@ucbalumnus I agree with your statement. If the NPC is accurate she will honor her ED commitment, and should.
I don’t know how much more I can reiterate these are my thoughts not hers. And my D loves StO.
@homerdog This is the sticky point for me. Who decides what’s doable?
Again, our situation isn’t like others our resources are nil. Nobody is expecting a parent loan in these two schools in particular. The out of pocket at StO based on NPC is $210 a year.
Soooooo, the question becomes who decides what is a doable amount of loans for a 17 year old?
How do you even come up with a number like that?
I’m not even talking about a few hundred dollars in out of pocket or work study, I’m asking a somewhat hypothetical question regarding an doable amount of loans.
And I don’t know why there are a few of you that continue to hammer me about an ED agreement that my daughter signed.
The ED agreement that’s states she is allowed to apply and pursue the best FA packages until she has an acceptance and a FA package she can afford in hand from the ED school.
She and I both understand it. It seems that anytime she gets positive news about other schools, there is an incessant need to tell me that we are somehow being dishonorable by thinking about, considering them, and trying to leverage the best FA aid package we can. Because we need it.
I know for certain there is a different perspective when you have a zero EFC and it’s a family of 3-4 living off less than 24,000 a year, with no savings, retirement, stocks, etc.
And just because I really like the school doesn’t mean that my daughter would break her ED agreement. I feel like we’ve covered the ED agreement enough because there are a few of you that won’t let it go. I don’t really think it needs to enter into discussion anymore.
It’s not like she’s forgotten she is awaiting a favorable outcome from StO. It’s not as if she forgot she signed it. And I might add, she and I have both discussed with StO what we can and cannot do regarding her ED agreement.
It’s a little different when you don’t have resources.
I respectfully ask that further reference to the ED agreement and the nuances of such cease.
There is nothing that we have done that violates the ED agreement. We have always been transparent.
And quite frankly it’s hypothetical. We don’t know if they’ll accept her and we don’t know for certain what that FA package will look like if she is accepted.
We don’t need to be reminded she signed it every time we hear good news from another school.
I would love to get opinions when the package comes through if she’s accepted.
I will continue to aggressively help my daughter find the best financial package available to her until such time that we hear from StO. It would be irresponsible for me not to help her with that.
And IF she gets in and IF the FA package matches the NPC, we will probably reach out to the school, if she has a better package in hand and ask their opinion about what is proper or improper in regard to ED and affordability. If the amount of federal loans she is required to take factors into her affordability.
And maybe if one school formally offers a package that is less than StO before the StO package comes, IF it comes, it could be used to help get a better package at StO. I don’t know the answer to that question?
But our first point of reference for what is acceptable under ED and what is expected under ED will be with the ED school.
Do you really think we are trying to hide anything from them?
We will need their guidance if we are lucky enough to have options, and yes, I believe we might have options if the loan amounts vary. But I’ll check with the ED school to confirm when and if that happens.
I’ve also been trying to think ahead regarding what will need to be done if she’s accepted and the FA package is acceptable. How do I make sure every app is withdrawn properly, make sure there a no loose ends, that could come back and harm her. I’ll ask the school. They are the source for what is acceptable.
Why would we suddenly stop asking them?
As of right now nothing we are doing is in violation of the ED agreement or the spirit of the ED agreement. And it’s been communicated with the ED school who encouraged her to apply and pursue the best FA packages.
If you only want to chastise me and my D, it’s not helpful.
She hasn’t done anything wrong.
Never once did I say she should withdraw her ED agreement. Never once did I say she wanted to. What you have heard me express over the last day has been my relief about Earlham. And what I think a lot of people have heard me say over the last month and a half is that I really am drawn to this school for her. I know it will fit her personality, I know she’ll be nurtured, I know she’ll get a quality education.
There is no need for anyone to leap to assumptions regarding her ED agreement, we are not talking about that right now because has not been accepted.
And I’m allowed to have my own thoughts that are independent of hers. My own emotions, my own wishes. But we are not the same people. Any opinions expressed here are my own. I don’t speak for her.