is it really easier to get into a college ED?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Affirmative action for people of means.

This trope gets old. Most of the selective schools were falling over themselves in presentations last year to assure folks requesting financial aid that they could apply ED. Use the NPC to check in advance. If your aid doesn’t reach that level or your situation changes before spring, you will be excused from the binding agreement. In the meantime, you are allowed to apply to state schools and those with scholarship deadlines before ED decisions. My kids have had multiple acceptances with merit in hand on ED decision day, with more in the pipeline. Stop whining and do your due diligence.

However, if you look on college confidential, a lot of the new schools doing ED that don't have the $$ that Ivy and other huge endowment schools like Michigan do, the financial aid packages are NEVER good enough for middle class families and are not nearly as good as RD packages. They are always spending more than their FAFSA said they should. So I would NEVER apply ED to schools that do not meet 100% need. Even those are sketchy because they add loans and work study to meet that need. For my nephew that was $10K between 3 loans and work study to get to the 100% need on his ED. And we all know even the FAFSA starts higher than you really want.

So it truly is for athletes, legacy, and rich.

FAFSA does not tell you what you will pay at any college. The NPC does.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Affirmative action for people of means.

This trope gets old. Most of the selective schools were falling over themselves in presentations last year to assure folks requesting financial aid that they could apply ED. Use the NPC to check in advance. If your aid doesn’t reach that level or your situation changes before spring, you will be excused from the binding agreement. In the meantime, you are allowed to apply to state schools and those with scholarship deadlines before ED decisions. My kids have had multiple acceptances with merit in hand on ED decision day, with more in the pipeline. Stop whining and do your due diligence.

However, if you look on college confidential, a lot of the new schools doing ED that don't have the $$ that Ivy and other huge endowment schools like Michigan do, the financial aid packages are NEVER good enough for middle class families and are not nearly as good as RD packages. They are always spending more than their FAFSA said they should. So I would NEVER apply ED to schools that do not meet 100% need. Even those are sketchy because they add loans and work study to meet that need. For my nephew that was $10K between 3 loans and work study to get to the 100% need on his ED. And we all know even the FAFSA starts higher than you really want.

So it truly is for athletes, legacy, and rich.

But you can get out if the package is un-affordable. It can work for everyone who does their homework. No reason not to. None.

But the package you get is not likely to include the merit awards that would be available on review of the RD pool. So in some cases--many--you end up having to turn down your first choice without really seeing all that they could offer you since you have to accept or decline the offer at the ED time.

Most of the top schools offering ED don't offer ANY merit awards and for those that do they are so competitive that you can NEVER assume you will get one (they are like lottery tickets). If you need a merit award and are not willing to pay the NPC indicated amount then don't apply ED!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Affirmative action for people of means.

This trope gets old. Most of the selective schools were falling over themselves in presentations last year to assure folks requesting financial aid that they could apply ED. Use the NPC to check in advance. If your aid doesn’t reach that level or your situation changes before spring, you will be excused from the binding agreement. In the meantime, you are allowed to apply to state schools and those with scholarship deadlines before ED decisions. My kids have had multiple acceptances with merit in hand on ED decision day, with more in the pipeline. Stop whining and do your due diligence.

However, if you look on college confidential, a lot of the new schools doing ED that don't have the $$ that Ivy and other huge endowment schools like Michigan do, the financial aid packages are NEVER good enough for middle class families and are not nearly as good as RD packages. They are always spending more than their FAFSA said they should. So I would NEVER apply ED to schools that do not meet 100% need. Even those are sketchy because they add loans and work study to meet that need. For my nephew that was $10K between 3 loans and work study to get to the 100% need on his ED. And we all know even the FAFSA starts higher than you really want.

So it truly is for athletes, legacy, and rich.

But you can get out if the package is un-affordable. It can work for everyone who does their homework. No reason not to. None.

But the package you get is not likely to include the merit awards that would be available on review of the RD pool. So in some cases--many--you end up having to turn down your first choice without really seeing all that they could offer you since you have to accept or decline the offer at the ED time.

Most of the top schools offering ED don't offer ANY merit awards and for those that do they are so competitive that you can NEVER assume you will get one (they are like lottery tickets). If you need a merit award and are not willing to pay the NPC indicated amount then don't apply ED!!

Well, plenty of schools that offer ED are not in the top 20, but are good competitive schools and DO offer merit aid. So the earlier point that there is no reason not to apply ED is not quite true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Affirmative action for people of means.

