Early Decision and Financial Aid

nyc
Sun, 22 Jul 2007 16:59:26 +0000

OP-

I fear your mixing apples and oranges may have led to some confusion.


ALL schools will release you from your ED agreement for financial reasons (the schools can’t acknowl need, refuse to meet it and then make you pay what they know you can’t afford). Generally, if one shc finds you have no demonst need, it’s unlikely another sch is going to find signif need. Might sch #2 offer you a modest finaid package ($5-7K)? Sure, but most families w? students applying ED are willing to bite the bullet (forgoe the modest finaid award) for the student’s dream sch.
SCHOLARSHIPS are merit $, not finaid. If you’re looking for merit $, probab best not to apply ED. Families actively seeking merit $ usually want to see all the offeres before having to make an enrollment decision. W/ ED, you will unlikely to get $ info from schs other than your ED choice.
What constitutes suffic $ gap to justify release from ED agreement. Who knows. Schs structure their packages differently (especially w/ regard to the student’s resources), so modest differences ($3-5k ) in awards is not uncommon - - and probab insufficient to justify release, especially if the ED sch has met - - by it’s calculation - - 100% of your family’s need.


(I’m not sure that Hamchuck’s post #10 is correct. EFC is not set by the indiv shcs and you will know your EFC before the ED admissions decisions are announced in Dec. So, if you apply ED knowing that your EFC is $25k, the schs expect that if you will attend if your family contrib is $25 - - and by applying ED you have signed contract stating just that.)

Also, so schs structure the finaid package such that the “need” $ is in fact merity $. A less compet sch may offer a package that is mostly grants, and a more compet shc (where the student is less of a “catch”) may offer more loans. This diff can be signif, ie: $12K loan w/ $13K grant from schA, and $5K loan w/ $20k grant from schB. Both packages total $25K and, assuming sch expense of $45K and EFC of $20K, eack package would meet 100% of need - - but the package from schB is much more attractive. Of course if you apply EDI (December notification), you won’t have rec’d any other finaid offers (too early for RD applicants).

* * *


Worth it to apply ED? Probab not if you need/want to see all the offers (whether finaid or merit) before making an enrollment decision. And certainly not if you’re a finaid applicant and the sch doesn’t promise to meet 100% of need.

But you shouldn’t rule out ED just b/c you’re a candidate for finaid or merit sch. Some shcs will consider ED applicants for merit $ (but you have to ask, b/c some shc rely on merit $ to entice top candidates, who usually don’t apply ED). Also schs will often work w/ ED finaid families (appeal procedure; allowing student to re-apply RD so that s/he can see what other shcs offer - NB: this requires relinquishing your ED admit and re-applying)