Early decision but no money..?

_rentof2
Tue, 12 Aug 2008 17:42:57 +0000

hkshah, if you were my kid I’d encourage you to go for it. In fact I did encourage my own kid to apply ED with a similar financial situation, and with a great result. Most of the kids my son knows who got into very competitive schools did it with ED applications.

When people say it’s a big risk, that may be for families with a certain income, but it’s not true for a kid from a family with low-50K income, no assets, and applying to a 100%-of-need-met school with no student loans. Let common sense guide your choices, not unfounded fear.

You may want to find out how Brown will assess the value in your parents’ home, but even if that generates a little higher EFC than you’d expect, since there are no other student loans in Brown’s financial aid awards you could always borrow a little to help your parents make up the difference. (I don’t think the value of the house will be a big issue, mind you, but just covering all scenarios here.)

If it’s your first choice school, I would definitely do an ED application given your particular circumstances… which is not to say it’s a good choice for someone else. Everyone’s circumstances are different and need individual consideration.

Definitely get those SATS scores up in the range you’re shooting for. ED can give an admissions boost, but for very competitive schools like Brown it only gives a boost (probably a slight one at that) to applicants that are in range of other admitted students.