Anonymous
08/27/2025 14:21
Subject: Is Early Decision Just Volunteering to Give Away All the Cash You Have?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Yes, ED is an admission boost for kids from families who will pay the full amount. It is AA for white kids, or those with $$.
Been saying this for years, and why so many people falsely assume certain TT private high schools are so great with ex missions. Yes, the kids are smart (and prepped) but most of them will also have the $$ ED admission boost, it’s not just the school
ED is an option for EVERYONE! Run the NPC. If you are WILLING to pay that number, then you can apply ED. If not, then ED is not for you.
The fact people cannot understand this is astounding. A T25 is typically not giving your kid merit. It's FA or nothing. NPC will tell you how much. And if you are "donut hole" then you made the choice to not save, so focus your energies on finding the best school you can afford for your kid. Because Brown/Harvard/ETc is not giving you merit in RD either.
Did you even read your own post? Not everyone is willing to pay 80K/year, even if the NPC has decided the family can afford it. Maybe that family wants to blow their money on expensive cars, maybe they're older parents who didn't save enough for their own retirement or are supporting elderly parents of their own. Ergo, ED is not an option for EVERYONE! (even if you add in all CAPS to try to make it so).
No, it actually an option for everyone. You are just making the Choice not to pay what the NPC states you owe. Yes, we all make choices in life. You are entitled to make whatever financial choices are best for your family. But fact remains that you could choose to do ED if you are willing to pay what the NPC states. If you are not, then don't do it. You can choose how to spend your money. However, note, at T25 schools (where ED matters), the NPC isn't changing for RD/EA. So you unfortunately still wont be able to afford the school even if you get in during RD.
So the difference is you want to have all the options of exploring merit and still the perks of committing early. That's not how ED works. ED means you are willing to commit to a school. It benefits both the student and the school. If however, you are stating "I might be willing to pay $90K for school X, but only if they don't get into a decent school with good merit" then you are not willing to do ED. That is a choice. And if you truly cannot afford the $90K, well then nothing is changing in RD/EA, so why the hell are you annoyed you cannot ED to a school your kid could never afford to attend?
How is it possible that a person can understand all this, and still not understand that ED is an advantage for the wealthy?
How can you acknowledge that there are some schools some kids “could never afford to attend,” and not recognize that this means that many of the kids who do attend bought their way into a shallower admissions pool?
And just for the record, many T25 schools (including Duke, Hopkins, Notre Dame, UVA, and UNC) have merit-based full rides. This idea that every T25 charges every student the full NPC price is far from the truth.
Anonymous
08/27/2025 14:13
Subject: Is Early Decision Just Volunteering to Give Away All the Cash You Have?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Yes, ED is an admission boost for kids from families who will pay the full amount. It is AA for white kids, or those with $$.
Been saying this for years, and why so many people falsely assume certain TT private high schools are so great with ex missions. Yes, the kids are smart (and prepped) but most of them will also have the $$ ED admission boost, it’s not just the school
ED is an option for EVERYONE! Run the NPC. If you are WILLING to pay that number, then you can apply ED. If not, then ED is not for you.
The fact people cannot understand this is astounding. A T25 is typically not giving your kid merit. It's FA or nothing. NPC will tell you how much. And if you are "donut hole" then you made the choice to not save, so focus your energies on finding the best school you can afford for your kid. Because Brown/Harvard/ETc is not giving you merit in RD either.
Did you even read your own post? Not everyone is willing to pay 80K/year, even if the NPC has decided the family can afford it. Maybe that family wants to blow their money on expensive cars, maybe they're older parents who didn't save enough for their own retirement or are supporting elderly parents of their own. Ergo, ED is not an option for EVERYONE! (even if you add in all CAPS to try to make it so).
+1 ED is affirmative action for the wealthiest kids.
I know several "donut hole families" who have chosen to save to pay for $85-90K colleges. It's a choice they made while not spending in other areas. Other families choose to drive luxury cars, take more vacations, spend on their elderly parents, etc. These families choose to save enough to be full pay for any college. It can be done if you so desire.
