Serious Vent! Being a Parent Can Often Suck!

[erkevin]

My son earned his Bachelors in 2019. Since then he has been working in a PT office trying to get into a Doctor of Physical Therapy school. He has been taking additional classwork to make himself a more attractive candidate. Many rejections.
This morning, he gets the magic email...acceptance! Links to financial aid, etc, etc. To begin late August 2022. He (and M&D) are over the moon!
A few hours later, another email: "Please disregard the previous email regarding acceptance to the program. It was sent in error. Your application is still under consideration."

How does a university screw up in that regard?
My heart is breaking for my child.

 

[omni550]

erkevvin,

I sincerely feel for you and your son. Hopefully, his application will be re-reviewed and accepted.

That said, apparently it's not uncommon for college IT departments to make similar mistakes, on a grand scale.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/w...en-reject-students-year-after-year-2017-02-27

omni

 

[ivinsfan]

That's tough but at least they corrected the matter quickly. It wasn't a rejection so fingers crossed.

 

[Jerry1]

Maybe your son should consider a response letter (e-mail) that would put him in a good light? Not really my forte, but something along the lines of thank you and that it was exciting while it lasted and that he's hopeful of a positive outcome. The point is to say something positive and maybe get a little bump from it, no matter how unlikely.

 

[jollystomper]

My son earned his Bachelors in 2019. Since then he
How does a university screw up in that regard?
My heart is breaking for my child.

I sorry you have to go through this. In truth, Universities can decide to change their mind at any time, their acceptance letter is not a "contract". I have seen this happen twice with children of friends. Once was almost 2 months after they sent the acceptance letter.

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

That really sucks, so sorry to hear it but I do like the idea of responding in a positive way to them.

 

[youbet]

I sorry you have to go through this. In truth, Universities can decide to change their mind at any time, their acceptance letter is not a "contract". I have seen this happen twice with children of friends. Once was almost 2 months after they sent the acceptance letter.

There might be a point where the student has accepted the offer and a deposit from the student has been accepted where a change of mind by the school is no longer allowed. And there is a difference between a school "changing its mind" and a school cleaning up its numbers by retracting old acceptance letters that are just laying out there unanswered.

Students frequently do not respond to acceptance letters from runner-up schools once they have been accepted by their first choice just leaving the runner-up schools hanging. So, eventually the schools have to take the initiative and pull the plug in order to get a handle on their admission numbers.

In OP's son's case, the school just screwed up.

 

[kgtest]

Maybe your son should consider a response letter (e-mail) that would put him in a good light? Not really my forte, but something along the lines of thank you and that it was exciting while it lasted and that he's hopeful of a positive outcome. The point is to say something positive and maybe get a little bump from it, no matter how unlikely.

I like it. Someone once told me, in order to stand out, you need to stand out. I do this when perusing job opportunities or any opportunity for that matter. If I only rely on the electronic system I input the info in, I might miss some opportunities.

For instance my son is starting baseball. I thought it would be a good opportunity for me to coach him and the other kids...I am a good coach for other things in life. but, the system never really asked me about my prior coaching experience, only if I had ever coached baseball before. I thought that was too general, so I emailed the current coaches, asked them a few questions, and also plugged my previous coaching skills outside of just the baseball question the form asked about. I built a relationship outside of the database. A human connection. Sometimes it's just the little nudge that gets you the recognition and acceptance needed.

 

[ncbill]

My son earned his Bachelors in 2019. Since then he has been working in a PT office trying to get into a Doctor of Physical Therapy school. He has been taking additional classwork to make himself a more attractive candidate. Many rejections.
This morning, he gets the magic email...acceptance! Links to financial aid, etc, etc. To begin late August 2022. He (and M&D) are over the moon!
A few hours later, another email: "Please disregard the previous email regarding acceptance to the program. It was sent in error. Your application is still under consideration."

How does a university screw up in that regard?
My heart is breaking for my child.

