<p>I really want to attend Carleton, more than any other school in the country. I had bad freshman year, but have had a great upward trend since then. I still find that that freshman year could still hurt my chances at Carleton, so to improve my chances I want to apply early decision. However, my family only makes about 50,000 a year, and they have already told me they are not contributing to my college education. So I will need financial aid. However I read that lower income students/students that will need financial aid should not apply Early Decision, because whatever package they get is the one they are stuck with. I am very overwhelmed with the whole process, and I was wondering if this was true. Carleton is the only school I want to attend, but if i can not afford it without taking out significant loans {I want to go to med school, so I want as little undergrad debt as possible}, I cannot attend.</p>
<p>edylina, not applying ED if you need a good chunk of fin aid is the conventional wisdom and for good reasons. I don’t know that anyone can answer your question. Even if some have had experience with this, it’s only a few data points in a sea of data. </p>
<p>It’s a decision only you can make, but you might call the admissions office and ask them. Sorry I can’t be of more help!</p>