<p>My friend got into ED NOrthwestern, but is now thinking of getting out of it because the Financial AId was next to nothing is it possible to back out of ED due to any reason. What they said they wanted to pay and what the school wants them to pay has a major gap. Iwas under the impression that getting out of ED is bad for you.</p>
<p>ANy thoughts</p>
<p>well the only way one could really get out of ED is due to financial constraints, and even in this case there may be strict rules about it. Some colleges will only allow the person backing out ED to go to a community college or low ranked state college because the student should have withdrawn all of their other colleges apps from other schools due to the ED commitment</p>
<p>I thought that was the case but Iwas told that the repurcussions are not that serious if you withdraw for financial reasons. Thank you for your reply. Any more thougths from anyone else will be helpful</p>
<p>when a student applies for ED they basically state that in exchange for an early admission, they will attend and withdraw all other applications. </p>
<p>Since Northwestern's ED was last year, your friend should have:
1. withdrawn all of his other applications and not made any new ones
2. Already contacted Nothwestern regarding their FA package since they were suppose to respond to ED, and submit a deposit. So asking the question at this time is really a moot point as the net-net is either the student is attending or not attending.</p>
<p>Your friend did make a bad choice because if finances are remotely an issue, one should not apply ED.</p>
<p>Can Northwestern make him/her attend? No, but they can contact the other schools letting them know that the student did not live up to the terms of the ED contract and the other schools may end up rescinding their admissions because no one wants a student who tries to game the system.</p>
<p>Your friend has also just given a black eye to his/her GC and school because admission decisions are also based on relationships (why do you think that some schools are able to admit more students to certain colleges than others). It will be a ding to the intergrity of your GC, as they should not have sent out any additional information (upholding your friend in being strong and wrong) to other schools without contacting Northwestern first and getting a formal release. It can also result in a backlash against the next class applying to Northwestern as your school will have lost a little face with them because of what your friend did.</p>
<p>Your friend should look at his/her own level of integrity or ethics which may be questionable especially at this stage of the admissions process. After all has been said and done there is no right way to do something that you know is wrong. </p>
<p>The funny thing is life always tend to come full circle and Karma can really bite.</p>
<p>omg. please get a life. its not that serious. the kid doesnt need to look at his level of integrity just cuz the school wasnt giving him enuff money. if u cant pay u cant pay.</p>
<p>Before you start discounting sybbie's take on ED, you should recognize that as a 17 yr old, you are just starting to understand this arena. Sybbie has far more experience than you. Listen and learn.</p>
<p>
[quote]
What they said they wanted to pay and what the school wants them to pay
[/quote]
</p>
<p>And that's where people get screwed up all the time. The issue is not what you want to pay, but what the schools think you can pay. If the school has met 100% of your friend's demonstrated need (which again, is not what he/she wants to pay), he or she is stuck. That's why it's important to use the financial aid calculators to determine what colleges are likely to use as your Estimated Family Contribution, which for most people is significantly higher than what they want to pay. Then there aren't any surprises.</p>
<p>I mean the reason one does ED is they know what they are getting into and one has to put the worst case scenario in front and see if that would be accepatble. Because I read somewhere able to afford and wanting to spend that money are 2 very different things. Very often we want to get more monetry help but we do not. That is why ED is not for everyone.</p>
<p>The one thing many folks forget also is that the colleges can meet your financial need with LOANS. Not all need based aid is scholarships and grants. If a student applies ED, they are required to withdraw all other applications upon the ED admit. At this point that would mean that the ED accepted student at Northwestern should NOT have any pending college applications or acceptances. I agree, the above post seems very late in coming. By this time, all the issues regarding an ED acceptance at Northwestern should have been resolved. Either the student is attending or isn't. And I agree with Sybbie about the student's responsibility. The ED rules are VERY VERY clear. When you apply ED, it is akin to a contract to attend if accepted. GCs are pretty candid with students about the implications of this kind of application. And it DOES reflect poorly on the student, and can have implications for future applicants from the high school. This is not something to be so cavalier about. It really is a very serious thing.</p>
<p>Priti,</p>
<p>let you friend know that if s/he sent an intention to enroll to Northwestern and now has a "better" package from another school (the only reason I can see for wanting to back out of ED at this late stage) If s/he sends an intention to enroll and a deposit at the other school, they will risk losing admission at both schools. </p>
<p>The schools state this in writing that you cannot hold spots at more than one school (however it does not apply to housing deposits sent to public universities where housing is on a first some first serve basis because it is not an intention to enroll). </p>
<p>The GC will have to foward his/her final records somewhere and the other school will eventually find out when they do not receive them and contact the high school.</p>
<p>SCOTTAA, i understand when u cant pay for something, age doesnt mean anything. id back out of ED before i get stuck with loans i cant pay off. i dont care how much "experience" that girl has.</p>
<p>Melosyracuse,</p>
<p>Sometimes it is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt. </p>
<p>It looks as if you have shown which side of this statement you are on and your ignorance is defintely showing</p>
<p>Thank you because it has really been a long time since I have been a girl.</p>
<p>As a parent of a college student, a college grad myself who also holds 2 master degrees and is a PhD candidate, a licensed GC, and someone with over 20 years of corporate experience and has spent the last 10 years of actually getting paid, to do college programs, I think I know just a little more than you .</p>
<p>From the looks of things, it looks as if you may very well be backing out of syracuse if you can't find some way to fill your gap and the Gates doesn't come through for you. If you take a moment and listen with both ears, you may just learn something.</p>
<p>Then not going ED would be the way to go. Trying to get the benefit of ED without respecting the agreement is slimy. Plus, you can get out of an ED commitment, if you show that it would be a financial hardship. Usually, college can adjust the package.</p>
<p>BTW, Sybbie has been on here quite a while and her advice has helped many. She is an amazing resource. I wouldn't discount her contributions.</p>
<p>Just a though.
