School going back on WRITTEN scholarship offer! HELP!!! Forum

[memphisC]

A school I applied to recently sent me an email stating I would get a $10,000 a year scholarship and that I would receive the formal offer in the mail soon. The formal offer came and stated that I would get $20,000 a year. I emailed the admissions office to confirm that the higher amount was correct and she emailed me saying that no, it was an error but that they would give me $12,000. I know I screwed up by emailing them back but is there anyway I can hold them to the $20,000 at this point? Input from anyone with experience in contract law or law school admission is highly appreciated! I'm really pissed off about this!!!

Thanks for any help,
Memph

[kalvano]

I would call the school and try and hold them to their written word.

[nealric]

Offer, acceptance, consideration

That's all I'm going to say. The above is not legal advice.

[Oblomov]

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[arundodonax]

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[vanwinkle]

Offer, acceptance, consideration

That's all I'm going to say. The above is not legal advice.

Actually, I'm not seeing an acceptance here. If OP had written them and said "I ACCEPT!" that would be one thing, but OP didn't do that. OP wrote to confirm and then they changed it to $12,000 (which revokes the offer in the letter). A request for confirmation isn't an acceptance.

This is not meant as actual legal advice, but if this were a contracts exam hypo, my conclusion would be that the OP has no legal recourse.

[bilbobaggins]

This is a short version of a thorough explanation. First of all, they've made you an offer. You haven't contracted with them because you have not accepted the offer. You also likely have not done anything in reliance on the offer and so have no recourse there.

They made you an oral offer. They then sent you a written confirmation of the offer which was mistaken. This is something that would be rectified through reformation if you had in fact contracted with them before getting clarification on the discrepancy. Because you did get clarification, the mistake in writing is completely moot and the same offer still stands.

Not legal advice, but how I'd answer a hypo.

[romothesavior]

I honestly don't think there is anything you can do. I can understand you are upset, but can you really be THAT pissed off? Other than the fact that you may have gotten your hopes up at the increased offer, did this really affect your life in any meaningful way? If anything, you should be happy they made the mistake because it resulted in a few extra thousand in your scholarship.

[Oblomov]

.

[nealric]

Actually, I'm not seeing an acceptance here. If OP had written them and said "I ACCEPT!" that would be one thing, but OP didn't do that. OP wrote to confirm and then they changed it to $12,000 (which revokes the offer in the letter). A request for confirmation isn't an acceptance.

--ImageRemoved--

[memphisC]

I understand that by getting in touch with them I essentially entered into a renegotiation but my thought process was "either the email was a typo and I want to confirm that or the actual letter was a typo and they will get my email and adjust my scholarship to fit the letter" I never imagined they would go back on a written offer. I assumed that if I didn't contact them, I would be getting only a $10,000 scholarship come August and that I would then have to sue the law school that I was locked into (which is not something I am willing to do).

Here's where it gets complicated: before I got the email with them going back on the offer, I already sent a copy of the $20,000 offer to another school in an attempt to get a better offer from them. Is it on me to inform them of the change in my scholarship or should I just wait and hope they make me a decent offer?

BTW the exact wording of my email to them was : "I just wanted to say thank you so much for awarding me for the scholarship!... I got the actual letter in the mail today and it stated that I was being offered a Dean's Achievement Scholarship of $20,000. I just wanted to make sure that this is the correct figure as you said only $10,000 in your email." Don't know if that affects the debate or not.

[najumobi]

I understand that by getting in touch with them I essentially entered into a renegotiation but my thought process was "either the email was a typo and I want to confirm that or the actual letter was a typo and they will get my email and adjust my scholarship to fit the letter" I never imagined they would go back on a written offer. I assumed that if I didn't contact them, I would be getting only a $10,000 scholarship come August and that I would then have to sue the law school that I was locked into (which is not something I am willing to do).

Here's where it gets complicated: before I got the email with them going back on the offer, I already sent a copy of the $20,000 offer to another school in an attempt to get a better offer from them. Is it on me to inform them of the change in my scholarship or should I just wait and hope they make me a decent offer?

i don't understand...aren't both offers (letter and email) written offers. why is the letter one worth more than the email one? isn't the letter supposed to be a confirmation of the email offer? did the letter say anything about increasing their offer?

[MrKappus]

I understand that by getting in touch with them I essentially entered into a renegotiation but my thought process was "either the email was a typo and I want to confirm that or the actual letter was a typo and they will get my email and adjust my scholarship to fit the letter" I never imagined they would go back on a written offer. I assumed that if I didn't contact them, I would be getting only a $10,000 scholarship come August and that I would then have to sue the law school that I was locked into (which is not something I am willing to do).

Here's where it gets complicated: before I got the email with them going back on the offer, I already sent a copy of the $20,000 offer to another school in an attempt to get a better offer from them. Is it on me to inform them of the change in my scholarship or should I just wait and hope they make me a decent offer?

BTW the exact wording of my email to them was : "I just wanted to say thank you so much for awarding me for the scholarship!... I got the actual letter in the mail today and it stated that I was being offered a Dean's Achievement Scholarship of $20,000. I just wanted to make sure that this is the correct figure as you said only $10,000 in your email." Don't know if that affects the debate or not.

I think lawyers and non-lawyers alike would agree that representing a scholarship offer to a school that you know is invalid is not even a gray area. Don't get your legal career off to a morally questionable start. It's not a lot of money in the long run.

[najumobi]

I understand that by getting in touch with them I essentially entered into a renegotiation but my thought process was "either the email was a typo and I want to confirm that or the actual letter was a typo and they will get my email and adjust my scholarship to fit the letter" I never imagined they would go back on a written offer. I assumed that if I didn't contact them, I would be getting only a $10,000 scholarship come August and that I would then have to sue the law school that I was locked into (which is not something I am willing to do).

