Does Early Decision limit chances for merit aid

[Anonymous]

We did the NPC and it looks like we qualify for a good amount of need based aid. In this case I'm inclined to let my child apply ED. We aren't guaranteed this amount but I'm hopeful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My D (35ACT, 800/800 Subject tests, 4.2 GPA) only applied EA because we wanted to compare costs. Early decision is too risky if you do NOT qualify for non-need based aid. She applied EA at most places, and regular at the rest.

So far, 2 merit awards that essentially gave her a free year of undergrad at each school.

Sounds like someone on this thread has a DC who applied ED and may break the contract if the merit aid is not enough.

What do you think about someone breaking the contract because they didn’t get enough FA to make attendance possible?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My D (35ACT, 800/800 Subject tests, 4.2 GPA) only applied EA because we wanted to compare costs. Early decision is too risky if you do NOT qualify for non-need based aid. She applied EA at most places, and regular at the rest.

So far, 2 merit awards that essentially gave her a free year of undergrad at each school.

Sounds like someone on this thread has a DC who applied ED and may break the contract if the merit aid is not enough.

What do you think about someone breaking the contract because they didn’t get enough FA to make attendance possible?

If the NEED BASED financial aid offered with the ED admission was not approximately what the NPC (that you ran before applying) told you it should be -- yes that is a valid basis to break the contract.

On the other hand, not receiving hoped for merit-based aid is not a valid reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a conversation you need to have with the financial aid office of the ED school.

If you don’t qualify for need based aid (you’ve run the NPC calculator) and you need merit aid to afford the ED school, then DO NOT apply for ED.

Ya’ll are confusing merit (non-need based aid) with need based aid. Colleges award merit according to their own rules, and it has nothing to do with your financial picture.

We will probably call the school but I’m curious why you think it matters where the money comes from (FA/merit aid/other scholarships/family help/rotc). Bottom line is we need some assistance to pay. No guarantee we will get the money but it’s possible.

Because the schools categorize it differently.

Run the calculator and it will say what the school has determined your need is (most of us disagree with those figures btw). Colleges that guarantee to meet 100% of need, mean that they will provide that number to anyone they admit ED or RD.

If you are confident in your ability to pay the net price out of funds you have at the time of the application, then apply ED. It is unlikely you will get more from the college.

If you are not, for whatever reason (including waiting on a relative to die, applying for outside scholarships, whatever) you cannot apply ED. Period.

Or what? Of course you can.

You are right.... just have your kid apply ED to all schools since they can't make you attend and may not find out you did it. Who are all these naive folks that care about lying and breaking contracts!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a conversation you need to have with the financial aid office of the ED school.

If you don’t qualify for need based aid (you’ve run the NPC calculator) and you need merit aid to afford the ED school, then DO NOT apply for ED.

Ya’ll are confusing merit (non-need based aid) with need based aid. Colleges award merit according to their own rules, and it has nothing to do with your financial picture.

We will probably call the school but I’m curious why you think it matters where the money comes from (FA/merit aid/other scholarships/family help/rotc). Bottom line is we need some assistance to pay. No guarantee we will get the money but it’s possible.

Because the schools categorize it differently.

Run the calculator and it will say what the school has determined your need is (most of us disagree with those figures btw). Colleges that guarantee to meet 100% of need, mean that they will provide that number to anyone they admit ED or RD.

If you are confident in your ability to pay the net price out of funds you have at the time of the application, then apply ED. It is unlikely you will get more from the college.

If you are not, for whatever reason (including waiting on a relative to die, applying for outside scholarships, whatever) you cannot apply ED. Period.

Or what? Of course you can.

You are right.... just have your kid apply ED to all schools since they can't make you attend and may not find out you did it. Who are all these naive folks that care about lying and breaking contracts!!!

Not only is it a bad example for the child, but the high school counselor isn't going to like this one bit. What the parents do reflects bad on the counselor and the school. ED school isn't going to smile so friendly on OP's high school ED applicants come next year. Finally, how cruel is it to dangle a school that the family cannot afford in front of a child? Every single public high school counselor and private will tell you this: BEFORE you start drawing up a list of schools or visiting and touring, be SURE that you can afford them. If you cannot, then do not tour. It's not fair to the child and it is not fair to your high school counselor to apply ED on a whim and then back out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My D (35ACT, 800/800 Subject tests, 4.2 GPA) only applied EA because we wanted to compare costs. Early decision is too risky if you do NOT qualify for non-need based aid. She applied EA at most places, and regular at the rest.

