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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]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. [/quote]

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.
[/quote]

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.  [/quote]

[b]Or what?  Of course you can.[/b]  [/quote]
[b]
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!!![/quote][/b]

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.[/quote]

[b]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. [/quote][/b]

You have no idea how the system works.  First of all, the best universities in the world usually use SCEA, which is not the subject of this post, not ED.  ED is not used in the Ivies unless something has changed very recently. ED locks the student in.  EA doesn't.  SCEA locks you into applying only to the Ivy and as many publics as you like but not privates.  Second, if you can't afford $80K a year in after tax dollars for an Ivy, why would you apply?  What if you have other obligations such as dying parents, mortgages or other children?  Why take your child on a tour and show them something you cannot afford? Three, everyone who doesn't understand the system is getting confused between MERIT aid, which most Ivies and selective schools no longer give (except in the case of atheletes) because they don't have to  - they can get the class they want with the 38,000 applications they have in front of them.  Also, because they are doling out FINANCIAL aid money which requires the filing of the FAFSA or CSS and an estimation by an outside computer as to your family's EFC - expected family contribution.  Most of us MC families are told that our EFCs are full pay.  Ergo, we got nothing in merit aid or financial aid from the SLACs and Ivies with the exception of the minimum $5500.  Both of our children went in-state, which was the right decision for us, especially since one is now applying for a Masters' and the second is talking law school.[/quote]

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