@twogirls “perhaps I did not express myself clearly”
No need to get harsh, or repeat yourself.
I must say I’ve been observing this forum for the past 4 years. While it is undoubtedly a tremendous resource, at the same time there is an under current that the “Old Guard” voice and status quo must be the correct way to proceed. The current movement towards timeliness and transparency in society will eventually drag this antiquated, inefficient college process along with it.
What was appropriate procedure and strategy 4 yrs ago may not be today and most likely will not be tomorrow.
Obviously just my 2 cents. Carry on.
@S3, if you mention the school(s), people can look at the stated ED policy and can better exchange thoughts with you. If things have changed, that will be evident, and we will all learn something from it.
Also, as someone relatively new here, I have found that the “Old Guard” knows their stuff, and things I disagreed with at first I soon came to understand were spot on. Example: Those that answer nearly every question with “What can you pay”?
@s3 I am confused by your points - applying ED obligates you to accept any offer they make to you. It makes no difference that you are sitting on 3-4 EA offers with financial offers in hand that may have been released by 12-15. You must take the ED offer since you initiated that contract with the ED school and indicated by the ED agreement that you would attend if offered. Having all of those other EA offers before seems a bit cruel to your child — you will see what could have been but you are already taken – you have committed to purchase without knowing the price. Backing out because you don’t like the price is breaking that contract. The chance you take for the first read of ED.
Maybe he/she is saying that if EA offers with good merit are received BEFORE the ED decision arrives, they would withdraw the ED application. That would be the only ethical way to do it. Of course, they you’d never find out if you would be have accepted and received FA or merit at the ED school. Either way, there is opportunity cost.
OP- if you are certain you will not qualify for FA (run the NPC’s to be sure) and you want or need merit aid, then your son should not apply ED. Also, your son shouldn’t apply ED unless he’s absolutely certain that is the school he wants. But you can apply EA and get some early acceptances (and offers) under your belt.
@s3 - I have to agree with the others…just because the timing is changing to where you might be able to see some EA offers before you have a ED decision doesn’t mean you can compare and decide. An ED commitment is just that a commitment.
And YMMV in terms of getting EA financial aid offers. Some schools simply do NOT send financial aid offers out with acceptances. The EA acceptance doesn’t need to be accepted u til May 1, so plenty of,schools are in no rush to package that aid early.
Many schools set a timeline for awarding EA financial aid, but around here, students last year waited and waited for some of those to arrive. Some came earlier than April like RD awards. But the folks we knew last year who applied EA did NOT receive packages until January, February, or even March. Some got their packages at the start of April just like the RD kids.
Sure…some EA schools will send packages out in December… but I wouldn’t hold my breath about that.
In addition, if you apply ED, your school counselor was part of the action. If you get accepted and don’t go, this will not bode well for future students applying ED from your HS. But then it sounds like that isn’t a concern for some folks.
I haven’t read that many schools are moving their FA priority deadlines or that they are planning to move up the financial aid decisions, for ED or EA. There was a quick news blurb that 5 schools (all different types) moved up their priority deadlines. Five. Both schools my kids attend have sent out reminders that FAFSA is open for filing, but both still have the priority deadline as Feb 15. I don’t think I’ll receive any notices about FA until late spring, just like it has been for the last 3 years.
Some of the CSS schools have always had a Nov 1 or Nov 15 deadline, and have sent the estimated awards when they’ve sent them (with ED, with EA, with rolling admissions, OR in April). Those awards may be final now, not estimated, because the CSS/FAFSA are completed and verified. That’s the only difference I see.
@s3 You have received advice. If you want to be unethical and harm future ED applicants from your student’s high school there is nothing we, the "old guard’, can do to stop you. Not a good example for your son or daughter.
The OP is NOT the one who is asking about leveraging EA offers with an ED offer.
That was a post by another poster.
Getting back,to,the OP.
I would agree that in your situation…no need based aid and only merit…that RD applications are the way to go…and perhaps,some EA applications. But not ED.
Yes, I am the OP and it appears the financial planner’s advice was correct. It was heartbreaking to hear we will not qualify for any financial aid. As far as Merit aid…I think the private schools will give something but not a huge amount. My son is a good student who has done everything right and has a good GPA. His highest EC is an Eagle Scout. But his profile is nothing like the thousands who post on this board who have all kinds of options. I know great kids like him are a dime a dozen. I was hoping to use ED as an advantage for him to get into the school of his choice. But now it looks like we will will have to forgo that and wait and see if we get any merit offers. I left the financial meeting feeling as if we can not afford college or at least would have to stick to CC or state schools. We have saved with the 529 plan but not 200K for four years of college. Its discouraging to say the least.