Anonymous
08/27/2025 14:10
Subject: Is Early Decision Just Volunteering to Give Away All the Cash You Have?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Yes, ED is an admission boost for kids from families who will pay the full amount. It is AA for white kids, or those with $$.
Been saying this for years, and why so many people falsely assume certain TT private high schools are so great with ex missions. Yes, the kids are smart (and prepped) but most of them will also have the $$ ED admission boost, it’s not just the school
ED is an option for EVERYONE! Run the NPC. If you are WILLING to pay that number, then you can apply ED. If not, then ED is not for you.
The fact people cannot understand this is astounding. A T25 is typically not giving your kid merit. It's FA or nothing. NPC will tell you how much. And if you are "donut hole" then you made the choice to not save, so focus your energies on finding the best school you can afford for your kid. Because Brown/Harvard/ETc is not giving you merit in RD either.
Did you even read your own post? Not everyone is willing to pay 80K/year, even if the NPC has decided the family can afford it. Maybe that family wants to blow their money on expensive cars, maybe they're older parents who didn't save enough for their own retirement or are supporting elderly parents of their own. Ergo, ED is not an option for EVERYONE! (even if you add in all CAPS to try to make it so).
No, it actually an option for everyone. You are just making the Choice not to pay what the NPC states you owe. Yes, we all make choices in life. You are entitled to make whatever financial choices are best for your family. But fact remains that you could choose to do ED if you are willing to pay what the NPC states. If you are not, then don't do it. You can choose how to spend your money. However, note, at T25 schools (where ED matters), the NPC isn't changing for RD/EA. So you unfortunately still wont be able to afford the school even if you get in during RD.
So the difference is you want to have all the options of exploring merit and still the perks of committing early. That's not how ED works. ED means you are willing to commit to a school. It benefits both the student and the school. If however, you are stating "I might be willing to pay $90K for school X, but only if they don't get into a decent school with good merit" then you are not willing to do ED. That is a choice. And if you truly cannot afford the $90K, well then nothing is changing in RD/EA, so why the hell are you annoyed you cannot ED to a school your kid could never afford to attend?
Anonymous
08/27/2025 14:05
Subject: Is Early Decision Just Volunteering to Give Away All the Cash You Have?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Yes, ED is an admission boost for kids from families who will pay the full amount. It is AA for white kids, or those with $$.
Been saying this for years, and why so many people falsely assume certain TT private high schools are so great with ex missions. Yes, the kids are smart (and prepped) but most of them will also have the $$ ED admission boost, it’s not just the school
ED is an option for EVERYONE! Run the NPC. If you are WILLING to pay that number, then you can apply ED. If not, then ED is not for you.
The fact people cannot understand this is astounding. A T25 is typically not giving your kid merit. It's FA or nothing. NPC will tell you how much. And if you are "donut hole" then you made the choice to not save, so focus your energies on finding the best school you can afford for your kid. Because Brown/Harvard/ETc is not giving you merit in RD either.
Did you even read your own post? Not everyone is willing to pay 80K/year, even if the NPC has decided the family can afford it. Maybe that family wants to blow their money on expensive cars, maybe they're older parents who didn't save enough for their own retirement or are supporting elderly parents of their own. Ergo, ED is not an option for EVERYONE! (even if you add in all CAPS to try to make it so).
+1 ED is affirmative action for the wealthiest kids.
Anonymous
08/27/2025 14:04
Subject: Re:Is Early Decision Just Volunteering to Give Away All the Cash You Have?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Yes. Early decision is only for the rich and keeps the poors out.
Except it doesn’t.
So then why does everyone agree that you should only apply ED if you are sure you can afford it?
