<p>Hi everyone...I did early decision to Stevens Institute of Technology. Unfortunately, I simply cannot afford paying the tuition of 50,000 dollars. I doubt they'll give me an adequate amount of money to attend the university. During my interview, the admissions counselor told me that I can opt out of the ED if the "financial aid package wasn't working" for me. My father makes 105,000 dollars a year ( A LOT ) but he is only willing to pay 10,000 for college as in he in debt. My mother and father do not share money, and she makes only 40,000 a year so she can not afford to pay 30000 for Stevens. I have a couple of questions...</p>
<p>1) Could I opt out? If so, how would I go about doing it? Do I call or write a letter or e-mail?
2) I got into Rutgers University (New Brunswick Campus). Would Rutgers rescind my acceptance if I broke the ED agreement with Stevens without properly opting out?</p>
<p>How can any of us offer anything but guesses? It seems that you and your folks need to contact Stevens TOMORROW! And you’d better get your guidance counselor involved quickly or else he/she may not assist you in applying to other schools</p>
<p>Question: why did you even choose the ED option if you KNEW their cost and your family’s ability to pay???</p>
<p>You should be able to opt out of ED. Call Stevens as soon as you can, and just let them know you can’t afford to pay. Your aid package might even be negotiable, but at the very least, you won’t be forced to go. Good luck!</p>
<p>Before you pull the trigger. I just transferred into Stevens, walking away from a substantial scholarship and my parents were also very afraid of the cost. However, Stevens is one of the best in the country when it comes to financial aid. I received 10k before even filling out a Fafsa, and my admissions advisor said there was more where that came from. I’d seriously consider having a sit down conversation with an admissions director before breaking your contract.</p>
<p>You can opt out of attending Stevens it you can’t afford to go. They won’t question your family’s assessment of what you can afford, that is a decision for the family to make and they know that.</p>
<p>It’s hard to imagine that with your parents’ incomes, you’d be offered $40,000 of the $50,000 cost of attendance at Stevens, so I think you’re right to be concerned. This probably should have been thought through before you signed the ED application. </p>
<p>You have two options at this point: 1) withdraw your ED application immediately or 2) wait until Stevens sends you their financial aid information (if you don’t yet have it) and then withdraw if it’s too far from what your family can afford. Either way, if you decide not to go, you need to “properly opt out”, preferably in writing but try a phone call first.</p>
<p>Just out of curiosity, did you run a FAFSA calculator or get an early read from the Stevens financial aid office before you submitted your ED application?</p>
<p>If you want an earful of other opinions, take a look over here:</p>
I don’t think they’ll let you out until you know their offer. How can you say you can’t afford it until you know what your portion to pay will be. And with almost $150K in family income I don’t think you’ll get much FA. I hope you’ll contend for some merit aid.</p>