Can you Apply Early Decision to UPenn and Early Action (Non-restrictive) elsewhere?

Applying to College
1

I see this is a confusing topic. So, I would appreciate any feedback.

2 Questions:

  1. Is it ok to apply “Early Decision” to UPenn and Early Action (Non-restrictive) elsewhere?
  2. If UPenn gives admission but does not give enough financial aid, can I opt out of the ED and go with a different school?

Thanks in advance for the feedback/comments.

2
  1. In short, yes. Just make sure you check each ea school to make sure it isn't scea/restrictive.
  2. I've never heard adcoms give a straight answer on this (including the ones from penn) Generally all they say is that the offer they give will be very close to the one calculated on the net price calculator, and as such, there should be no problem with them surprising you with less aid. If you plug in your financial info into their net price calculator and it's too much for you to pay, then seriously, do not apply ed. That said I have heard of people denying their ed offer for financial reasons, and I'm sure you could get out of the binding commitment. However, I would not risk it. The potential benefits of ed are far outweighed by the possibility of being locked into paying more than you are willing/able to.
3

The Common App and every other app I’ve seen state if the FA offer is not sufficient you are allowed to decline and continue your application process. The disadvantage to applying ED is that you cannot compare FA offers. You can decline your ED offer and find out later that was the best one you received. No college can ever Compel a student to attend (or pay if you don’t attend).