Multiple people have posted stories about kids who go in ED who have significant need-based FA. Why are you ignoring that. I'm sort of on the fence about whether ED is a good or bad thing --- but I don't think that the money thing really weighs in. If you are eligible for need-based FA, it doesn't change the picture at all. If you are full pay and aren't worried about comparison shopping, then it doesn't change the picture at all. If you are not eligible for FA, but are middle class hoping to get merit aid, you should not be applying to schools like Brown, Northwestern, Columbia, Duke, etc., anyway, because those schools never give merit aid. There are a fair number of schools that give merit aid for EA kids, so if you are shopping for merit and hope to be able to comparison shop, you should look into EA.
There is a small number of kids whom ED disadvantages ... these are kids who are saying "Well, I would go to Brown full-pay if I could get into Brown AND I could not get merit anyplace else. But if I got good merit at someplace like Tulane, I would pick that over full-price at Brown." That kid is giving up the opportunity to get a slight advantage in admissions at Brown by not applying ED so that they can see if they get merit at Tulane. I just don't think there are that many kids in that scenario. And, if they are and really had a shot at Brown, they will probably get the merit at Tulane (or whever) applying RD, so even if they don't get into Brown, they will end up in the same place---at Tulane with merit.
BINGO!!!! The people complaining are "donut hole families" who are told "you should be full pay anywhere" but have not chosen to save enough for that (And if you haven't saved enough then it's definately the smart choice to find a place that is affordable to your budget). But they want the advantages of ED and they want to compare merit offers. Well you don't get to do both, as that's not the definition of ED.
Also, Brown isn't giving you merit (or any other T25) in RD either, so you need to make a choice in October whether you want to chase merit or are willing to pay $90K and hope for an ED advantage.
You don't get to do both
Exactly. We aren't rich but we saved enough for full pay. What we decided and told DC was that we would pay in full for most T25 schools. If he didn't get into any of them, we would chase merit for T50 - T100 options. We well knew going into the process that the most likely outcome was full pay at a T25, ergo, it made sense to ED his top choice. (it must be your child's absolutely top choice, but that is a different discussion)
And you knew that if somehow your kid got into their ED (T25) that you were committed to paying full price. Had you not been able to pay full price, you would have simply searched for merit in the 30-100 range.
Also, there are plenty of people who "aren't Rich" who saved enough for their kid to spend $90K per year. It's up to you to decide if you are willing to do that or would rather search for merit. You have choices. Play the ED game or search for merit. But you don't get to do both. Yeah, it sucks, but just like most things in life, you don't always get what you cannot afford. I don't get $60K private K-12 for my kid unless I can afford to pay for it (or get FA to make it affordable). I also don't buy a $100K luxury car until I can afford to pay for it in our monthly budget. Do I expect BMW to give me a $100K car for only $40K because "that's what I want and I deserve"? I highly doubt it
Anonymous
08/27/2025 14:00
Subject: Re:Is Early Decision Just Volunteering to Give Away All the Cash You Have?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Yes. Early decision is only for the rich and keeps the poors out.
Except it doesn’t.
So then why does everyone agree that you should only apply ED if you are sure you can afford it?
Because families that can afford to spend $80k/year per child for college are simply "middle class" in DCUM world.
No, it's because of facts. If you cannot afford $80K/year and the NPC says that's what you will pay, then it doesn't matter ED/EA/RD, you still cannot afford that school. So why are you worrying about schools you will never be able to afford?!?!?!
However, if you can afford the NPC estimate, apply ED, and if the cost is higher than the NPC, then you can get out of it
Simple
Most American families can not afford $80k/year even if the NPC says that is what you will pay. Therefore most kids who have some worries about college costs do not do ED.
That is totally acceptable. ED isn't what they want to do. But that does not mean it's "not available". It is. You simply have to be willing to commit to pay the NPC estimates.
