<p>tawarren, you can go to the websites of the EA schools you applied to and it should tell you there when you’d get a tentative FA offer. In my experience with other students, they didn’t get much information before the spring, but we may be talking about different schools with different policies. I would be surprised, however, if their websites didn’t make this clear – so you should be able to find out. You make a good point about the schools you applied to asking for the Profile, so definitely look that up.</p>
<p>And, yes, of course you can say, “I got a better offer from ___ U” (in more diplomatic terms, of course) and your counselor is right that the way to phrase it is, “I’m wondering if I did something wrong in my FA application, that the other offer was so different”. But there is much literature and commentary from and about colleges that they do not like this “negotiating” – and they aren’t dumb. They know it when they hear it, so just proceed carefully and if you get any pushback just take the hint.</p>
<p>My son had a friend who wanted his ED school to disregard his non-custodial parent’s rather high income. He approached them after receiving an insufficient FA award (and with his mother’s help) with a lot of documentation about a lack of financial support from that parent and a very limited personal relationship - -and the school did, in the end, waive the non-custodial parent’s income and assets. So, really, I think with selective ED schools, they very well may try to work with you to get you an award that works for your family, but once you bring in playing one offer against another the goodwill can quickly vanish. That’s not to say it isn’t worth asking once in a diplomatic way. They’re not going damn you just for asking… it’s just not likely to be very effective.</p>
<p>Here’s an even trickier part: the finaid award that you receive in December will be an estimate, based on your dad’s 2011 tax returns. If his salary is (significantly) higher in 2012, your final financial aid award will drop approx. fifty cents for ever dollar of increased salary. But you won’t know that until next spring when he files his tax return for 2012.</p>
<p>For the Profile, though, you estimate the 2012 income. By this time of year most folks can make pretty accurate estimates. Maybe not if you have a lot of investment income or something, but they are asking about 2012 income – plus they also ask about 2011, but it’s not what the tentative award is based on for Profile schools.</p>
<p>And of course you need to back up those estimates with your actual 2012 tax return before the tentative award is finalized in the spring.</p>
<p>romani, you’re only required to withdraw when you say yes to ED, if the FA offer is going to be an issue in your decision. So tawarren is in the clear there. </p>
<p>I agree with blue about the tricky part being that the ED FA offer is an estimate.</p>
<p>Unless you were already 18 years of age when you signed the ED contract, that signature is no more binding than that of a five-year old. A minor cannot enter into a contract.</p>
<p>That having been said, your parents probably signed also and, regardless, the college isn’t going to enforce the contract. Any consequences for breaking the contract would fall on future students from your high school who apply ED to the same college.</p>
<p>Tawarren, you can call your EA schools and find out if they will give you an estimated financial aid package if you are accepted, based on your PROFILE numbers. If that can be done, you would have some basis of comparison as to how reasonable your ED package is. If, that is, your EA schools are peer schools and they are giving true packages, not NPC estimates. </p>
<p>If, however, your family is at an income level where getting a lot of financial aid by the usual formulas are not so likely, where an issue arises is with merit aid. Schools such as Fordham, Fairfield, to name just two that I know off the top of my head, can come with some very generous merit awards but they are not awarded until the spring, even to EA accepted students. </p>
<p>It all comes down to how important it is to go to a specific school and what your family can and will do for you to go there. If you are truly disciplined enough to just cut the whole process off, if the numbers are such that you know that for you and your family to afford a school, then fine. If you and your family are wishy washy about the numbers and you are still trying to work a deal out of all of this, ED is really not for you.</p>
<p>If you doubt it, ask the school what their policy is if they don’t release you when the FA is insufficient; is the student expelled when the bill can’t be paid? Hint: Applicants are always released, and it is solely the family’s decision if the offered aid is sufficient.</p>
<p>tawarren, many schools will not release financial award info to EA applicants for some months. But others will let you know sooner. Northeastern asked us to fill out the CSS by 12/1 and promised that D will get a financial aid package in Dec. with the admissions decision. That surprised me. We hadn’t thought of financial aid for that school, since they have an automatic full tuition award for NMFs which covers WAY more than the gap between our EFC and COA. Sent it to them just for fun, (well, fun+$25) since need to fill it out for several RD schools in the next month or so anyway. As others have said, you should check with schools to which you applied to see what their policies are. Most have the info clearly laid out on websites, but you may prefer to call schools to save time hunting for the info.</p>
You don’t have to withdraw until after you receive aid offer from ED school ( not with acceptance).
Only after you receive your aid offer AND you have accepted it, do you withdraw other applications. Often, other early action or rolling admission applications will be processed at the same time as your ED application, thus acceptances and denials are likely will come in from other schools while you review/wait for the Aid offer from the ED school.
School will let you out, without a problem for financial reasons.