Have they also considered:

https://recruiting.army.mil/MRB_MedicalSpecialists/

https://www.baylor.edu/graduate/pt/

 

[Dtail]

He is still being considered, so fingers crossed.

 

[Dreamer]

Wow, that is such a letdown. I hope that he is accepted.

 

[jollystomper]

There might be a point where the student has accepted the offer and a deposit from the student has been accepted where a change of mind by the school is no longer allowed.

A college is never completely bound to the student regardless of the deposit. Things like bad senior grades or bad behavior or discovery of fraud after a student has accepted and paid a deposit can still cause an admission to be revoked. One reference: https://www.mycollegeoptions.org/Co...n-a-College-Revoke-My-Students-Admission.aspx

Now, most colleges will not do this... but they can. I agree that in the OP's case it just seems like a mistake (I have volunteered on my alma mater's Alumni organization that works with its Admissions office, and we have seen that happen).

 

[youbet]

A college is never completely bound to the student regardless of the deposit. Things like bad senior grades or bad behavior or discovery of fraud after a student has accepted and paid a deposit can still cause an admission to be revoked. One reference: https://www.mycollegeoptions.org/Co...n-a-College-Revoke-My-Students-Admission.aspx

Now, most colleges will not do this... but they can. I agree that in the OP's case it just seems like a mistake (I have volunteered on my alma mater's Alumni organization that works with its Admissions office, and we have seen that happen).

Well that makes sense. With "contingencies" written into the acceptance, there is wiggle room for the college if the applicant deviates significantly from the performance level that resulted in the decision for acceptance.

contingent on the successful completion of the final year of high school” or language to that effect. Your student has been accepted with the assumption that she will maintain something close to the level of accomplishment that got her into the college in the first place

.

I wonder how often cases arise where the university simply accepted too many students, or had a larger percentage of students accept the universities offer than statistically expected, and then had to renege on the last few students accepted? I know some schools try to avoid this embarrassment by having wait lists as a buffer. It would be a bit of a bummer to think you're going to Ole Hound Dog University, have mailed in your payments, been assigned living accommodations, registered for courses, finished high school with good grades and no other issues and then receive an email to not come as you were loading your dad's car for the trip down....... Hopefully very, very rare.

But, as said, in OP's son's case the school just screwed up big time.

 

[Aerides]

My son earned his Bachelors in 2019. Since then he has been working in a PT office trying to get into a Doctor of Physical Therapy school. He has been taking additional classwork to make himself a more attractive candidate. Many rejections.
This morning, he gets the magic email...acceptance! Links to financial aid, etc, etc. To begin late August 2022. He (and M&D) are over the moon!
A few hours later, another email: "Please disregard the previous email regarding acceptance to the program. It was sent in error. Your application is still under consideration."

How does a university screw up in that regard?
My heart is breaking for my child.

Oh that sucks. If you live close by, tonight is the night to be a very cool dad, and treat him to something that makes him a little bit happy. Or even if you don't:

Instacart him some treats from the nearest grocery store, or ubereats him something he'd like, if you think he's home.

 

[rodi]

Well that makes sense. With "contingencies" written into the acceptance, there is wiggle room for the college if the applicant deviates significantly from the performance level that resulted in the decision for acceptance.

.

I wonder how often cases arise where the university simply accepted too many students, or had a larger percentage of students accept the universities offer than statistically expected, and then had to renege on the last few students accepted? I know some schools try to avoid this embarrassment by having wait lists as a buffer. It would be a bit of a bummer to think you're going to Ole Hound Dog University, have mailed in your payments, been assigned living accommodations, registered for courses, finished high school with good grades and no other issues and then receive an email to not come as you were loading your dad's car for the trip down....... Hopefully very, very rare.

But, as said, in OP's son's case the school just screwed up big time.

The admissions process is based on statistical averages. The UC system here in CA had several cases in the 2017-2019 years where they accepted too many and had to retract. The did the retraction prior to commitment deadline, though.

