<p>^^ It may seem ambiguous, but the quote doesn’t make sense if it’s not the family’s decision to decline. At a school that meets full need, the offer is, by definition, one that meets the school’s definition of full need, so only the family’s definition of it being not enough makes sense. Schools that gap are not meeting need anyway, necessitating the ability to decline.</p>
<p>There is a strict definition of loans that are considered part of FA, always in the student’s name. Other loans help a family pay their EFC and are not part of FA.</p>
<p>Schools provide estimates of FA based on income info provided with the ED application. At schools that meet full need (important to know), if actual income drops, the aid is revised upward. If actual income rises, aid is lowered, but the income increase is expected to cover the difference. At our D’s LAC there has never been a change of enrollment plans due to ED FA changes from estimated to actual (the FA director told me). Schools want the ED applicants they accept, full freight payers for obvious reasons, and those on FA because they really want them.</p>
<p>The common app “decline” wording is an attempt at fighting this perception that only full-freight students should apply ED. Some schools have chosen to eliminate ED because of this belief by students and families.</p>