So far, 2 merit awards that essentially gave her a free year of undergrad at each school.

Sounds like someone on this thread has a DC who applied ED and may break the contract if the merit aid is not enough.

Wow! congrats and great gpa and test scores! Check to see if they are committing to all four years though. I've heard of some bait-and-switch tactics used by LACs. Once you're kid is there suddenly the deal changes - or the merit aid was for only the first year. Just check everything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My D (35ACT, 800/800 Subject tests, 4.2 GPA) only applied EA because we wanted to compare costs. Early decision is too risky if you do NOT qualify for non-need based aid. She applied EA at most places, and regular at the rest.

So far, 2 merit awards that essentially gave her a free year of undergrad at each school.

Sounds like someone on this thread has a DC who applied ED and may break the contract if the merit aid is not enough.

What do you think about someone breaking the contract because they didn’t get enough FA to make attendance possible?

If the NEED BASED financial aid offered with the ED admission was not approximately what the NPC (that you ran before applying) told you it should be -- yes that is a valid basis to break the contract.

On the other hand, not receiving hoped for merit-based aid is not a valid reason.

+1

For the PP asking about my D's merit awards - they are distributed over 8 semesters (per the award letter), but total about $40K from each school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My D (35ACT, 800/800 Subject tests, 4.2 GPA) only applied EA because we wanted to compare costs. Early decision is too risky if you do NOT qualify for non-need based aid. She applied EA at most places, and regular at the rest.

So far, 2 merit awards that essentially gave her a free year of undergrad at each school.

Sounds like someone on this thread has a DC who applied ED and may break the contract if the merit aid is not enough.

What do you think about someone breaking the contract because they didn’t get enough FA to make attendance possible?

If the NEED BASED financial aid offered with the ED admission was not approximately what the NPC (that you ran before applying) told you it should be -- yes that is a valid basis to break the contract.

On the other hand, not receiving hoped for merit-based aid is not a valid reason.

+1

For the PP asking about my D's merit awards - they are distributed over 8 semesters (per the award letter), but total about $40K from each school.

Congrats! So 10K a year. You may not like your-instate, but if you do, run the calculations. DC was offered $26,000K a year from LACS. But when the $26K was subtracted from the LAC's $75K fee ($49,000), in-state was still less than half what the LAC was even with the $26K. I suspect the LAC.was trying to match OOS not in-state offers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a conversation you need to have with the financial aid office of the ED school.

If you don’t qualify for need based aid (you’ve run the NPC calculator) and you need merit aid to afford the ED school, then DO NOT apply for ED.

Ya’ll are confusing merit (non-need based aid) with need based aid. Colleges award merit according to their own rules, and it has nothing to do with your financial picture.

We will probably call the school but I’m curious why you think it matters where the money comes from (FA/merit aid/other scholarships/family help/rotc). Bottom line is we need some assistance to pay. No guarantee we will get the money but it’s possible.

Because the schools categorize it differently.

Run the calculator and it will say what the school has determined your need is (most of us disagree with those figures btw). Colleges that guarantee to meet 100% of need, mean that they will provide that number to anyone they admit ED or RD.

If you are confident in your ability to pay the net price out of funds you have at the time of the application, then apply ED. It is unlikely you will get more from the college.

If you are not, for whatever reason (including waiting on a relative to die, applying for outside scholarships, whatever) you cannot apply ED. Period.

Or what? Of course you can.

You are right.... just have your kid apply ED to all schools since they can't make you attend and may not find out you did it. Who are all these naive folks that care about lying and breaking contracts!!!

Not only is it a bad example for the child, but the high school counselor isn't going to like this one bit. What the parents do reflects bad on the counselor and the school. ED school isn't going to smile so friendly on OP's high school ED applicants come next year. Finally, how cruel is it to dangle a school that the family cannot afford in front of a child? Every single public high school counselor and private will tell you this: BEFORE you start drawing up a list of schools or visiting and touring, be SURE that you can afford them. If you cannot, then do not tour. It's not fair to the child and it is not fair to your high school counselor to apply ED on a whim and then back out.

Odds are the school counselor knows that you need FA aid going into the process. Ours did.
The prospective college student - who is no longer a child and understands that no aid means it’s not possible - knew too. It was discussed all around.
Things were pretty tense until the final aid offer came through.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a conversation you need to have with the financial aid office of the ED school.