I do not suggest paying $80-90K+ per year unless you can truly afford it. But stop thinking you are entitled to admission at a T25 school. Nobody is. Fact remains ED or RD or EA, those schools are still very difficult to gain admission to. And Oh, Also, will still not be affordable to you as they don't give merit. So you are complaining about "not being able to do ED to a school you cannot afford". It's not about ED, it's about being upset you cannot afford it. But there are literally thousands of schools you can afford. Drop out of the Top 25-30 schools and a top student can get great merit.
Anonymous
08/27/2025 12:30
Subject: Is Early Decision Just Volunteering to Give Away All the Cash You Have?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Yes, ED is an admission boost for kids from families who will pay the full amount. It is AA for white kids, or those with $$.
Been saying this for years, and why so many people falsely assume certain TT private high schools are so great with ex missions. Yes, the kids are smart (and prepped) but most of them will also have the $$ ED admission boost, it’s not just the school
ED is an option for EVERYONE! Run the NPC. If you are WILLING to pay that number, then you can apply ED. If not, then ED is not for you.
The fact people cannot understand this is astounding. A T25 is typically not giving your kid merit. It's FA or nothing. NPC will tell you how much. And if you are "donut hole" then you made the choice to not save, so focus your energies on finding the best school you can afford for your kid. Because Brown/Harvard/ETc is not giving you merit in RD either.
Did you even read your own post? Not everyone is willing to pay 80K/year, even if the NPC has decided the family can afford it. Maybe that family wants to blow their money on expensive cars, maybe they're older parents who didn't save enough for their own retirement or are supporting elderly parents of their own. Ergo, ED is not an option for EVERYONE! (even if you add in all CAPS to try to make it so).
Anonymous
08/27/2025 12:28
Subject: Re:Is Early Decision Just Volunteering to Give Away All the Cash You Have?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Yes. Early decision is only for the rich and keeps the poors out.
Except it doesn’t.
So then why does everyone agree that you should only apply ED if you are sure you can afford it?
Because families that can afford to spend $80k/year per child for college are simply "middle class" in DCUM world.
No, it's because of facts. If you cannot afford $80K/year and the NPC says that's what you will pay, then it doesn't matter ED/EA/RD, you still cannot afford that school. So why are you worrying about schools you will never be able to afford?!?!?!
However, if you can afford the NPC estimate, apply ED, and if the cost is higher than the NPC, then you can get out of it
Simple
Most American families can not afford $80k/year even if the NPC says that is what you will pay. Therefore most kids who have some worries about college costs do not do ED.
Ok. And?!?!?
Most people also don't spend $100K on a vehicle, because they cannot afford it. They purchase what they can afford. Most people don't fly business class everywhere, or lots of other things. Outside of about 30-40 universities (which are all single digit acceptance rates, so the odds of your kid getting in ED are still SLIM TO NONE), most universities offer good merit to top students. My own kid (1490/3.96UW/10 AP) got merit at 3 top 40-60 universities that brought cost to under $40K (all privates that cost ~$90K). But didn't get into any T25 schools. And we were not chasing merit at all. Imagine what they could have found had we been actually searching. Top students can get tons of merit in the 30-100 range.
Anonymous
08/27/2025 12:24
Subject: Is Early Decision Just Volunteering to Give Away All the Cash You Have?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:
ED = full pay
It's interesting that some folks are hell bent on spreading misinformation. One can only guess that their intent is to reduce ED competition by discouraging others to apply. The correct statement should be:
ED = pay up to what the NPC says, or entitled to get out of the ED agreement
This! We received generous financial aid from DC’s ED school. Lined up with the NPC.
Yea, of course there are exceptions but schools use ED to figure out their budgets for RD because they can clearly assess the $ coming in. And the majority of kids applying ED will pay full sticker or close to it. If the kid isn’t entitled to FA (and pretty much any family with an HHI of 250k or more will not be) then that family will be expected to pay full sticker price. This is why ED is a rich kids advantage
Life is full of things where others have advantages. Not everyone can afford a $75K+ BMW, so most people dont' drive one. Instead they drive a $25-40K vehicle they can actually afford. Nobody is entitled to drive a BMW. Same applies to colleges. There are literally thousands of good colleges that will be affordable (if your kid has the resume for a T25). Yes, rich people get some advantages in life because they can afford to pay for things. Just like the rich kid likely had tutoring whenever they struggled, and parents who read to them starting at birth and involved them daily in enriching activities from a young age, which gave them many advantages over a kid with a single parent who worked 2 jobs and was struggling to make ends meet (no tutoring possible).
