Apply ED or not?

UnleashedFury · 04-06-2008, 01:29 AM

I'm a junior and I know that I want to go to Harvey Mudd, and I almost certainly will if accepted. The reason I say almost certainly is because it depends a lot on financial aid.

Would it be smart to apply ED knowing that I might not go if the finaid stuff doesn't work out?

And since I'm on the topic, how much more beneficial is it to apply ED vs. RD in terms of getting accepted/rejected?

Thanks!

UnleashedFury · 04-10-2008, 01:03 AM

Anyone...?

doopdevil · 04-12-2008, 04:23 PM

I'm not an expert on financial aid packages, but I'll try. The major inscentive to apply regular decision is that you can try to force Mudd to give you a better package by asking them to match other school's packages. Mudd is somewhat finicky with their packages, so it depends on how much you will need a generous aid package. Of course, if it is impossible for you to meet the financial requirements of attending given your financial aid, the college will either try to adapt, or probably let you go without any trouble.

There is a significant advantage to applying early decision in terms of chance of acceptance. I think you are about twice as likely to get in. Mudd appreciates people who really like the school.

UnleashedFury · 04-13-2008, 11:35 PM

Quote:

I'm not an expert on financial aid packages, but I'll try. The major inscentive to apply regular decision is that you can try to force Mudd to give you a better package by asking them to match other school's packages. Mudd is somewhat finicky with their packages, so it depends on how much you will need a generous aid package. Of course, if it is impossible for you to meet the financial requirements of attending given your financial aid, the college will either try to adapt, or probably let you go without any trouble.

There is a significant advantage to applying early decision in terms of chance of acceptance. I think you are about twice as likely to get in. Mudd appreciates people who really like the school.

First of all, thanks for the response. But doesn't Mudd guarantee to offer some type of aid for 100% of your financial need. Or is this just tricky wording? I'm sort of concerned because I would need a lot of financial aid to afford HMC. I'm willing to take a lot of loans, though, because I don't plan on grad school immediately after graduation.

I don't know. At this point, it seems like missing out on some possible financial aid is a way smaller deterrent to applying early than being twice as likely of being accepted is an incentive. Does anyone disagree?

CountingDown · 04-13-2008, 11:50 PM

Remember that colleges calculate what they expect your parents to pay. EFC is not what your parents think they can pay -- it's what the college determines they can. This applies to any school, not just Mudd.

Therefore, even a college that meets 100% need may leave you woefully short of funds if your parents can't meet their EFC, whether through savings, current earnings or loans. If COA is $50,000, your EFC is $35000 and the school meets 100% of need, you'll get $15,000, probably in a variety of parent and student loans, grants and work-study. If your parents don't have the $35,000 in EFC and have to borrow for that, that is not the school's problem -- it's yours.

Before you go dismissing thousands of dollars of financial aid, you might want to chat with your parents about how they see their role in funding your college education. You, your parents and GC all have to sign an ED application agreement.

The only restriction I placed on my son in terms of applications was no Early Decision. Every dollar in FA or merit $$ helps and we needed to compare offers.

stevedad · 04-14-2008, 10:02 AM

More on the issue of financial aid and EFC. Last year, every school S1 was accepted to provided "100% of need." Also, each of them was essentially the same price. Financial aid in most cases was similar, including a small amount of work study. Cornell University, however, decided that he was in no need of any aid whatsoever--despite the fact that every other school saw him as eligible under the limits of the federal guidelines for work study. Basically, Cornell would have been 20K more expensive. (We didn't appeal at Cornell because he was much more interested in Mudd and MIT; if we had appealed, maybe that would have made a difference)

The same thing has happened this year with S2, albeit with a different school and with less significant differences. Unfortunately, that school is his present favorite. Since it wasn't an ED application though, we are able to appeal/negotiate.

Hopefully, someone who was ED to HMC can post about their experiences. All our experience shows is that an applicant may run across an outlier on aid and that would be painful if you applied ED to that particular school.

Feynmaniac · 04-14-2008, 04:10 PM

I was an ED admit this year, and I'm relying on a good chunk of financial aid to go. I applied early even though money is an issue for me because I knew I wanted to be at Harvey Mudd, and that I would work the money out. If you're really set on Mudd I would go ED and do some things now to make sure you can cover the costs. Start applying now for outside scholarships, if you're diligent you could rack up a significant portion of your tuition. Also, get a summer job and resist the temptation to blow all your earnings. If you have a marketable talent, shop around for something higher paying than your average busboy/cashier job. Despite having to wear a suit, I put together 1/5 of my tuition that way.

In the end the great education and experience you get at Mudd will offset the cost of attending and the extra work to make it happen. One caveat, a parental lay off made it possible for us to go back to the school and get a reevaluation of need. Before that I qualified for very little aid, so my situation might be a little different from what yours will be. If you want to get an idea of what your family will be expected to pay the College Board website has an Expected Family Contribution calculator. Fill in some questions and it will give you an idea of what to expect.

Good luck next year!