I am a junior thinking ahead so I am cloudy on this subject. If I apply to a school early decision and get accepted, but the cost is too high for me to afford, what do I do? Can I opt out? Would I know my cost before applying? Or am I simply forced to pay the sum they ask for?
Yes, you can opt out of the ED agreement if the school is unaffordable and you cannot get the finances to work for you. You should run the NPC (Net Price Calculator) to get an idea of your costs/FA. If the NPC shows that it is unaffordable, then I see no point in applying ED.
Have you sat down with your parents and learned together about your EFC?
If so, do your parents have your EFC and are they willing to pay it every year?
If you haven’t done it yet, do it now–that way you can figure out a good application strategy.
Knowing that information should help you a lot with your decision strategy. LOTS of parents do not allow their kid to apply ED because quite simply–they can’t afford those schools. Their decision strategy is geared more towards schools that will give merit scholarships to decrease the total cost.
It looks like you want to be pre-med. If you are serious about pre-med, most people will advise you to go to the school that will allow you to minimize undergraduate debt. Medical school will put you into about $150-200K of debt. You do NOT want undergraduate debt on top of that.
Find out your EFC and then if you still want help with figuring out what to do, report back here. There are lots of helpful people.
Thank you for your help!
Be sure you read the rules at the schools you are applying to. I believe there are some that don’t allow finances to be a factor (i.e. Wake Forest).