Is ED almost mandatory these days to get into a competitive school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Different poster, but what the school says you need for FA and what you and your parents say you need can be two very different things. DC's college insists we are getting the appropriate amount of FA according to those FA forms we filled out but I think it's grossly inadequate.

Is the actual FA very different from what the Net Price Calculator estimated before the student applied?

^ I didn't do that since kid applied/got in RD - I guess my abovebcooment should be a different thread.

The Net Price Calculator figures are the same whether ED or RD. It is irrelevant.

[Anonymous]

Are the 3 schools similar to a SCEA school? Can he substitute a SCEA or lots of EA schools to push for the ED school and the decision out to April?

or

Have him prepare all three ED applications - they ask the same Qs whether you apply ED or RD and see if while preparing the applications he feels more love for one of the schools versus the other 2.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've heard that you need to be careful about applying ED if financial aid is very important to you. You commit to the school, and can't easily get out of that commitment if the financial aid package isn't what you need. Technically, the school offers you the financial aid package they think your income supports, but the school's opinion about that may be very different from your own.

You absolutely can. And you should receive whatever your net price calculator estimates and you can further negotiate from there if you need. This is what we did this past year. Admissions and financial aid are supposed to be separate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A girl in my DDs class a few years ago got totally screwed by middlebury. She got in ED, they made a promise to come up with enough FA so she could attend. When her FA offer finally came it was way less than she needed but at that point it was too late to apply anywhere else. She had to scramble to apply for some scholarships and take out some loans.

How did they "promise"?

Was the result from the net price calculator that different from the actual result? From a well-endowed school like Midd, I highly doubt it, and call BS.

Your financial aid offer comes with the offer if admission. If it’s not acceptable to you you negotiate until it is or you decide not to accept the offer. The contract should all be finished in a few weeks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've heard that you need to be careful about applying ED if financial aid is very important to you. You commit to the school, and can't easily get out of that commitment if the financial aid package isn't what you need. Technically, the school offers you the financial aid package they think your income supports, but the school's opinion about that may be very different from your own.

If you run the Net Price Calculator on the school's website before you apply ED then you should know with a good degree of accuracy what the school's financial aid offer will look like (assuming it is a "meets full demonstrated need" school). For such schools there is almost never a unwelcome surprise in the financial aid offered.

We went to a financial aid seminar and the theme was mostly ‘you’re paying for this’ . They take your income and subtract off some expenses (mortgage, healthcare, college for others kids at the same time, a few other things ) and the rest is considered to be available to pay for college. Consumer debt, private school expenses for other kids, etc are not deducted. Any other expenses you feel should be subtracted from your income is what you can possibly negotiate (prepare your ‘reasons’).
Use the net price calculator for the college. Here’s one:

https://npc.collegeboard.org/student/app/colgate

If you don’t receive enough financial aid and feel that your family will not do well paying the college fees you just don’t sign the contract and you move in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've heard that you need to be careful about applying ED if financial aid is very important to you. You commit to the school, and can't easily get out of that commitment if the financial aid package isn't what you need. Technically, the school offers you the financial aid package they think your income supports, but the school's opinion about that may be very different from your own.

If you run the Net Price Calculator on the school's website before you apply ED then you should know with a good degree of accuracy what the school's financial aid offer will look like (assuming it is a "meets full demonstrated need" school). For such schools there is almost never a unwelcome surprise in the financial aid offered.

We went to a financial aid seminar and the theme was mostly ‘you’re paying for this’ . They take your income and subtract off some expenses (mortgage, healthcare, college for others kids at the same time, a few other things ) and the rest is considered to be available to pay for college. Consumer debt, private school expenses for other kids, etc are not deducted. Any other expenses you feel should be subtracted from your income is what you can possibly negotiate (prepare your ‘reasons’).
Use the net price calculator for the college. Here’s one:

https://npc.collegeboard.org/student/app/colgate

If you don’t receive enough financial aid and feel that your family will not do well paying the college fees you just don’t sign the contract and you move on. - as in move on to another school.

[Anonymous]

I think ED has become a tremendous advantage at highly selective colleges. Both DC applied ED and were lucky enough to be accepted......huge relief to find out early and get to enjoy the rest of senior year.

[Anonymous]

So do all colleges send a FA package with an ED acceptance?

[Anonymous]

Would you all say SCEA has a much higher chance of acceptance at Ivy League schools (Yale, Harvard, Princeton, particularly). Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Would you all say SCEA has a much higher chance of acceptance at Ivy League schools (Yale, Harvard, Princeton, particularly). Thanks!

Not for unhooked candidates. Arguably/in some cases for legacies (especially if applying from the same HS as other legacies with strong credentials).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So do all colleges send a FA package with an ED acceptance?

Yes you are told what your FA package will be. It will always match the EFC amount, although a few lucky people will get more IF the school does merit aid and they really want your kid for whatever reason.

That's why it is binding. Only in cases where the FA package doesn't match the EFC does the child / parent have the option to decline an ED offer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So do all colleges send a FA package with an ED acceptance?

Yes you are told what your FA package will be. It will always match the EFC amount, although a few lucky people will get more IF the school does merit aid and they really want your kid for whatever reason.

That's why it is binding. Only in cases where the FA package doesn't match the EFC does the child / parent have the option to decline an ED offer.

To avoid confusion, it may be important to distinguish between FAFSA EFC and the expected family contribution spit out by the NPC, since many ED schools consider the CSS Profile in addition to FAFSA. That is, FAFSA EFC is incomplete and not really relevant to what a particular school may expect a family to pay. Families need to run the NPC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So do all colleges send a FA package with an ED acceptance?

Yes you are told what your FA package will be. It will always match the EFC amount, although a few lucky people will get more IF the school does merit aid and they really want your kid for whatever reason.

That's why it is binding. Only in cases where the FA package doesn't match the EFC does the child / parent have the option to decline an ED offer.

So apply ED IF you are cool with the EFC? I always thought the FA packages came out after you had to make your ED decision.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So do all colleges send a FA package with an ED acceptance?

Yes you are told what your FA package will be. It will always match the EFC amount, although a few lucky people will get more IF the school does merit aid and they really want your kid for whatever reason.

That's why it is binding. Only in cases where the FA package doesn't match the EFC does the child / parent have the option to decline an ED offer.

So apply ED IF you are cool with the EFC? I always thought the FA packages came out after you had to make your ED decision.

Yes because if they are different from the same data input (which is unlikely) you are not bound.

Run the NPC and print it out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So do all colleges send a FA package with an ED acceptance?

Yes you are told what your FA package will be. It will always match the EFC amount, although a few lucky people will get more IF the school does merit aid and they really want your kid for whatever reason.

That's why it is binding. Only in cases where the FA package doesn't match the EFC does the child / parent have the option to decline an ED offer.

To avoid confusion, it may be important to distinguish between FAFSA EFC and the expected family contribution spit out by the NPC, since many ED schools consider the CSS Profile in addition to FAFSA. That is, FAFSA EFC is incomplete and not really relevant to what a particular school may expect a family to pay. Families need to run the NPC.

What happens if you run the NPC to get the EFC and apply ED based on that EFF but the college comes up with a different EFC? I feel like I have seen numerous posts over the years from people saying the NPC was not always consistent with the FA package offered by the school.