I am an Asian student with financial aid from my relatives and am currently applying to US universities. Several universities have accepted me in early action, and now I am happy to receive an acceptance in early decision2. However, my sponsor’s relatives are asking me to cancel the agreement of early decision because the tuition fee of the university I was accepted to by early action is lower than that of the university I was admitted to by early decision. I signed the contract with my high school counselor and my parents.My parents cannot cover the costs alone without money from my relatives. Since I am an international student, I do not receive any financial aid from the university. Unfortunately, in a case like this, is it possible to ask the university to cancel the EARLY DECISION contract?
Only the specific college can answer this question for you. Send an email to the admissions office, with the finanical aid office CC’d, and ask what your options are.
The ED2 contract you signed is binding, not legally, but ethically.
I’m not sure why you applied to a school under ED2 knowing it wouldn’t be affordable (seems like you didn’t apply for financial aid and/or it’s a school that doesn’t give FA to internationals), but what’s done is done.
I would talk with your high school counselor, as they also signed the binding agreement. It’s not a good look to reneg, but there is nothing legal preventing you from doing so.
When you signed the agreement it was with the understanding that you would attend if accepted. Obviously, if your relatives refuse to pay, and you can’t afford it, they can’t actually force you to attend. However, it isn’t a good look for you or your school to renege at this point. Students who want the ability to compare costs/financial aid awards shouldn’t apply ED - it isn’t fair to other students and goes against the entire purpose of applying ED in the first place.
No judgement here. But beware that schools communicate with each other and if you renege on ED2 without the school’s permission then they may let all the other schools know that you did so. Many schools say they will rescind acceptances if they find out you renege on an ED agreement. I don’t know how often that happens but just be cautious.
If I were in your situation I would reach out to your ED and explain your specific situation. They can release you from the contract if it is unaffordable for you, or really for any reason if they want to 
Good luck!
Is it just rumors that people have had other RD/EA acceptance rescinded for negating on ED acceptance?
This was told to me last year, so we didn’t ED any schools that were binding.
Some schools used to share when students reneged on ED commitments, but that is not happening anymore AFAIK due to various DOJ lawsuits in the recent past.
Here’s one source (4 or so articles per month w/ free registration) I have no idea where this DOJ ‘investigation’ stands:
You are allowed to cancel ED2 if you can’t afford it. Since your relatives have reneged on paying, it sounds like that’s the case. I think you should email the school and say your funding source has decided not to pay so you can no longer afford to go. You will be released from the ED2 acceptance.
The only thing you did wrong was not checking with your relatives before applying to see if they were willing to pay the cost of that school, but that is water under the bridge.
can I ask why you did an ED2 application? I assume you knew the tuitions of the schools you were applying to?
I think you need to do this today…and put this ED2 school completely on the done column.
Thank you all for your replies.
My parents and I were fully aware of the binding nature of the ED, and since it is a large sum of money, we checked with our sponsor’s relatives and got their approval before we applied. However, when the results came back and my relatives faced the payment, they told me they would not pay if I did not change the university because they wanted to spend as little as possible due to the recent exchange rate problems. I did not want to break the ED contract, but I could not force my relative to pay, so I consulted you all. I consulted with my parents and relatives, taking into account the opinions of all of you, which I am grateful for. As a result, my relatives agreed to help me pay for the equivalent of another college, and my parents agreed to cover the rest. I am grateful to my relatives and parents and will do my best in my studies at the university of my choice. Thank you very much.
I’m wondering what the cost difference is between the 2 schools, and the relative prestige difference. sorry if I’m being nosy.
Glad things worked out and thanks for the update. Hope you make the most of this wonderful opportunity.
Thank you for coming back with an update. Congratulations on your acceptance… I’m so glad your family could make it work. 
I hope you’ll check back next year with an update on your freshman experience. For now, enjoy the rest of your school year and time with friends and family. Best wishes!
Glad it worked out but also it’s not the first time the ED2 school has heard this. I assume they have to factor in X amount of students that have to reneg for some reasons. I wonder what that percentage is?
I recently went through this. If your acceptance is subject to a financial aid deal, you can say no within a deadline period.