<p>^^that is the way it works and that’s just one of the reasons (shedding light on the vagaries and inconsistencies) that make this an excellent thread and must reading for anyone considering ED.</p>
<p>Calmom:</p>
<p>Interesting information. How do you explain that the sibling got a full ride at Georgia Tech? I would have thought that another sibling would be even more likely to get a full ride!</p>
<p>I would assume that the full ride at Georgia Tech is a merit award. Also, Georgia Tech probably uses FAFSA only; the self-employed income would not be recalculated in any way, and a sole proprietor would not be considered to have a business asset.</p>
<p>crd and marite; oh come on. This is getting ridiculous. I am attempting to urge kids to keep things in perspective. How do you think kids who happen to attend their local state school might feel reading this? Are you making this student feel better by leading him to believe that getting into Emory is the be all and end all for his life? Give me a break. To turn it around and say that I am somehow denying this poster a chance to attend Emory is absurd. Yes, of course it would be great if he could and it’s wonderful he has overcome obstacles. <em>That goes without saying.</em> I hope he talks to the FA officer and gets a good outcome. On the other hand, if this student has to attend a somewhat lesser school, knowing the great qualities this student obviously possesses, I am sure success is in the future for him. You said your “heart bleeds.” Again with the hyperbole. Some people here seem to need a big bad ogre to fight (the colleges, the mistaken concept of “ethics,” me(!) or other posters). Truly it is silly. In terms of this student, he probably got bad advice. He should have applied RD to several high caliber colleges and compared packages. It seems if there is one lesson to be learned from this thread, that is certainly it! Goodnight to you too!</p>
<p>Would Emory then consider that the sibling has a full ride to be either inconsequential for the next sibling (the applicant), or a negative (more income to spend for applicant? And what about the other 4 siblings? Are they included in calculations?</p>
<p>dstark</p>
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<p>Listing one individual college’s policy does not make it universal. Every contract is different and no one can make a blanket statement about you can walk away with no penalty like you and calmom have done.</p>
<p>And no one has argued anyone can be forced to attend. What has been put forth is colleges could pursue financial remedies if they so desire based on how the language of their specific ED agreement is written</p>
<p>littlegreenmom</p>
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<p>Well said indeed. And I agree with you. Alas, some folks here have no regard for ethics whic is quite sad indeed.</p>
<p>calmom: You are a lawyer who is not currently practicing law. Are you a certified financial consultant? Have you ever been employed as a college financial aid consultant? Just wondering. Not that I’ll get an answer, I know.</p>
<p>Mummom:</p>
<p>did I diss state schools? Where? I merely said that state schools are not necessarily affordable, and gave an example. U of Georgia is in fact not the most expensive of state schools, but if the family has an income of $20k, then it certainly cannot afford to pay $18k for one of six siblings!
In fact, Harvard can be MUCH cheaper than UMass-Amherst if the family falls into a certain income group ($60k gets one full ride). So telling students who applied to schools that pledge to meet 100% need but do not that they have other choices may not be the best advice. What is so hard to understand? How does it amount to making students who attend state schools feel bad? </p>
<p>You’re talking to someone who went to college on a full-ride, as did my H, by the way. There’s absolutely no way that we could have afforded even the state flagship. We both went to grad schools, again on full rides. I believe that, from the point of view of American society, that was scholarship money well spent. Which may be why we did not even seek merit money for our high achieving kids: we believe that there are families out there, with children as bright as ours, but with far fewer financial resources than we have, thanks to the great --and free–education we received. We hope others will get the same opportunities we have had.</p>
<p>vossron</p>
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<p>UNFREAKINGBELIEVABLE. After 1800 posts we stil have people advocating unethical practices and making a mockery of the ED process. It makes me sick to see this</p>
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<p>And now everyone is a FA expert as well. Here is a clue - the most dishonest people on FA apps are those who are self employed. There typically is unreported income. Taxi’s are a notoriously cash business. I am sure Emory has looked at the numbers and factored this in. The $20K stated by the poster does not come close to the ave NYC taxi driver salary. Five years ago, it was nearly $50K</p>
<p>[New</a> York Taxi Cab Driver Salary](<a href=“http://411newyork.org/guide/2008/03/30/new-york-taxi-cab-driver-salary/]New”>http://411newyork.org/guide/2008/03/30/new-york-taxi-cab-driver-salary/)</p>
<p>The only error made is the one likely made by the poster in believing the father’s income is only $20K</p>
<p>Re post number #1825:</p>
<p>Marite, I don’t have a clue as to what Emory would do.</p>
<p>When my son was in college (public U.) at the same time as my daughter (private college) - my daughter’s college asked for a verification of attendance from the financial aid office of my son’s college including calculation of full COA. My son was paying full freight at the time, living off campus with tuition in the range of ~$3500. As soon as they received the verification, my daughter’s college increased her grant by roughly the same as my son’s tuition.</p>
<p>momofthreeboys</p>
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<p>Just because someone wants something doesn’t mean they are entitled to get it. How about these kids and families take some personal responsibility for a change. No one is entitled to go to their dream school. There are TONS of excellent less expensive options out there for them if finances are a problem. Quit the boo-hooing about the poor kids can’t go to their dream school. Every day, lots of families struggle with this decision. Some choose to make a sacrifice, some do not. Those that do not don’t deserve handouts or sympathy from us. They are simply making a lifestyle choice</p>
<p>“UNFREAKINGBELIEVABLE.”
