<p>You should NOT apply to ANY college Ed UNLESS:
1] you/ YOUR PARENTS can afford to pay full freight AND
2] it should be one of your FIRST CHOICE colleges- one that you would be THRILLED to go.
Do NOT try to “game” the system by applying ED
1]if you will NEED to compare financial aid offers from many colleges or
2]you are not sure you want to be committed to attending the ED college.</p>
<p>Too many students make the mistake of applying ED, then trying to wriggle out of the ED committment because they change their mind. This happens every year, and inevitably leads to regret.</p>
<p>I agree that you need to be educated and informed before you add/drop any more colleges–do some more research and really get to know the unique characteristics of each school. Read the Fiske’s Guide for objective (yet very rosy-colored and positive) information about each school but complement it with Insider’s Guide and College P r o w l e r (read that as one word, as CC censors it if I type it as one word without spaces) that actually have genuine student opinion from those who attend the school.</p>
<p>Also check out this website (but put the students review as one word, I can’t write it as one word or else CC censors it)–
www students review com</p>
<p>Sometimes bitter students like to go on there and rant about how their school stinks and screwed them over but a lot of them are positive too and offer insightful perspectives that you will find helpful. I know I checked out Rice’s and it really reinforced my excitement to go there this fall!</p>
<p>dude i envy you soooooo much lol :P…are should anything be a reach for you? you have perfect gpa, basically perfect sat score, good ecs, and on top of that, your taking really rigorous courses…imo nothing is a reach for you, it is just the matter of chance whether you get in or not</p>
<p>to menloparkmon, Cornell which she said is his first choice will give him practically a full ride if his family income is 50,000 unless they have signifigant assets somehow. </p>
<p>That said you may not want to apply ED just in case so you can compare financial aid packages, but you should get a full ride from Cornell provided you get in since their new policy for students whose families earning under 75,000 is that they will graduate debt free.</p>
<p>Speaking of College P., Bowdoin is ranked the #1 school there this year, and has great stats for med school acceptance. Its also got a strong english dept and is ranked 7 in USNEWS. AND, most of the students are DEMOCRATS. You’d have an excellent chance there.</p>
<p>Prism123 - I’m female. But that’s okay, lol. When I read menloparkmom’s post, I decided to forego ED, but your post has given me hope! Thanks for the tip. I still have to talk about ED with my parents though… they might not be too thrilled with me making my decision so early.</p>
<p>voodoo_santa - Thank you for your comment, but I beg to differ. I don’t think that Williams or Pomona is a match for me, let alone Harvard or Stanford. Even those who win olympic medals, etc. cannot truly consider these schools as ‘matches’. :)</p>
<p>hotasice - I will make use of these websites to discover the personality of the schools I’m interested in. Thank you! I’m sure this will help me narrow my list down.</p>
<p>College P r o w l e r. Like another person on the thread said, CC sometimes edits it out cause it is a competitor of theirs. Its good cause it uses actual comments and rankings from current students…</p>
<p>Sorry about that, I did know you were female, and did use the correct pronoun earlier in that sentence, dunno why I slipped up later on in the same sentence. </p>
<p>But yeah whether or not to apply ED is definitely something that should be talked about with your parents, and definitely a decision that should not be taken lightly as it is binding.</p>
<p>I did not apply ED to Cornell because I was unsure about the financial aid but was told later that it is an advantage to apply ED and that schools won’t consider the ED binding if the financial aid offer is inadequate. But you should speak directly with an admissions officer at Cornell about this. However, they may be forced to say that ED is binding but I don’t think it is really binding if finances are a factor.</p>
<p>Hmm.. who gets to judge whether the FA is ‘adequate’ or not? That would be awesome if ED isn’t binding if finances are a factor. That negates the whole ‘don’t apply ED if you/your parents can’t pay out of pocket’ argument. :D</p>
<p>Another problem with ED is that on paper the chances look better, but a lot of that is cause of recruited athletes and other “special cases”… Just keep that in mind.</p>
<p>The financial aid package is based mostly on a formula. You can find online calculators for “EFC” “expected family contribution”. Plug in the numbers for your family to see if your EFC would make college affordable for you. EFC is how much you would pay out of pocket. </p>
<p>So, when you ANONYMOUSLY speak to the admissions and/or financial aid officer, you can say to them “I have an estimated EFC of x dollars and my family can afford this. I would like to apply ED because Cornell is my first choice. But, if the actual EFC from Cornell is much higher than this, I am not sure my family could honor the ED. What should I do?”</p>
<p>Alternatively, you could simply apply ED and then renege if Cornell turns out to be too costly. They won’t throw you in jail. There is no way to enforce ED. You would have a moral basis for reneging on the ED for financial reasons. This might be your best alternative.</p>
<p>Another point is that Parent PLUS Loans from the US Department of Education have very reasonable terms and can easily make up a financial shortfall. My parents took out Parent PLUS Loans although they did not need to because they were earning more money in stocks than the Loan cost in interest.</p>
<p>Have you considered UNC? Your stats might qualify you for their Morehead Scholars program, a wonderful scholarship program with extraordinary summer opportunities for those involved. I’d encourage you to at least check it out!</p>
<p>whoa collegehelp,
I think you are not helping by suggesting that students apply Ed, because "you could simply apply ED and then renege if Cornell turns out to be too costly. They won’t throw you in jail. There is no way to enforce ED. "
Colleges DO and CAN make life very inconvienent for those who take ED committments “lightly”.
1] Financial aid offers CAN INCLUDE LOANS, which means the student/ parent STILL has to eventually pay back the money they borrow.
2] The Ivy’s circulate list of accepted ED students to their peer colleges, so good luck trying to get an acceptance at another Ivy if you decline an ED acceptance at one.
3] students AND their college counselors have to sign the ED contract, and if a student from that HS then reneges on his ED acceptance, it would likely imperil acceptances from future students. Not too many reputable HS counselors will go out on a limb for 1 student.
THERE HAVE BEEN MULTIPLE POSTS WRITTEN EVERY YEAR ON CC pointing out why an ED application should not be taken lightly. I suggest everyone here do some research and read them.</p>
But that’s okay, lol. When I read menloparkmom’s post, I decided to forego ED, but your post has given me hope! Thanks for the tip. I still have to talk about ED with my parents though… they might not be too thrilled with me making my decision so early.</p>