This trope gets old. Most of the selective schools were falling over themselves in presentations last year to assure folks requesting financial aid that they could apply ED. Use the NPC to check in advance. If your aid doesn’t reach that level or your situation changes before spring, you will be excused from the binding agreement. In the meantime, you are allowed to apply to state schools and those with scholarship deadlines before ED decisions. My kids have had multiple acceptances with merit in hand on ED decision day, with more in the pipeline. Stop whining and do your due diligence.

However, if you look on college confidential, a lot of the new schools doing ED that don't have the $$ that Ivy and other huge endowment schools like Michigan do, the financial aid packages are NEVER good enough for middle class families and are not nearly as good as RD packages. They are always spending more than their FAFSA said they should. So I would NEVER apply ED to schools that do not meet 100% need. Even those are sketchy because they add loans and work study to meet that need. For my nephew that was $10K between 3 loans and work study to get to the 100% need on his ED. And we all know even the FAFSA starts higher than you really want.

So it truly is for athletes, legacy, and rich.

But you can get out if the package is un-affordable. It can work for everyone who does their homework. No reason not to. None.

It is a problem for your school (who signed the ED app) and potentially your student if they offer an aid package equal to or greater than the NPC and you say you can't afford it. Of course if there is a significant change (death of a parent, job loss) that is different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Affirmative action for people of means.

This trope gets old. Most of the selective schools were falling over themselves in presentations last year to assure folks requesting financial aid that they could apply ED. Use the NPC to check in advance. If your aid doesn’t reach that level or your situation changes before spring, you will be excused from the binding agreement. In the meantime, you are allowed to apply to state schools and those with scholarship deadlines before ED decisions. My kids have had multiple acceptances with merit in hand on ED decision day, with more in the pipeline. Stop whining and do your due diligence.

However, if you look on college confidential, a lot of the new schools doing ED that don't have the $$ that Ivy and other huge endowment schools like Michigan do, the financial aid packages are NEVER good enough for middle class families and are not nearly as good as RD packages. They are always spending more than their FAFSA said they should. So I would NEVER apply ED to schools that do not meet 100% need. Even those are sketchy because they add loans and work study to meet that need. For my nephew that was $10K between 3 loans and work study to get to the 100% need on his ED. And we all know even the FAFSA starts higher than you really want.

So it truly is for athletes, legacy, and rich.

FAFSA does not tell you what you will pay at any college. The NPC does.

+1 Not sure PP even knows the difference between an NPC and FAFSA/EFC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
But you can get out if the package is un-affordable. It can work for everyone who does their homework. No reason not to. None.

It is a problem for your school (who signed the ED app) and potentially your student if they offer an aid package equal to or greater than the NPC and you say you can't afford it. Of course if there is a significant change (death of a parent, job loss) that is different.

Sigh....

Step 1: Run the NPC
Step 2: Decide if you can afford
Step 3: If yes, apply ED
Step 4: If actual offer is less than the NPC, you can back out without penalty to school

Where is the problem, exactly?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
But you can get out if the package is un-affordable. It can work for everyone who does their homework. No reason not to. None.

It is a problem for your school (who signed the ED app) and potentially your student if they offer an aid package equal to or greater than the NPC and you say you can't afford it. Of course if there is a significant change (death of a parent, job loss) that is different.

Sigh....

Step 1: Run the NPC
Step 2: Decide if you can afford
Step 3: If yes, apply ED
Step 4: If actual offer is less than the NPC, you can back out without penalty to school

Where is the problem, exactly?

The part where the prior poster (if that's not you) said "It can work for everyone who does their homework. No reason not to. None." And middle class people who would like to consider merit aid, relative weight of grant and loans in financial aid, before having to decide on a school are giving their reasons why it doesn't work so well for them. It's hard to feel that your kid would have an easier shot at getting into a school ED but you really should compare offers more. And that's why people perceive ED as biased towards UMC and higher because they have this flexibility and are complaining.

[Anonymous]

Not easier, but more likely.

If you meet all the marks for admission and you’re promising to attend, yes. But of you think going ED will make up for a less competitive application, I don’t think so. Lots of top stat kids get rejected in RD because they can’t take everyone so if you know you want to attend, it’s a chance to compete with fewer people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
But you can get out if the package is un-affordable. It can work for everyone who does their homework. No reason not to. None.