Anonymous
08/27/2025 12:21
Subject: Is Early Decision Just Volunteering to Give Away All the Cash You Have?
Anonymous wrote:Yes, ED is an admission boost for kids from families who will pay the full amount. It is AA for white kids, or those with $$.
Been saying this for years, and why so many people falsely assume certain TT private high schools are so great with ex missions. Yes, the kids are smart (and prepped) but most of them will also have the $$ ED admission boost, it’s not just the school
ED is an option for EVERYONE! Run the NPC. If you are WILLING to pay that number, then you can apply ED. If not, then ED is not for you.
The fact people cannot understand this is astounding. A T25 is typically not giving your kid merit. It's FA or nothing. NPC will tell you how much. And if you are "donut hole" then you made the choice to not save, so focus your energies on finding the best school you can afford for your kid. Because Brown/Harvard/ETc is not giving you merit in RD either.
Anonymous
08/27/2025 12:20
Subject: Re:Is Early Decision Just Volunteering to Give Away All the Cash You Have?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Yes. Early decision is only for the rich and keeps the poors out.
Except it doesn’t.
So then why does everyone agree that you should only apply ED if you are sure you can afford it?
Multiple people have posted stories about kids who go in ED who have significant need-based FA. Why are you ignoring that. I'm sort of on the fence about whether ED is a good or bad thing --- but I don't think that the money thing really weighs in. If you are eligible for need-based FA, it doesn't change the picture at all. If you are full pay and aren't worried about comparison shopping, then it doesn't change the picture at all. If you are not eligible for FA, but are middle class hoping to get merit aid, you should not be applying to schools like Brown, Northwestern, Columbia, Duke, etc., anyway, because those schools never give merit aid. There are a fair number of schools that give merit aid for EA kids, so if you are shopping for merit and hope to be able to comparison shop, you should look into EA.
There is a small number of kids whom ED disadvantages ... these are kids who are saying "Well, I would go to Brown full-pay if I could get into Brown AND I could not get merit anyplace else. But if I got good merit at someplace like Tulane, I would pick that over full-price at Brown." That kid is giving up the opportunity to get a slight advantage in admissions at Brown by not applying ED so that they can see if they get merit at Tulane. I just don't think there are that many kids in that scenario. And, if they are and really had a shot at Brown, they will probably get the merit at Tulane (or whever) applying RD, so even if they don't get into Brown, they will end up in the same place---at Tulane with merit.
BINGO!!!! The people complaining are "donut hole families" who are told "you should be full pay anywhere" but have not chosen to save enough for that (And if you haven't saved enough then it's definately the smart choice to find a place that is affordable to your budget). But they want the advantages of ED and they want to compare merit offers. Well you don't get to do both, as that's not the definition of ED.
Also, Brown isn't giving you merit (or any other T25) in RD either, so you need to make a choice in October whether you want to chase merit or are willing to pay $90K and hope for an ED advantage.
You don't get to do both
Exactly. We aren't rich but we saved enough for full pay. What we decided and told DC was that we would pay in full for most T25 schools. If he didn't get into any of them, we would chase merit for T50 - T100 options. We well knew going into the process that the most likely outcome was full pay at a T25, ergo, it made sense to ED his top choice. (it must be your child's absolutely top choice, but that is a different discussion)
Anonymous
08/27/2025 12:19
Subject: Re:Is Early Decision Just Volunteering to Give Away All the Cash You Have?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Yes. Early decision is only for the rich and keeps the poors out.
Except it doesn’t.