If you don’t qualify for need based aid (you’ve run the NPC calculator) and you need merit aid to afford the ED school, then DO NOT apply for ED.

Ya’ll are confusing merit (non-need based aid) with need based aid. Colleges award merit according to their own rules, and it has nothing to do with your financial picture.

We will probably call the school but I’m curious why you think it matters where the money comes from (FA/merit aid/other scholarships/family help/rotc). Bottom line is we need some assistance to pay. No guarantee we will get the money but it’s possible.

Because the schools categorize it differently.

Run the calculator and it will say what the school has determined your need is (most of us disagree with those figures btw). Colleges that guarantee to meet 100% of need, mean that they will provide that number to anyone they admit ED or RD.

If you are confident in your ability to pay the net price out of funds you have at the time of the application, then apply ED. It is unlikely you will get more from the college.

If you are not, for whatever reason (including waiting on a relative to die, applying for outside scholarships, whatever) you cannot apply ED. Period.

Or what? Of course you can.

You are right.... just have your kid apply ED to all schools since they can't make you attend and may not find out you did it. Who are all these naive folks that care about lying and breaking contracts!!!

Not only is it a bad example for the child, but the high school counselor isn't going to like this one bit. What the parents do reflects bad on the counselor and the school. ED school isn't going to smile so friendly on OP's high school ED applicants come next year. Finally, how cruel is it to dangle a school that the family cannot afford in front of a child? Every single public high school counselor and private will tell you this: BEFORE you start drawing up a list of schools or visiting and touring, be SURE that you can afford them. If you cannot, then do not tour. It's not fair to the child and it is not fair to your high school counselor to apply ED on a whim and then back out.

It would also be dumb to not apply to one of the best universities in the world - with a huge endowment - and to not visit at all because you’re not sure you can afford it. If your kid has a chance it’s worth a try.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My D (35ACT, 800/800 Subject tests, 4.2 GPA) only applied EA because we wanted to compare costs. Early decision is too risky if you do NOT qualify for non-need based aid. She applied EA at most places, and regular at the rest.

So far, 2 merit awards that essentially gave her a free year of undergrad at each school.

Sounds like someone on this thread has a DC who applied ED and may break the contract if the merit aid is not enough.

Sounds like your DD applied to second tier schools and not first tier. There is a big difference.
There are no first tier schools that would be giving out free years of undergrad unless she is the first in her family to go to college and you make less than 60k a year.

Which schools are these? Tulane?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a conversation you need to have with the financial aid office of the ED school.

If you don’t qualify for need based aid (you’ve run the NPC calculator) and you need merit aid to afford the ED school, then DO NOT apply for ED.

Ya’ll are confusing merit (non-need based aid) with need based aid. Colleges award merit according to their own rules, and it has nothing to do with your financial picture.

We will probably call the school but I’m curious why you think it matters where the money comes from (FA/merit aid/other scholarships/family help/rotc). Bottom line is we need some assistance to pay. No guarantee we will get the money but it’s possible.

Because the schools categorize it differently.

Run the calculator and it will say what the school has determined your need is (most of us disagree with those figures btw). Colleges that guarantee to meet 100% of need, mean that they will provide that number to anyone they admit ED or RD.

If you are confident in your ability to pay the net price out of funds you have at the time of the application, then apply ED. It is unlikely you will get more from the college.

If you are not, for whatever reason (including waiting on a relative to die, applying for outside scholarships, whatever) you cannot apply ED. Period.

Or what? Of course you can.

You are right.... just have your kid apply ED to all schools since they can't make you attend and may not find out you did it. Who are all these naive folks that care about lying and breaking contracts!!!

Not only is it a bad example for the child, but the high school counselor isn't going to like this one bit. What the parents do reflects bad on the counselor and the school. ED school isn't going to smile so friendly on OP's high school ED applicants come next year. Finally, how cruel is it to dangle a school that the family cannot afford in front of a child? Every single public high school counselor and private will tell you this: BEFORE you start drawing up a list of schools or visiting and touring, be SURE that you can afford them. If you cannot, then do not tour. It's not fair to the child and it is not fair to your high school counselor to apply ED on a whim and then back out.

I think your sarcasm meter is malfunctioning

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a conversation you need to have with the financial aid office of the ED school.

If you don’t qualify for need based aid (you’ve run the NPC calculator) and you need merit aid to afford the ED school, then DO NOT apply for ED.