It is a problem for your school (who signed the ED app) and potentially your student if they offer an aid package equal to or greater than the NPC and you say you can't afford it. Of course if there is a significant change (death of a parent, job loss) that is different.

Sigh....

Step 1: Run the NPC
Step 2: Decide if you can afford
Step 3: If yes, apply ED
Step 4: If actual offer is less than the NPC, you can back out without penalty to school

Where is the problem, exactly?

The part where the prior poster (if that's not you) said "It can work for everyone who does their homework. No reason not to. None." And middle class people who would like to consider merit aid, relative weight of grant and loans in financial aid, before having to decide on a school are giving their reasons why it doesn't work so well for them. It's hard to feel that your kid would have an easier shot at getting into a school ED but you really should compare offers more. And that's why people perceive ED as biased towards UMC and higher because they have this flexibility and are complaining.

Any school you would need an ED boost for admissions to is unlikely to give you merit aid. THAT is really the problem, isn't it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
But you can get out if the package is un-affordable. It can work for everyone who does their homework. No reason not to. None.

It is a problem for your school (who signed the ED app) and potentially your student if they offer an aid package equal to or greater than the NPC and you say you can't afford it. Of course if there is a significant change (death of a parent, job loss) that is different.

Sigh....

Step 1: Run the NPC
Step 2: Decide if you can afford
Step 3: If yes, apply ED
Step 4: If actual offer is less than the NPC, you can back out without penalty to school

Where is the problem, exactly?

The part where the prior poster (if that's not you) said "It can work for everyone who does their homework. No reason not to. None." And middle class people who would like to consider merit aid, relative weight of grant and loans in financial aid, before having to decide on a school are giving their reasons why it doesn't work so well for them. It's hard to feel that your kid would have an easier shot at getting into a school ED but you really should compare offers more. And that's why people perceive ED as biased towards UMC and higher because they have this flexibility and are complaining.

Any school you would need an ED boost for admissions to is unlikely to give you merit aid. THAT is really the problem, isn't it?

While the tone of the bolded reply is kind of snarky, I do think the statement is right. I'm surprised by so many posts on DCUM asking about merit aid over and over in different ways. We went through the process and frankly, many, many schools just do not give merit aid. I can't tell you how many times we read that aid was need-based only. In other words: Parents, if you are depending on "scholarships" a.k.a. merit aid as a key factor in paying for college, you shouldn't. If you have financial need, you're going to get an offer based on that and it will be better in some places than others. And yes, some schools do indeed have merit aid, but you cannot depend on it as your student's way into many colleges. Even schools that some on DCUM would not consider "elite" (a subject for another time, the obsession with elite here) may not give any merit aid, or may have only VERY limited merit aid. If you have real financial need you're going to get financial aid; if you do not have financial need (according to the college's interpretation of "need"), you cannot depend on merit aid to make the cost doable. The key word here is "depend."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
But you can get out if the package is un-affordable. It can work for everyone who does their homework. No reason not to. None.

It is a problem for your school (who signed the ED app) and potentially your student if they offer an aid package equal to or greater than the NPC and you say you can't afford it. Of course if there is a significant change (death of a parent, job loss) that is different.

Sigh....

Step 1: Run the NPC
Step 2: Decide if you can afford
Step 3: If yes, apply ED
Step 4: If actual offer is less than the NPC, you can back out without penalty to school

Where is the problem, exactly?

The part where the prior poster (if that's not you) said "It can work for everyone who does their homework. No reason not to. None." And middle class people who would like to consider merit aid, relative weight of grant and loans in financial aid, before having to decide on a school are giving their reasons why it doesn't work so well for them. It's hard to feel that your kid would have an easier shot at getting into a school ED but you really should compare offers more. And that's why people perceive ED as biased towards UMC and higher because they have this flexibility and are complaining.

Any school you would need an ED boost for admissions to is unlikely to give you merit aid. THAT is really the problem, isn't it?

No, I think the challenging point is those schools that are in the sort of 30-50% acceptance rate that have ED1 and ED2 and offer quite a bit of merit aid or for in-state virginians the case of W&M where you might want to wait on merit aid offers from other schools but have W&M as a back-up but ED would really help you get in. There are more "on the fence" cases than you realize.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Any school you would need an ED boost for admissions to is unlikely to give you merit aid. THAT is really the problem, isn't it?

