Students' Legal Obligation To A College Acceptance

By Amy E. Feldman

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - What's a student's obligation to go to a college whose offer he accepts?

Florida high school football player DJ Law announced on signing day that he was going to Utah, which was no doubt a surprise to both Ole Miss and a Mississippi junior college whose offers he'd also accepted.

We know that colleges have the upper hand when choosing to accept students. But what legal obligation does a student have to a college once he accepts an offer?

If a student applies to a college that has an early decision process, that student may only apply to one school early decision and he signs a paper committing to go if he gets in. He then has to withdraw all other applications he's submitted if he gets in. Students can seek release from an early decision obligation on the grounds of financial hardship, if the financial aid package they are offered is genuinely inadequate; but the burden of proof in these cases is on the student. And, while there are no cases where schools have sued to force kids to go, if word gets back to other colleges, the college the student actually picked can revoke its acceptance.

If a student gets into a college by regular admissions but is on the wait list at his first choice, he can accept the sure thing and put down a deposit. If he later gets in off the wait list at his first choice, he is not legally bound to go to the first school but he will lose his deposit. That's how the game is played.