Can a school ask me to withdraw from other waitlists? Forum

[ravioli482]

I was recently offered a named scholarship from a school, and I have to sign a scholarship form in which I agee to withdraw from any waitlists I am on. When I explained my situation to one of the other schools and told them I had to withdraw, they wrote back telling me that the LSAC Statement of Good Admission and Financial Aid Practices includes a statement that reads "After April 1, except under binding early decision plans, every accepted applicant should be free to accept a new offer from a law school even though a scholarship has been accepted, a deposit has been paid, or a commitment has been made to another school."
I don't really want to get on anyone's bad side at the original school that offered the scholarship since that's where I will likely be attending, so I wanted to see how others interpret the quoted statement before I start a fight about it. It says you should be free accept an offer at another school after making a commitment, but it doesn't really say that a school can't request that you withdraw from other schools. If you think I'm being a wuss and should just contact the admissions office and ask about it, feel free to tell me. Thanks!

[CanadianWolf]

My best guess--and it is only a guess to get the discussion started--is that individual law school scholarships may include such a provision as a requirement for particular scholarships, but not for admission or need-based financial aid.

[gens1tb]

My best guess--and it is only a guess to get the discussion started--is that individual law school scholarships may include such a provision as a requirement for particular scholarships, but not for admission or need-based financial aid.

+1

[Renzo]

LSAC isn't the government, and they can't tell schools how to run their admissions process, so a "Statement of Good Admission and Financial Aid Practices" is nothing but LSAC giving advice about how they think things ought to be done. Obviously, this school has a different idea of how to do things.

[Unitas]

http://blogs.law.yale.edu/blogs/admissi ... power.aspx

[3ThrowAway99]

LSAC isn't the government, and they can't tell schools how to run their admissions process, so a "Statement of Good Admission and Financial Aid Practices" is nothing but LSAC giving advice about how they think things ought to be done.

v.

http://blogs.law.yale.edu/blogs/admissi ... power.aspx; "the Law School Admission Council publishes a Statement of Good Admission and Financial Aid Practices, by which all member schools agree to abide." [from the article]

It sounds like the school could be in non-compliance with necessary guidelines. I would try and get in contact with a management-level person at LSAC to discuss this. Or it is possible that you could just sign and still withdraw if you get off a wait-list. You would burn your bridges at that school most likely, but I doubt they could or would do anything against you, especially since they appear in violation of a policy they are bound to (I am assuming they are an LSAC member school-- if not, then it is a different story, but I prob wouldn't sign if I were you if they aren't an LSAC member regardless of anything else). But this is not legal or official advice-- just my opinion. You may want to consult a practicing lawyer on this.

[JamMasterJ]

LSAC isn't the government, and they can't tell schools how to run their admissions process, so a "Statement of Good Admission and Financial Aid Practices" is nothing but LSAC giving advice about how they think things ought to be done.

v.

http://blogs.law.yale.edu/blogs/admissi ... power.aspx; "the Law School Admission Council publishes a Statement of Good Admission and Financial Aid Practices, by which all member schools agree to abide." [from the article]

It sounds like the school could be in non-compliance with necessary guidelines. I would try and get in contact with a management-level person at LSAC to discuss this. Or it is possible that you could just sign and still withdraw if you get off a wait-list. You would burn your bridges at that school most likely, but I doubt they could or would do anything against you, especially since they appear in violation of a policy they are bound to (I am assuming they are an LSAC member school-- if not, then it is a different story, but I prob wouldn't sign if I were you if they aren't an LSAC member regardless of anything else). But this is not legal or official advice-- just my opinion. You may want to consult a practicing lawyer on this.

Isn't there a point at which schools share info on who is deposited or on WLs? If so, could the school find out you're waiting on another school and take away your scholly offer?

[Emma1]

Actually they are already sharing information on people who have deposits on more than one law school. Some schools accessed this information last week. Dont know about waitilsts.

[Renzo]

LSAC isn't the government, and they can't tell schools how to run their admissions process, so a "Statement of Good Admission and Financial Aid Practices" is nothing but LSAC giving advice about how they think things ought to be done.

v.

http://blogs.law.yale.edu/blogs/admissi ... power.aspx; "the Law School Admission Council publishes a Statement of Good Admission and Financial Aid Practices, by which all member schools agree to abide." [from the article]

It sounds like the school could be in non-compliance with necessary guidelines. I would try and get in contact with a management-level person at LSAC to discuss this. Or it is possible that you could just sign and still withdraw if you get off a wait-list. You would burn your bridges at that school most likely, but I doubt they could or would do anything against you, especially since they appear in violation of a policy they are bound to (I am assuming they are an LSAC member school-- if not, then it is a different story, but I prob wouldn't sign if I were you if they aren't an LSAC member regardless of anything else). But this is not legal or official advice-- just my opinion. You may want to consult a practicing lawyer on this.

What, exactly, do you think that LSAC is going to do if a school decides to go rogue and enforce exploding scholarship offers, beyond nag them with, "but you promised"?

[JamMasterJ]

LSAC isn't the government, and they can't tell schools how to run their admissions process, so a "Statement of Good Admission and Financial Aid Practices" is nothing but LSAC giving advice about how they think things ought to be done.

v.

http://blogs.law.yale.edu/blogs/admissi ... power.aspx; "the Law School Admission Council publishes a Statement of Good Admission and Financial Aid Practices, by which all member schools agree to abide." [from the article]

It sounds like the school could be in non-compliance with necessary guidelines. I would try and get in contact with a management-level person at LSAC to discuss this. Or it is possible that you could just sign and still withdraw if you get off a wait-list. You would burn your bridges at that school most likely, but I doubt they could or would do anything against you, especially since they appear in violation of a policy they are bound to (I am assuming they are an LSAC member school-- if not, then it is a different story, but I prob wouldn't sign if I were you if they aren't an LSAC member regardless of anything else). But this is not legal or official advice-- just my opinion. You may want to consult a practicing lawyer on this.

What, exactly, do you think that LSAC is going to do if a school decides to go rogue and enforce exploding scholarship offers, beyond nag them with, "but you promised"?

Threaten to pull CAS?