Early decision but no money..?

cptofthehouse
Tue, 12 Aug 2008 09:51:30 +0000

You are taking a risk applying ED anywhere if you need a certain amount of money. Although certain schools are considered generous with financial aid and the estimates are reasonably accurate, if there is something you missed that falls into the gaps, you are going to be in trouble. Also, you cannot compare offers. I know kids who got substantially more generous packages from one school than another for no apparent reason. Some schools have merit within need that they can package though they do not give out this money unless the student qualifies for financial aid. That can often cover the student’s contribution and other monies. I know for a fact that Colgate, for instance, does this on occasion, as does Cornell. When your family is tight enough for money, even a couple of thousand dollars of student contribution can be God sent. You simply cannot compare offers and see what is out there when you apply ED. Also since the year is not over when you apply ED, there is a possibility that something may change in your parents’ situation in the last few months of the year to affect the financial aid estimate. Until those final tax figures are in, the fin aid is not definitie.

Yes, you can get out of ED if you decide you cannot live with the school’s offer. But it is not as simple as saying or writing those words. First you have to examine an inadequate offer, call and let fin aid know, negotiate, often times send supporting documents, wait for them to do a recalculation. In the mean time, the clock is ticking. And your name is on the accepted for ED list that is circulated among a number of colleges which means you will be dropped from consideration from them unless you let each and every one of them know that you are reneging on ED and need to kept in consideration. I can tell you right now that this situation is not going to be a particularly happy piece of news to add to your apps. Admissions directors HATE ED renegers. That is the one list of info that they share with each other. You know the risk you are taking and you, your parent and sometimes your counselor are signing off on that risk when you apply ED. You are also talking to them right before they go off for winter break and before the biggest deluge of applications at the busiest time of the year for them, and mistakes are easily made.

If you then withdraw your app to Brown and start from square one, you have now lost your first choice school and have to hope the others end up accepting you and are more geneorus. I really don’t think this is a particularly good situation for anyone. The college process is fraught with enough angst as it is. To add the scenario of having to renege on ED into the pot is making life even more complicated and stressful. If you apply ED, you had better prepare yourself about scraping up money if the aid is not what you had hoped it would be or the tedious process of negotiating and possibly reneging on the acceptance.