would come back and update with new information.  We attended a university preview day for this school and I specifically asked about it.  I was "reassured" that a student would not lose this scholarship even if the school did not receive the acceptance response.  So, I'm even more annoyed. :glare:

Edited October 29, 2017 by Pegasus

[8filltheheart]

That is not standard at all schools.  My kids have never had to accept anything prior to National Decision Day.  I am glad b/c they would not would have wanted to commit without knowing all of their options and could have missed out on better choices.

[Pegasus]

To clarify, DD had to accept the scholarship, not commit to attending the school.  She still has until May 1 for that decision. They only ask if she decides not to attend that school, that she notify them so they can release the scholarship to someone else.  It's strange, really, to require the scholarship acceptance before she knows where she will attend.

 

Edit to add: I just re-read my opening post and it does sound like I was saying that DD had to accept admission to the school. Sorry about that. I'll try to re-word it a bit for clarity.

Edited October 8, 2017 by Pegasus

[teachermom2834]

For some reason I think we are in the same state and we just had the same issue. It was only about a week turnaround. Sometimes ds lets an envelope sit that long before opening it.

 

Ds does not plan to attend the school but there is still a chance so he sent it in. I was surprised by the process as well.

[maize]

maybe quick turnaround is so that they know how many scholarships they have left to hand out after early appliers accept?

[J-rap]

I suppose it's to know how much they have left to offer other incoming students, but it's weird that they had to know within just a few days!  Plus, if the students don't have to commit to the school yet, then it doesn't really seem like a very accurate method of knowing how many scholarships they're giving out.

 

Maybe there's some psychological reason where a student is more likely to go to the school if they've agreed to the scholarship?

[MerryAtHope]

 

Maybe there's some psychological reason where a student is more likely to go to the school if they've agreed to the scholarship?

 

That's what I was wondering.

[teachermom2834]

We found it really surprising and I actually thought it would not necessarily be effective. I wondered if it helped in their planning at all. Maybe it helps predict yield if a student has to actually open an envelope, fill out a form, put it in an envelope and return it?

 

And would they really have pulled the scholarship if he didn't get it in? He was way ahead of the game with the application and his test scores are way above average for the school.If he let the envelope sit for two weeks would they really have pulled his scholarship?

 

The whole thing was odd but another hoop to jump through. Perhaps there is something to it psychologically. My ds, who is pretty set on another school, as he was closing up the envelope said "maybe I should go visit."

[RootAnn]

Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth & I was a senior in high school, I remember there being an earlyish deadline for some scholarships. I hadn't decided where to go yet, but these were full tuition plus room & board, so I didn't want to let them go yet. I believe I called and asked them to extend the deadline for another few weeks to a month until I knew I would hear from my #1 college. They extended the deadline for me, and I did end up accepting the scholarships. It was for a state university, FWIW.

 

However, the deadlines were in February-March vs. October!

[Gwen in VA]

I had a kid receive a merit aid offer from a school (Hillsdale) that required not only accepting the merit aid but the college by sometime in January. Needless to say, he didn't attend that college!

 

He also received a full-ride from U Pitt. He received the offer in late March but had only ten days to reply -- his deadline was April 1. My guess is that he was a first-choice recipient and that when he refused they went  and offered it to the next person down the line.

 

All of our other merit aid offers needed to be accepted by May 1, the usual deadline.

 

Merit aid is essentially a gift from the college, so they can do what they like!