Early Decision and Merit Scholarships/monies

[DadOfJerseyGirl]

ED and merit aid is a commonly discussed topic on CC. Here are some prior threads…

Early decision, merit money

Can someone explain the ED process to me? We’re visiting some colleges next week that have ED with S23. If he were to apply ED and be accepted, would he be obligated to accept even with no merit aide? We will have no demonstrated financial need, but accepting an offer with some merit is a different animal than accepting with a 70k annual price tag. We would spend full boat if it were truly his best option, but are we locked into that with an ED contract? MODERATOR NOTE The TL; DR- From @kelsmom , who has worked at higher ed institutions and has knowledge of how Financial Aid works: “I suspect that a student is less likely to receive merit if they apply ED, simply because merit is often used as a tool to achieve enrollment. A student who applies ED has signaled a strong desire to enroll if accepted. I agree that merit offered to an ED student is most likely offered because the student has financial need. Some scholarships are targeted for students with financial need, so a college m…

ED and merit aid

Hi. Does applying ED impact the likelihood of receiving merit aid from the school? Do they no longer think they need to entice you? Thanks

ED and merit $

Let’s say you have a pretty high stats kid- 4.0 UW, 4.6 weighted, 1530 SAT, varsity soccer captain but not a recruit… You think she might have a shot (just a shot, not a shoe-in) at some merit money at pretty good schools like Tulane, GW…that tier. Would applying ED- so she is bound and has to go if accepted- mean that those schools would not have any reason to tempt her with a merit award and so she would be giving up any chance of getting one?