Here's where it gets complicated: before I got the email with them going back on the offer, I already sent a copy of the $20,000 offer to another school in an attempt to get a better offer from them. Is it on me to inform them of the change in my scholarship or should I just wait and hope they make me a decent offer?

BTW the exact wording of my email to them was : "I just wanted to say thank you so much for awarding me for the scholarship!... I got the actual letter in the mail today and it stated that I was being offered a Dean's Achievement Scholarship of $20,000. I just wanted to make sure that this is the correct figure as you said only $10,000 in your email." Don't know if that affects the debate or not.

I think lawyers and non-lawyers alike would agree that representing a scholarship offer to a school that you know is invalid is not even a gray area. Don't get your legal career off to a morally questionable start. It's not a lot of money in the long run.

+1. tell the other school that the 20k offer was a mistake and that you were offered 12k

[Sky'stheLimit]

Offer, acceptance, consideration

That's all I'm going to say. The above is not legal advice.

Actually, I'm not seeing an acceptance here. If OP had written them and said "I ACCEPT!" that would be one thing, but OP didn't do that. OP wrote to confirm and then they changed it to $12,000 (which revokes the offer in the letter). A request for confirmation isn't an acceptance.

This is not meant as actual legal advice, but if this were a contracts exam hypo, my conclusion would be that the OP has no legal recourse.

If they state that an offer is available for a certain period of time (seat deposit date), dont they have to keep it on the table.

[jack duluoz]

Assuming you dont mind burning a bridge AND your father isnt a prominent lawyer....take the extra $2k and be happy, man.

[Bobby Kennedy]

There's no point in discussing law. You're not going to sue, and if you did they'd revoke your offer of admission, which they can do.

I reiterate my point: if you can show them that you relied on it, you might guilt them into honoring it. But I think you're boned.


These answers, if intended seriously, should be linked to in the thread for why people hate lawyers. There's no section 90 claim; you didn't drunkenly buy a farm or a pregnant cow.

This.

I am blown away by the amount of contracts fail in this thread.

[najumobi]

There's no point in discussing law. You're not going to sue, and if you did they'd revoke your offer of admission, which they can do.

I reiterate my point: if you can show them that you relied on it, you might guilt them into honoring it. But I think you're boned.


These answers, if intended seriously, should be linked to in the thread for why people hate lawyers. There's no section 90 claim; you didn't drunkenly buy a farm or a pregnant cow.

This.

I am blown away by the amount of contracts fail in this thread.

haha. contracts law isn't intuitive?

[southernlaw]

well, contracts occur when there is a "meeting of the minds" between two or more parties....this doesn't sound like a meeting of the minds. Sure, it would be great for them to fix there error, but it's also nice to get an extra $2,000/year because they made a mistake...

[erniesto]

Alternatively you could grow a pair. Either they give you what they wrote, addressed to your name, or you go elsewhere. 36k off isn't that much of a bargain compared to 60k. They're already trying to buy you, these schools have the scratch. Don't be a wuss. You should be in a position to play (politely) hardball with this school.

People kill for less money than that.

[Leeroy Jenkins]

Offer, acceptance, consideration

That's all I'm going to say. The above is not legal advice.

Actually, I'm not seeing an acceptance here. If OP had written them and said "I ACCEPT!" that would be one thing, but OP didn't do that. OP wrote to confirm and then they changed it to $12,000 (which revokes the offer in the letter). A request for confirmation isn't an acceptance.

This is not meant as actual legal advice, but if this were a contracts exam hypo, my conclusion would be that the OP has no legal recourse.

Not only that, but even if he accepted...obvious mistake by party contrary to originally proposed terms

/discussion

[kalvano]

The correct response is obviously to put on a Woody Harrelson mask and a black cowboy hat and tell the school it's time to nut up or shut up.

[Leeroy Jenkins]

well, contracts occur when there is a "meeting of the minds" between two or more parties....this doesn't sound like a meeting of the minds.

[Wooster33]

+1. tell the other school that the 20k offer was a mistake and that you were offered 12k

This is a difficult situation for him, though. It sounds sketchy for him to say it was a mistake. He could ask the school who made the mistake to inform the other school of their mistake, and this is what I would probably do (but I'd ask nicely).

Back to original topic. I know it was a BIG let down to the OP. So I can sympathesize. And it shows they were sloppy. But you didn't rely on their offer, and you didn't even accept it. You just need to move on, you had a big hunch it might be a mistake and that's what you contacted them. So let it go. Maybe you can ask them to bump your $12k regardless of their mistake (and they might feel bad and try to go the extra mile for you). I wouldn't try to use it as overt leverage though. Just say you really like the school and you were really excited when you got the written offer and if that they could do a little better then you could commit.

[Wooster33]

Not only that, but even if he accepted...obvious mistake by party contrary to originally proposed terms.

I don't know, I think had he thought it was legit and acted on that belief (especially by withdrawing from all other schools), then he would have had a sympathetic case. Had he just paid a deposit, they would probably just offer to refund, but a withdrawal from other schools is hard to undo.

First of all, 10K to 20K isn't a huge or unreasonable bump, it's not like they went from 3K to 30K. Secondly, I don't think it's unreasonable that you think a written offer from a law school is legit, even if it is double what was orally discussed. Schools adjust scholarship offers all the time as more funds open up (that great student they wanted turned them down, for example). The problem here, of course, is that the OP suspected it was a mistake and it was a mistake. He just needs to get over it. Take the extra $2K as a gift for whatever small inconvenience it caused and move on.