So then why does everyone agree that you should only apply ED if you are sure you can afford it?
Because families that can afford to spend $80k/year per child for college are simply "middle class" in DCUM world.
No, it's because of facts. If you cannot afford $80K/year and the NPC says that's what you will pay, then it doesn't matter ED/EA/RD, you still cannot afford that school. So why are you worrying about schools you will never be able to afford?!?!?!
However, if you can afford the NPC estimate, apply ED, and if the cost is higher than the NPC, then you can get out of it
Simple
Most American families can not afford $80k/year even if the NPC says that is what you will pay. Therefore most kids who have some worries about college costs do not do ED.
Anonymous
08/27/2025 12:17
Subject: Re:Is Early Decision Just Volunteering to Give Away All the Cash You Have?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Yes. Early decision is only for the rich and keeps the poors out.
Except it doesn’t.
So then why does everyone agree that you should only apply ED if you are sure you can afford it?
Multiple people have posted stories about kids who go in ED who have significant need-based FA. Why are you ignoring that. I'm sort of on the fence about whether ED is a good or bad thing --- but I don't think that the money thing really weighs in. If you are eligible for need-based FA, it doesn't change the picture at all. If you are full pay and aren't worried about comparison shopping, then it doesn't change the picture at all. If you are not eligible for FA, but are middle class hoping to get merit aid, you should not be applying to schools like Brown, Northwestern, Columbia, Duke, etc., anyway, because those schools never give merit aid. There are a fair number of schools that give merit aid for EA kids, so if you are shopping for merit and hope to be able to comparison shop, you should look into EA.
There is a small number of kids whom ED disadvantages ... these are kids who are saying "Well, I would go to Brown full-pay if I could get into Brown AND I could not get merit anyplace else. But if I got good merit at someplace like Tulane, I would pick that over full-price at Brown." That kid is giving up the opportunity to get a slight advantage in admissions at Brown by not applying ED so that they can see if they get merit at Tulane. I just don't think there are that many kids in that scenario. And, if they are and really had a shot at Brown, they will probably get the merit at Tulane (or whever) applying RD, so even if they don't get into Brown, they will end up in the same place---at Tulane with merit.
BINGO!!!! The people complaining are "donut hole families" who are told "you should be full pay anywhere" but have not chosen to save enough for that (And if you haven't saved enough then it's definately the smart choice to find a place that is affordable to your budget). But they want the advantages of ED and they want to compare merit offers. Well you don't get to do both, as that's not the definition of ED.
Also, Brown isn't giving you merit (or any other T25) in RD either, so you need to make a choice in October whether you want to chase merit or are willing to pay $90K and hope for an ED advantage.
You don't get to do both
Anonymous
08/27/2025 12:14
Subject: Re:Is Early Decision Just Volunteering to Give Away All the Cash You Have?
Anonymous wrote:While we are able to be full pay at any university, my child decided to trade-off higher admission probability with overall cost. She ended up declining two T25 acceptances that were full pay to accept full tuition merit award a lower ranked (but still strong) school.
It just depends on your priorities. If you don't mind being full pay, ED is a great way to go.
Wow..lsomeone who finally gets it. If you are searching merit, and don't want to be full pay, then ED to a $90K school that doesn't give merit is not for you.
Anonymous
08/27/2025 12:13
Subject: Re:Is Early Decision Just Volunteering to Give Away All the Cash You Have?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Yes. Early decision is only for the rich and keeps the poors out.
Except it doesn’t.
So then why does everyone agree that you should only apply ED if you are sure you can afford it?
Because families that can afford to spend $80k/year per child for college are simply "middle class" in DCUM world.
No, it's because of facts. If you cannot afford $80K/year and the NPC says that's what you will pay, then it doesn't matter ED/EA/RD, you still cannot afford that school. So why are you worrying about schools you will never be able to afford?!?!?!
However, if you can afford the NPC estimate, apply ED, and if the cost is higher than the NPC, then you can get out of it
Simple