Ya’ll are confusing merit (non-need based aid) with need based aid. Colleges award merit according to their own rules, and it has nothing to do with your financial picture.

We will probably call the school but I’m curious why you think it matters where the money comes from (FA/merit aid/other scholarships/family help/rotc). Bottom line is we need some assistance to pay. No guarantee we will get the money but it’s possible.

Because the schools categorize it differently.

Run the calculator and it will say what the school has determined your need is (most of us disagree with those figures btw). Colleges that guarantee to meet 100% of need, mean that they will provide that number to anyone they admit ED or RD.

If you are confident in your ability to pay the net price out of funds you have at the time of the application, then apply ED. It is unlikely you will get more from the college.

If you are not, for whatever reason (including waiting on a relative to die, applying for outside scholarships, whatever) you cannot apply ED. Period.

Or what? Of course you can.

You are right.... just have your kid apply ED to all schools since they can't make you attend and may not find out you did it. Who are all these naive folks that care about lying and breaking contracts!!!

No tthe point at all and your over-statement makes you hard to take seriously. Schools offer ED and with a potential out if you cannot afford to attend once you are admitted. Many factors ultimately play into that calculus and a hoped for merit award may be one of them (as could be losing a job or not getting an expected bonus). If you can afford to go once admitted, great. If you can't, that's unfortunate but they DC goes to regular decision somewhere else they can afford. But that is simply not breaking a contract. Multiple ED applications, on the other hand, are not permitted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a conversation you need to have with the financial aid office of the ED school.

If you don’t qualify for need based aid (you’ve run the NPC calculator) and you need merit aid to afford the ED school, then DO NOT apply for ED.

Ya’ll are confusing merit (non-need based aid) with need based aid. Colleges award merit according to their own rules, and it has nothing to do with your financial picture.

We will probably call the school but I’m curious why you think it matters where the money comes from (FA/merit aid/other scholarships/family help/rotc). Bottom line is we need some assistance to pay. No guarantee we will get the money but it’s possible.

Because the schools categorize it differently.

Run the calculator and it will say what the school has determined your need is (most of us disagree with those figures btw). Colleges that guarantee to meet 100% of need, mean that they will provide that number to anyone they admit ED or RD.

If you are confident in your ability to pay the net price out of funds you have at the time of the application, then apply ED. It is unlikely you will get more from the college.

If you are not, for whatever reason (including waiting on a relative to die, applying for outside scholarships, whatever) you cannot apply ED. Period.

Or what? Of course you can.

You are right.... just have your kid apply ED to all schools since they can't make you attend and may not find out you did it. Who are all these naive folks that care about lying and breaking contracts!!!

No tthe point at all and your over-statement makes you hard to take seriously. Schools offer ED and with a potential out if you cannot afford to attend once you are admitted. Many factors ultimately play into that calculus and a hoped for merit award may be one of them (as could be losing a job or not getting an expected bonus). If you can afford to go once admitted, great. If you can't, that's unfortunate but they DC goes to regular decision somewhere else they can afford. But that is simply not breaking a contract. Multiple ED applications, on the other hand, are not permitted.

She’s back! The one poster hoping merit aid will save her butt in an ED contract. Good luck with that strategy.

[Anonymous]

No tthe point at all and your over-statement makes you hard to take seriously. Schools offer ED and with a potential out if you cannot afford to attend once you are admitted. Many factors ultimately play into that calculus and a hoped for merit award may be one of them (as could be losing a job or not getting an expected bonus). If you can afford to go once admitted, great. If you can't, that's unfortunate but they DC goes to regular decision somewhere else they can afford. But that is simply not breaking a contract. Multiple ED applications, on the other hand, are not permitted.


She’s back! The one poster hoping merit aid will save her butt in an ED contract. Good luck with that strategy.



Actually there are more than one of us. If you read her post accurately you'll see that merit aid is only one factor she is talking about. For those of us without buckets of money, we're trying to put together money from a variety of sources including need based FA, possibly merit aid, maybe help from family (not hoping someone dies as another person so snarkily wrote) etc.

Her point about a job and/or bonus is that sometimes people experience unexpected financial set backs. Bottom line: this is why there is a clause that allows people to be released from ED contracts.

There is one poster who seems extremely intent on telling people not to apply ED unless they've got the money in hand. It sounds like she is discouraging anyone who is applying for need based financial aid from applying ED. Because anyone who is applying for need based FA is not guarantee the money and therefore may have to be released from the contract (which is of course the point of the release clause).