IB</p>
<p>yikes...I meant his advice...sorry sybbie...melo threw me for a sec.</p>
<p>IB,</p>
<p>Right the first time, I am a mom :)</p>
<p>Heh-heh. :)</p>
<p>I really did know that....just thought I got it wrong.</p>
<p>BTW, thanks for helping me and so many of my peers. Most of us are grateful, honest. we just get....ummm...a little bit weird about college admissions. I blame society's over emphasis on prestige and rank, rather than fit for us kids. Some do try to game the system, but it could be because of the focus. Don't know.</p>
<p>IB</p>
<p>I think that it is really sad how pressure filled the whole process has become and I guess this week will be the worse as some of the big dogs hand out decisions.</p>
<p>I think that what you need to keep in mind is that there are many roads that will take you to the same destination. There are over 3000 colleges in the country and you can get a great education at many of them if that is truly your desire. One year from now it will be a thing of the past and you will be hitting your self in the head because of all the stress you put your self through.</p>
<p>From my own experience, I attended a CUNY school for my undergrad and, and attended an Ivy for my first stint at grad school, NYU for my second stint and where I am presently.</p>
<p>My brother-in-law started college at 24 (freshman) at a tier 3 school and went on to get his PhD at Princeton.</p>
<p>when my D got her college decisions (she went 7 for 7) we did not tell a lot of people where she got accepted becasue I did not want her to feel pressured to attend an Ivy because she got accepted to one. </p>
<p>I did encourage her to select a series of reach match and safety schools from the mindset of if this is the only school that you are accepted to will you be happy going. Her school allowed them to choose 8 but when she really thought it out she could not come up with 8 schools.</p>
<p>Because she really liked her schools and we knew we needed to compare packages, she had to go RD. Shenarrowed her choices down to 3 visted all of her schools during admitted students days when she called home with her choice. In the meantime I requested a financial review. we were able to get an increased ward from Dartmouth because williams gave a her package that was financially hard to refuse.</p>
<p>That's very cool.</p>
<p>My home situation is pretty intense. My parents sat on me to apply to a handful of Ivies, which I did. The schools, however, are not what I consider a good fit. My parents seem to be fixed on the Ivies to the detriment of the LACs I like and have applied to (had to hide Trinity, Sewanee, Union and Reed from them since they are not top 20).</p>
<p>I don't quite understand them because they went Ivy and did not enjoy it too much. Perhaps there is outside pressure on them for me to be "worthy" or some such. I don't know. All I know is that Union College is my first choice, but I fear that if I get into an Ivy, I'll be forced to go. That being said, I do like Dartmouth, and Princeton...and for some odd reason I also like UPenn (the only big school aside from UW-Seattle I would be okay with).</p>
<p>My friends even think it's a bit kooky to pick Union over some better ranked schools, but after a visit...I was sold. It was comfortable, but different than the Northwest. It seemed challenging academically, while students and faculty were very friendly and laidback.</p>
<p>So, my experience is a bit weird. Hoping to get waitlisted or rejected from a good chunck of my list, while being accepted to a particular college. Fireworks will happen, I'm very sure of that. Just hope that all will settle down.</p>
<p>IB.</p>
<p>I think sometimes as parents we love our kids so much and we always want the "best for them" and look at this in terms of education as a hand full of "name brand" schools. Sometimes we tend to forget that what we think is the best and what they think is the best situation for them, are 2 different things. </p>
<p>My D loves living in NYC and everything about NYC. I would tell people that she would be the person turning off the lights because she is the last person to leave the city. My younger sister is a Columbia grad and that is all D heard all of her life to the point where Columbia was the #1 school on her list. She had visited the school many times, went to a number of events on campus, but when it came time to visit with the prospect of being there for 4 years, it is the last place that she wanted. I remember when D was a little girl (about 5) my sister told me to save my money because I would be paying to send her to a $40,000 LAC (gosh, I she could have only predicted the stock market that well). Years later, she wanted a small school (it was the only Ivy she applied to and the rest were LACs).</p>
<p>If some one had asked me at the beginning of the process, that my city kid would be happy on rural NH, I would have laughed in their face. In fact, when she went to visit reluctantly mind you, I did joke about it with my sister saying that she would probably panic from all of the fresh air. She is happy as a clam and can't see herself any place else (she said when she stepped on campus, she knew in her gut it was the place for her).</p>
<p>If you have worked the money part out, I would suggest calmly talking to your parents now before the decisions come out. Tell them thank you, tell them that you know they love you and want the best for you and then articulate why you think that Union is the best place for you. (Based on what you wrote about Union, you really would like Dartmouth because there are a lot of similiarities and they are some of the nicest most down to earth people you will come across). If there is a specific program that you are interested in let them know. I think Union is a really great school that is under the radar for many people. Send them over to the parent's board (we'll talk to them)</p>
<p>Your worth and who you are as a person is so much more than the school that you attend. So no matter what happens it's still going to be all good. Good luck</p>
<p>Thank you. I'll talk to them...and send them to the parents forum. :)</p>
<p>Dartmouth is very similar to Union, which is a saving grace....and my parents would be on cloud 9. We'll see what happens. I should know today. I think Union sent out letters on the 24th.</p>
<p>I think us kids sometimes need to be reminded that we are more than where we go to college.</p>
<p>I really appreciate you help. Will let you know. :)
IB.</p>