Expert: jessalyn - 3/9/2002

Question
Hello Jessalyn,

I have started receiving acceptance letters from many colleges. My problem however is that I have already enrolled myself in a college which I thought was best for me. Now that better colleges have accepted me, I want to go to one of the better ones. Is it okay to tell the college (where I am enrolled) that I have changed my mind and have decided not to attend the college? Will it hamper anything later?

I know I will not get back the enrollment deposit which is quite fine as long as it does not hamper anything.

Kindly reply back.

Sincerely
Ronin  

Answer
Hi Ronin!
Well, first of all, congrats on your acceptances.  That's really great, and I bet you're excited.
A big lesson for anyone is not to decide on a college until you have gotten back your acceptance or rejection from every college you have applied to.  This way you have all your options in front of you before you make the big decision.
I don't really know all the steps you have to take to fix this, but since it is still early  (most students haven't received acceptance letters yet) there is still time to fix this.  Did you apply to the school you enrolled in as Early Decision?  If you did apply Early Decision, it is going to be a completely different story.
If you didn't apply Early Decision, then it will be much easier for you to get out of this.  The first thing you should do immediately is call the school and politely tell them that you accepted their offer of enrollment, but something has come up and you will not be able to join their school in the fall.  Do not tell them that you will not be going to their school because you got a better deal at another school.  This will only hurt their ego a bit and if they get mad, they might make it harder for you to get out of their agreement.  Just tell them that some circumstance has caused you to have to change your plans (you don't need to go into any detail, and they shouldn't ask). Just express sincere regret and they should be happy to oblige.  You probably will lose your registration fee, however.  Once you have cancelled yoru enrollment with that college, you can select the new college that you want to go to and fill out the paperwork, attach the registration fee, etc.... They do not need to know about the other college, at least to my knowledge.  I don't see any reason why they should, as it would have nothing to do with you going there.
If you were accepted Early Decision to the college at which you are currently enrolled, you will be faced with a lot more stress, phone calls and headaches, because Early Decision is a binding contract, which says that you will not apply to any other schools or enroll if you are accepted Early Decision at that school.  If you are stuck in an Early Decision agreement, your best bet is to get in touch with the admissions office at that college right away and use the same tactics as above to get out of the situation.  It's not exactly something that the people you talk with are going to be thrilled about, but if you stay polite and sincere, it will probably be a lot easier.  Just do not tell them that you want out so you can go to another school (unless it is absolutely, absolutely necessary.)
So yes, you can correct this, and I advise you to do it right away so you can accept and enroll yourself in the college you really want to go to before the enrollment deadline passes. Just be really nice on the phone, especially when talking to college people.  They tend to be more helpful and informational when you are really polite and sincere.
Good luck!