I love your gumption, berryberry! :)</p>
<p>mummom</p>
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<p>yea, I doubt you will get your answer. We know what it is though. Calmom is doing a disservice to all those reading this thread trying to come off as a legal and FA expert. She has been proven wrong on both FA and legal matters several times on this thread alone. Alas, some of her friends in the cadre of 6 seem to feed off of her misinformation. This is truly frightening if anyone is using what she says for true guidance</p>
<p>marite</p>
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<p>First thats a HUGE “If”. i already provided evidence that the average cab driver in NYC earned roughly $50K after expenses 5 years ago. The $20K does not pass the smell test at all.</p>
<p>Second - you are making a hopeless strawman by not including any FA the Univ of Georgia would provide.</p>
<p>Third - the other siblings are irrelevant. Only one of them is in college and they are on a full ride. So there is no COA for them.</p>
<p>mummom - Thanks :)</p>
<p>It really irritates me that after 1800+ posts people would continue to make statements that make a mockery of the ED process and advise unethical actions.</p>
<p>I guess some only want to destroy it - or hate the “big bad colleges” so much that this is what they are driven to</p>
<p>You are making assumptions about the family’s income. I’m just reporting what the poster wrote. I’m not questioning. Just stating. </p>
<p>But let’s suppose that the family’s income is indeed $50k or $60k. At Harvard, it entitles the student to a full ride with bells attached (research money, travel money, etc…). Not so much at UMass-Amherst since it is perennially cash-strapped and tries to generate income by increasing the number and amount of fees students have to pay. Anyway, if the family’s income is even $60k, the $10k that Emory expects the family to come up with is still a very significant chunk of money.</p>
<p>My point in that post is that often, for low income families, supposedly expensive universities can be far more affordable than state schools. That’s all I’m arguing here. In other words, saying that high achieving students should not dream of attending the likes of Penn and Wellesley, especially since they claim to meet full need because they can attend their state school is not really sound. They may get a full scholarship (as did the poster who launched this thread), or they may not. Emory does not claim to meet full need, so that should have been a red flag for the student.</p>
<p>By the way, since the thread started, there have been two more cases, both about students who applied to their dream school. I had little patience with the OP, but am far more sympathetic to the next two.</p>
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<p>And I am showing why you can’t just take a number at face value and automaticaly blame the college or say the college is not meeting full need. Lets remember - this is the college’s funds - how they dole it out is their business. From personal experience on our FA committee, you would be amazed at how many people submit inaccurate figures and in particular how self employed individuals understate their net income </p>
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<p>First, only Harvard and a few other schools can afford that type of policy given the size of their endowment. So bringing up Harvard is not relevant to the discussion. Their endowment allows them to do a lot of things nearly every other college can not. </p>
<p>Second, no one is saying people if they can’t afford elite privates must go to their state school. What we are saying is there are a TON of colleges out there where people can get a great education - and some of these schools can be very generous with merit aid for those students who have the ability to get accepted into the elites.</p>
<p>I don’t have your suspicious mind, clearly.
The student who applied to Emory was not even trying to get our assistance, just stating his example. We are not in a position to give him financial aid, so I don’t really see the point of his deliberately mis-stating his family’s financial situation, unlike the OP who clearly wanted to get out of Penn’s ED offer and had alternatives lined up.</p>
<p>“There’s tons of colleges out there.”
Fine. List them. There’s not a lot of time to waste before Jan. 1.</p>
<p>I applied to Brown under early decision because it was (and still is) the school I have dreamed of attending since I was a freshman in high school. I also applied for financial aid. It was one of the happiest days of my life when I received my acceptance letter, but… I did not qualify for a dime of financial aid. All of the calculators I used online told me I qualified for at least $30,000. I can tell you right now there is no way I can come up with that money without going *over $120,000 * in debt. Combine that with medical school… and I will be paying back student loans for the rest of my life.</p>
<p>Colleges say they meet “100% of demonstrated financial need.” What a joke. What they really do is make college accessible for the poor and the wealthy, but they slam the door shut for middle income students.</p>