UC Berkeley is being hit hard - the city of Berkeley is suing the university over the impact of the students - and so, depending on how court goes - a bunch of accepted Berkeley students may be turned away.

And from personal experience... Older son had a less than wonderful senior year - his acceptance was contingent. He accepted, sent in his grades/transcripts. Attended the required orientation during the summer. Sent in housing money. Sent in tuition/fees. Attended the incoming freshman welcome week (week before classes start) was moved into the dorm... when he gets an email saying - oops, you're not accepted. He plead his case and they let him stay since he was already moved into the dorm.

Unfortunately, the acceptance people were right... he wasn't ready for college and he bombed out. Now 3 years later he's doing much better, working full time (36hrs/week), attending community college full time (12 units), getting A's... living in a house with friends...

But - to notify a kid that they were rejected after they'd already moved into the dorm - that's a new level of 'oops'.

Good luck to your son. I know there aren't a lot of PT programs. I have several friends who went to Arcadia (suburban Philly) and liked the program there.

 

[youbet]

The admissions process is based on statistical averages. The UC system here in CA had several cases in the 2017-2019 years where they accepted too many and had to retract. The did the retraction prior to commitment deadline, though.

Our wonderful grand daughter is an engineering student at Purdue. Purdue had a larger than expected percentage of applicants accept offers and wound up with a bit of a housing crisis her freshman year. Men's accommodations turned into women's accommodations and the men sent to live in temporary accommodations built in basements and receiving docks. A real zoo according to her. Probably better than having your acceptance reneged though.

And from personal experience... Older son had a less than wonderful senior year - his acceptance was contingent. He accepted, sent in his grades/transcripts. Attended the required orientation during the summer. Sent in housing money. Sent in tuition/fees. Attended the incoming freshman welcome week (week before classes start) was moved into the dorm... when he gets an email saying - oops, you're not accepted. He plead his case and they let him stay since he was already moved into the dorm.

Unfortunately, the acceptance people were right... he wasn't ready for college and he bombed out. Now 3 years later he's doing much better, working full time (36hrs/week), attending community college full time (12 units), getting A's... living in a house with friends...

So delighted to hear that things are coming together for him!

But - to notify a kid that they were rejected after they'd already moved into the dorm - that's a new level of 'oops'.

No sh*t! That is far over the top.

Good luck to your son.

I think you meant OP's son. Yes, my best wishes to him too. There are PT programs popping up around the country to meet the demand of Boomers falling apart (don't ask me how I know) and I'm sure he'll find an appropriate place.

 

[Chuckanut]

Maybe your son should consider a response letter (e-mail) that would put him in a good light? Not really my forte, but something along the lines of thank you and that it was exciting while it lasted and that he's hopeful of a positive outcome. The point is to say something positive and maybe get a little bump from it, no matter how unlikely.

I like this. Try to turn lemons into lemonade.

Who knows? Maybe this is somebody's idea of a test of the candidates

 

[Chuckanut]

FWIW, I have known several people who have quit their jobs and then found just a few days before starting the new one that the offer was rescinded. One young lady found out on her 2nd to last day at here existing job. Another guy had sold his house and was taking a few weeks for a cross country vacation as he moved from the East to the West coast. No cell phones back then, so he arrived only to find that he was unwanted, unhoused, and unemployed.

I do wonder what contract law says about this situation.

 

[Involuntary Retiree]

Have they also considered:

https://recruiting.army.mil/MRB_MedicalSpecialists/

https://www.baylor.edu/graduate/pt/

You should know that the Army-Baylor DPT program admissions might be the most competitive in the country. This is so because, not only is the DPT education topnotch and cutting edge, its students are commissioned into the military prior to starting the program, so they don't graduate with potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loan debt like most/some grads from the top-rated civilian DPT programs do.

