Early Decision and Financial Aid.

vonlost
Wed, 03 Jul 2013 23:21:53 +0000

“If the school does NOT guarantee to meet full need, it is mighty risky applying ED.”

What is the risk, you might ask. One risk is that you’ve wasted the application fee, since the net price calculator should have warned you that the school is likely unaffordable. If you have access to other money (e.g., via grandparents) such that it IS affordable, you might have gotten a better offer from a lower-choice school, and you’ll never know. Another risk is that you’re tempted to stretch to make it affordable, since it’s your dream school. Another risk is sadness that you must decline the offer, but you don’t know if you’ll actually GET a better offer.