This discussion was created from comments split from: How binding is Early Decision?.
@ljberkow Did you still end up going to Emory? WashU basically gave me a full ride through merit-aid scholarships and what not, but I am still committing to Emory, which is around 8-10K a year… I hope that’s not too much of a difference??
@ryandryu Well, we’re talking about my kid here. I went to Emory many many years ago. My kid is there now. He got better “deals” from other schools, but applied ED to Emory. He’s there now.
I don’t think it’s big difference for you if we’re talking about $32-$35K, that will be debt payable over 15 years, especially because you applied to Emory for a reason. If you are talking free ride vs. full price, then my answer would be totally different. If I’m not mistaken, you are planning on business school, so you will be able to service that debt without a great impact on your lifestyle.
You are talking about the four of the best years of your life and where you would rather spend those years. Before you applied early, I hope you visited both Emory and WashU and chose Emory for good reasons. Was it the campus, culture, location, or a combination of those factors? I don’t think you could have gone wrong with either choice and I never question an ED application in this competitive environment. If you are really reconsidering Emory vs WashU and you’ve had a change of heart, then that’s a different story. If you want to feel better about your original choice, I am a huge fan of what they are doing at Goizueta at Emory. Even though you enroll in the business school in either Spring of your sophomore year or Fall of your junior year, they track you from day one and have great advisement all along the way. You will still be taking core courses in the business school during those first three semesters anyway. The program is globally focused and although very competitive, it’s also cooperative.
You are 17 or 18 years old and it’s natural to second guess one of the biggest decisions you made for yourself for your life to this point. I hope you make it to your admitted students day next month and a couple of nice days at Emory and in Atlanta and reaffirm that you made the right choice. Good luck. Either way, congratulations and continued success.
@ljberkow Yes, thank you so much! I was just considering WashU due to the financial aspects and the possibility of going to some type of grad school or medical school (my major as of now is neuroscience). Hopefully the extra costs are worth it in the long run!
Well, the instant case here is not that whether the bill for Emory can be paid. It’s about an offer of a “free ride” at a comparable university and major versus Emory at $8,000 per year. We’re also talking about a business major who will graduate Goizueta Business School with relatively little debt of $32K. Emory has provided a nice financial package, but not as good as WashU. Quite honestly, if he requests to back out of his agreement, whoever is in power at Emory ought to let him. Do you really want someone who (1) doesn’t want to be there, and (2) may not have the integrity and character you want. If he wants out, I hope they let him out. I also hope he reaches the conclusion that he’ll attend Emory for the very same reasons he applied ED.
@ryandryu : Eh, depending what you are into, I think Emory’s NBB program is more robust and independent (as in NBB actually hosts and centralizes a lot of its own resources as opposed to being split into a lot potential opps hosted by other programs in ECAS, which would sort of make it confusing and perhaps lower the amount of “community” among undergraduates pursuing neuroscience. 4 core classes everyone takes, several NBB originating electives, study abroad opps, fellowships, and research symposia. Just looks like Emory NBB is more well-developed as a nice centralized program with its own resources) in terms of its resources and programmatic options (and it can easily be combined with QTM and has a couple of serious fellowships for more and less computational folks). Those pathways (either medical or a job post-grad. school) will pay that amount of money back. You just need to go to either and do well enough (grade and accomplishment wise) to ensure you are competitive for grad/professional school in whatever. That will be the challenge, and both offer plenty of resources to help with that.
@ljberkow @bernie12 @TheTennisNinja do you guys think I can appeal for more aid? Obviously Emory is my top choice but if there is a possibility to match the package of WashU’s that would be great… Although I got accepted ED2, I didn’t withdraw some applications due to financial aid, and I don’t want to cause trouble if they ask why I didn’t withdraw.
@ryandryu Is all of your aid financial aid or is some merit aid? If some is merit aid, they would simply replace merit aid with financial aid and that gets you nowhere.
I am pretty sure that each student is assigned someone in the financial aid office. You should call and ask who has your file and deal with them. You should be upfront and honest and they’ll try to help. I don’t think Emory really wants you to back out for financial reasons any more than you do. Give it a shot and good luck.
If your ED agreement says you have to withdraw your other apps after acceptance and you try to use a later offer to negotiate a better financial aid package at the ED school they might rescind their offer.
That’s great
Full ride at Washu
Must be great stats ?
@twnz19 : That is kind of shady lol, but WUSTL does seem to love them some stats! That would be my guess as well.
I think Ryan is also a varsity athlete. There are probably a good amount of attributes that make him an attractive candidate to all schools.