No, I think the challenging point is those schools that are in the sort of 30-50% acceptance rate that have ED1 and ED2 and offer quite a bit of merit aid or for in-state virginians the case of W&M where you might want to wait on merit aid offers from other schools but have W&M as a back-up but ED would really help you get in. There are more "on the fence" cases than you realize.

Are you going to go to W&M if you get in without merit aid? Then apply ED.

Are you going to go elsewhere and take merit aid? Then don't apply ED.

Colleges don't give merit aid as a reward for HS scholarship. They give it to get the students they want to choose them over "better" schools. It's their money, after all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Any school you would need an ED boost for admissions to is unlikely to give you merit aid. THAT is really the problem, isn't it?

No, I think the challenging point is those schools that are in the sort of 30-50% acceptance rate that have ED1 and ED2 and offer quite a bit of merit aid or for in-state virginians the case of W&M where you might want to wait on merit aid offers from other schools but have W&M as a back-up but ED would really help you get in. There are more "on the fence" cases than you realize.

Are you going to go to W&M if you get in without merit aid? Then apply ED.

Are you going to go elsewhere and take merit aid? Then don't apply ED.

Colleges don't give merit aid as a reward for HS scholarship. They give it to get the students they want to choose them over "better" schools. It's their money, after all.

I'm not arguing that colleges don't have this right. I'm just pointing out--along with others--that ED is an advantage for those who have more financial flexibility. Such is life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Affirmative action for people of means.

This trope gets old. Most of the selective schools were falling over themselves in presentations last year to assure folks requesting financial aid that they could apply ED. Use the NPC to check in advance. If your aid doesn’t reach that level or your situation changes before spring, you will be excused from the binding agreement. In the meantime, you are allowed to apply to state schools and those with scholarship deadlines before ED decisions. My kids have had multiple acceptances with merit in hand on ED decision day, with more in the pipeline. Stop whining and do your due diligence.

However, if you look on college confidential, a lot of the new schools doing ED that don't have the $$ that Ivy and other huge endowment schools like Michigan do, the financial aid packages are NEVER good enough for middle class families and are not nearly as good as RD packages. They are always spending more than their FAFSA said they should. So I would NEVER apply ED to schools that do not meet 100% need. Even those are sketchy because they add loans and work study to meet that need. For my nephew that was $10K between 3 loans and work study to get to the 100% need on his ED. And we all know even the FAFSA starts higher than you really want.

So it truly is for athletes, legacy, and rich.

But you can get out if the package is un-affordable. It can work for everyone who does their homework. No reason not to. None.

No, you really can't. If they are within $5K of what your CSA/FAFSA states you can pay, they expect you to come. Now they can give you a bunch of loans to do that. Many people realize heck no, but it is too late. Can you pull out of it? Yes. But you, your school, and your counselors get shamed. Your name also goes out to other peer colleges before ED2 and RD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Affirmative action for people of means.

This trope gets old. Most of the selective schools were falling over themselves in presentations last year to assure folks requesting financial aid that they could apply ED. Use the NPC to check in advance. If your aid doesn’t reach that level or your situation changes before spring, you will be excused from the binding agreement. In the meantime, you are allowed to apply to state schools and those with scholarship deadlines before ED decisions. My kids have had multiple acceptances with merit in hand on ED decision day, with more in the pipeline. Stop whining and do your due diligence.

However, if you look on college confidential, a lot of the new schools doing ED that don't have the $$ that Ivy and other huge endowment schools like Michigan do, the financial aid packages are NEVER good enough for middle class families and are not nearly as good as RD packages. They are always spending more than their FAFSA said they should. So I would NEVER apply ED to schools that do not meet 100% need. Even those are sketchy because they add loans and work study to meet that need. For my nephew that was $10K between 3 loans and work study to get to the 100% need on his ED. And we all know even the FAFSA starts higher than you really want.

So it truly is for athletes, legacy, and rich.

But you can get out if the package is un-affordable. It can work for everyone who does their homework. No reason not to. None.

No, you really can't. If they are within $5K of what your CSA/FAFSA states you can pay, they expect you to come. Now they can give you a bunch of loans to do that. Many people realize heck no, but it is too late. Can you pull out of it? Yes. But you, your school, and your counselors get shamed. Your name also goes out to other peer colleges before ED2 and RD.

That’s just untrue and no one reading this that is considering applying early decision should believe it.

Run the net price calculator and print it out. If the actual offer is less you are out of the agreement with no penalty to you or the school. You also have the opportunity to discuss this with the financial aid office to see if they made a mistake.