<p>Teachva,</p>
<p>I think first and foremost, you need to make sure that your son has a financial safety in the mix where if admitted, he would be happy to attend. </p>
<p>If your son is applying to similar schools as the ED school, he may have similar outcomes as far as financial aid is concerned. If this happens, then you will end up with a bunch of schools that are financially out of reach and he will still have no place to go in the fall.</p>
<p>Cast a wide net of schools. This may be coming down a notch in the rankings to find a place where he stands a good chance of getting merit $$. Even with merit $$, be careful to read the fine print regarding the ters needed to keep the scholarship.</p>
<p>Make sure that your son gets officially released from his ED school as his GC may request proof of the release to move forward in the process (sending transcripts, evaluations, etc.)</p>