Last thought…I would call us “recession survivors.” It wasn’t easy but we did it. We have a great life and did everything right but the cost of health care and saving for our retirement did not leave us to the point where we could save that 200K for college. To learn that our family contribution is expected to be full payment is tough to take. My son continues to work very hard in school, has never missed a homework assignment and has always done the right thing. I was looking forward to him having that great college experience but when having to choose based on cost, I don’t see that happening. Not complaining…it was just a tough meeting.
Your son can have a great and rewarding college experience. He doesn’t have to go to a $50k a year school for that.
If he goes to a local state school or an OOS state school that costs less than that, he will still have great opportunities, if he takes advantage of all there is offered.
Post in the College Search and selection with your son’s stats and interests, and posters here can help identify some schools that might be a great fit, and more affordable.
Thanks for the encouragement but I believe that college is about so much more than the education. I know the state schools have great educations and better in some instances. Its just discouraging when we have good educations ourselves and work so hard. When the ACA was enacted our deductible went to 10K, we live in a very high tax state (NY) and are responsible for our own retirement (no union/pension plan). You begin to wonder what you are working for. It seems we’ve done it all wrong. We know it isn’t worth a second mortgage on our house or our son going into debt. Its hard to watch others getting great financial aid and going off to private schools with rich history and your child can’t, yet you’ve achieved more and worked harder but its just not enough. Please don’t blast me anyone…no need.
@Empireapple did you run the Net Price Calculators at your schools? FWIW our financial advisor also told us that we wouldn’t get any aid but we ended up getting a lot of it. The spread in the packages between schools was over 30K–as in, one school wanted us to pay 48K a year, and another wanted us to pay 14K. It was quite eye opening. Run the NPC’s if you haven’t already. You never know how they are going to count your assets.
But you are mistaken if you don’t think that there are tens of thousands of kids just like your son who have done “everything right” and are still making a decision based on cost. A young man I know ended up taking a merit offer from a school which left everyone (GC, teachers, neighbors) scratching their heads. He had MUCH more prestigious acceptances. But other than family and very close friends, few people know that one of his parents has a terminal diagnosis. Yes- they know the parent has been “in treatment” but they don’t understand that this family is going to be reduced to one breadwinner with younger children to raise and educate. So the eldest is beyond thankful that a “lower ranked school” was able to make the numbers work for him- he’ll get a BA without having to spend down his college fund which can then be used for the younger siblings.
Whenever you start feeling sorry for your kid- remember that there are folks in way worse circumstances. Kids who are commuting to a third tier state teacher’s college because someone needs to be home at the end of the day to take care of younger siblings. Kids who are going part-time because their job stocking shelves at Target is making the difference between paying the rent and the family being homeless.
Your son is going to have terrific options- once you all let go of the sense that you’ve been robbed. You’ve got a healthy income- and he’s going to go to college. Yeah!
That’s exactly what the private colleges expect for people in your situation, and some people feel that it is worth it. You have to do the math for yourself. I’m sorry this is the case.
That said, the public options in NY are pretty good. Depending on the major, some of Cornell’s land grant colleges are a great deal for New Yorkers. You might be able to do ED there at a land grant college. Perhaps go a few years public and transfer into another Cornell college at the private school price.
Depending on the major, sometimes Canada can be affordable. Other states with somewhat affordable colleges are Minnesota, either big at Twin-Cities, or small LAC at Morris. Truman State in Missouri, is a public liberal arts honors college that is very affordable.
College is very inexpensive in Israel, Germany and South Africa. If your child has a lot of APs, college can be done in 3 years. That might make some of the best OOS publics affordable. English Universities are 3 years, though they expect their students to come in with more than a US HS diploma. Again, APs are an accepted qualification at English universities.
Your son will have options. Once you have some stats and a budget come back and people can help you find good options. Good luck.
@Empireapple Run NPCs at some schools to see where you are really at. That said, there are TONS of excellent private schools that offer merit, focus on those. Please post your son’s stats in the college search section and the experts on this forum can help.
Can your son go college shopping without looking at the price tag? Probably not. So what, there are many options, really! Would you let him go clothes or car shopping without looking at the price? I bet no.