Early Decision loophole?

vonlost
Tue, 16 Aug 2011 17:19:58 +0000

Here is the rule from the Common App:

Should a student who applies for financial aid not be offered an award that makes attendance possible, the student may decline the offer of admission and be released from the Early Decision commitment.

https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/docs/downloadforms/ED_Agreement.pdf

So if they don’t offer you enough, you say thanks but no thanks, and apply elsewhere. You don’t have to prove anything (imagine what would happen if they didn’t accept your proof!). Other schools don’t care if the ED school was not able to offer you enough to attend; some schools have a bigger endowment, and can be more generous.

But apply ED only to your dream school, when your only question is: can I afford it? Otherwise apply RD so you can compare FA offers.