<p>Congrats to your daughter, ccsmom! My D loved her first studio too (was in it for five semesters) but one of the beauties of Tisch is the chance to train at more than one studio and she really gained a lot from and loved her second studio where she spent three semesters. I think your D will get a lot out of this new experience. Bravo of to her for being accepted to Classical Studio as it wasn’t easy at all! :)</p>
<p>“I feel strongly that if … their ability to attend a college is dependent on the FA offer, they should not apply ED as it is meant to be a binding commitment.”</p>
<p>And I feel strongly that ED is not only for the well-to-do who can pay full list price. For someone who has a clear first choice school above all others, who wants only to know if they can afford it, who doesn’t care about comparing FA offers, ED can give a slight admissions boost at some schools, which may be important at the “dream” school. Plus, I want applicants to know the rules.</p>
<p>At the same time, we should point out colleges that practice retribution in cases of their financial aid offers being insufficient to support attendance; please do! 
They deserve it!</p>
<p>I like Dickinson’s statement, and wish more schools would say this up front:
[Dickinson</a> College - Early Decision](<a href=“http://www.dickinson.edu/admissions/apply/Early-Decision/]Dickinson”>Early Decision | Dickinson College)</p>
<p>To me, it doesn’t make sense for a college to offer less aid to ED applicants, because colleges like ED for two reasons: to lock in full list payers, and to lock in top academic talent; schools want these accepted ED FA applicants so much that they’re willing to take a financial “loss.” By offering less aid at ED time, schools can lose the talent they’re looking for, and nurture a bad reputation as well. But, again, we should point out schools that do this; please do! They deserve to be named.</p>
<p>vossron, I agree that students should know the rules. And I agree that ED favors students who are not in need of aid as they are free to accept any offer of admission (which is unfair). Some schools, as you know, have done away with ED, partly for this reason, and have gone to EA instead which is non-binding and a way for students to still find out early in the season. </p>
<p>However, I still am of the opinion that the concept behind applying ED is meant for those who are ready to commit. </p>
<p>As you know, the topic has been debated all over the internet and on CC! :D</p>
<p>The whole POINT of ED – for students and for the schools – is that both the students and the schools know that School X is the absolute, unequivocal, first choice. Thus, only one application and if the student is admitted, he or she is to attend that school.
Because financial aid offers mattered a great deal to our family, my daughter chose not to apply for/audition at any one program. She and her family wanted to have all the offers on the table, so that we could compare them. </p>
<p>I don’t think it’s so much that a school that has an ED application in front of it is less motivated to provide more financial aid, though I guess that could be the case. It is that there is NO basis for comparison. And let me tell you: once all my D’s offers were on the table, they varied quite wildly, even though our family’s EFC was exactly the same! Some schools saw fit to offer more scholarships and grants, and some (of the same or more cost), thought loans were the right “financial aid” for our family.</p>
<p>I think that unless you are ready to accept whatever you get from a school, you should avoid applying ED. It defeats the purpose of the ED.</p>
<p>Re: transferring to another studio - would be interested in how competitive each studio is to transfer into.</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>“As you know, the topic has been debated all over the internet and on CC!”</p>
<p>Indeed, and every new OP deserves to hear all sides. :)</p>
<p>“I think that unless you are ready to accept whatever you get from a school, you should avoid applying ED.”</p>
<p>I agree completely; ED needing FA should ONLY be attempted by those with one top-choice “dream” school.</p>
<p>vossron, agree that every newbie deserves to hear all sides about ED and wasn’t attempting to close off discussion! I mostly meant earlier that this thread is about Tisch Drama and so the topic of ED itself could make its own thread entirely as there is much debate about it. :)</p>
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<p>I don’t have the answer or numbers for you on this. But just in case you didn’t read them, posts $28 and #40 on this thread are informative. :D</p>