 

[donheff]

I like it. Someone once told me, in order to stand out, you need to stand out. I do this when perusing job opportunities or any opportunity for that matter. If I only rely on the electronic system I input the info in, I might miss some opportunities.

For instance my son is starting baseball. I thought it would be a good opportunity for me to coach him and the other kids...I am a good coach for other things in life. but, the system never really asked me about my prior coaching experience, only if I had ever coached baseball before. I thought that was too general, so I emailed the current coaches, asked them a few questions, and also plugged my previous coaching skills outside of just the baseball question the form asked about. I built a relationship outside of the database. A human connection. Sometimes it's just the little nudge that gets you the recognition and acceptance needed.

+1. When my daughter was applying to university art schools in 2003 she had an option to submit her portfolio electronically (by CD or file upload IIRC). I talked to a couple of department heads about whether it would be permissible to link to our family web site which had her portfolio online. At her favorite school, which had seemed out of reach, the academic advisor asked for the link over the phone and started looking at the images. She immediately began recruiting my daughter. Had my daughter simply submitted a CD with her application the strength of her portfolio might have ultimately garnered an acceptance letter, but a direct engagement with a faculty member who was on the admissions panel definitely helped her to "stand out."

 

[Time2]

My daughter applied to a single Dental school, they choose 100 students for the year. She didn't get chosen, however some students that were picked had applied to other Dental schools and chose to go to the other Dental school. My daughter got picked up in the second round. That was a relief as she made the Dental school decision at at 25yrs old during the wrong time of year, so it was suggested she get a Masters just to make her portfolio look better, before her application.

Only 49 days left and she's finished! She's been doing work (practice) in a clinic for the last year with only 35 more work days in the clinic.
She got lucky, they have two clinics one in Pennsylvania and the other in Florida, 50 miles from our home where she grew up, when they drew from the fish bowl she got the one close to us. Some parents made and paid cash offers for students to exchange locations.

 

[erkevin]

Thank you everyone-
Unfortunately my son lives 1800 miles away so we can't be "there" for him. We are hopeful that he has been accepted but that the letter was sent our prematurely. Jerry1, I love your idea and passed it on to my son; an email with something like What I learned from the tremendous excitement in receiving the first email and the heavy disappointment in receiving the second, is that Franklin Piece is where I want to continue my studies. Please consider me a strong candidate for your Doctor of Physical Therapy program. I look forward to hearing your decision on my admission.

 

[ncbill]

You should know that the Army-Baylor DPT program admissions might be the most competitive in the country. This is so because, not only is the DPT education topnotch and cutting edge, its students are commissioned into the military prior to starting the program, so they don't graduate with potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loan debt like most/some grads from the top-rated civilian DPT programs do.

Yep, I told my kid who originally wanted to go to medical school that someone else would have to pay for that.

He then chose to attend a service academy and although he took the MCAT his score wasn't high enough to qualify for the dozen or so slots available (out of a graduating class of ~1,000) so he's been enjoying flying instead.

I do have a close relative who in his mid-30s got the Army to send him through med school...with a prior enlistment he qualified for military retirement by his early 50s & now works (when he wants) on contract at hospitals near the resort area where he retired.

 

[Librarian]

Being a parent can be hard..

erkevvin,

I sincerely feel for you and your son. Hopefully, his application will be re-reviewed and accepted.

That said, apparently it's not uncommon for college IT departments to make similar mistakes, on a grand scale.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/w...en-reject-students-year-after-year-2017-02-27

omni

But IMO this is NOT a time it SUCKS (that's when they call u that they got a DUI...failed grades...car accident...).

This is a time when your heart breaks for them but know it is a blessing that you are there for support.

GOOD LUCK to your son. Perhaps this muck up by the university will IMPROVE his chances!

 

[pacergal]

erkevin--So sorry your son is experiencing this. Hopefully, he will be chosen again.

As parents, it is so difficult to watch our kids go through hard times, but also an unfortunate part of life and seeing how they get through it and persevere can be heart warming.