<p>“ALL of the Binding Early Decision agreements that I reviewed stated that ALL other apps MUST be withdrawn upon submission. A principle must sign off as well as parents. It is a legal binding contract to attend upon admission.”</p>
<p>Please give us a link to one of these bizarre agreements; it makes no sense. Usually the counselor signs off on the ED application. I’ve never seen anything legal, no specification of damages or consequences for non-performance; that also makes no sense.</p>
<p>Thanks, devilbear, for a good explanation; I was making no progress. :(</p>
<p>Some feel that ED works best for the wealthy and the poor, at least at full-need schools, that the middle has the hardest time with the EFC. </p>
<p>Students at all levels like ED for removing college stress before the year-end break (when it’s successful!) and it usually gives at least a small admission boost at most schools (not necessarily at WU). But there are plenty in the middle for whom it works (after years of reading here).</p>
<p>Well, you appear to have your mind made up about how all these things work so it seems a little silly to try to explain any of the parts of it to you. I’m also not sure why you are calling other members here “sad” or spewers of a party line. We are all just stating facts. It is perfectly OK with me if you dislike the ED system, but I was just correcting what were factual errors about the application process.</p>
<p>As for debating the question of whom the ED program benefits, I would agree that people who have a little more financial flexibility and/or willingness to pay might be more apt to jump at this kind of opportunity. Notice I did not say wealthy people. There is a distinction between need and want: most top schools meet 100% of need as calculated by the FAFSA forms. But there are many families who want more than just what their need profiles would get them (I am guessing you are in this category - and that is totally cool). This is fine and is everyone’s choice. Some wealthy families jump at full-ride offers of need + merit money just as some middle class families take the opportunity to have their children attend top-notch schools where they may have to pay a little more (but not more than they technically can, if you believe the EFC numbers). Now, if you are arguing that the FAFSA and EFC numbers are flawed, that is a different story, and I have no expertise on the validity of these numbers. In our case, I thought they were pretty accurate.</p>
<p>For people who want a side-by-side comparison of the full financial picture (including all need-based and merit money) before making a choice, you are correct that ED is not a good idea. But can a middle class or even a poor family feel comfortable that a top school will meet their NEED (defined by FAFSA, not each individual family) if they apply ED? The answer is yes at most of the schools we have looked at. In fact, the very top schools (like Harvard, for example), are noted for their incredible financial aid. It really boils down to what the family is willing to take on for a certain school. This is not a flawed system; it is just one that doesn’t match up well with your priorities.</p>
<p>…As for debating the question of whom the ED program benefits, I would agree that people who have a little more financial flexibility and/or willingness to pay might be more apt to jump at this kind of opportunity…</p>
<p>always was and is my point! Financial flexibility is such a nice word for rich!</p>
<p>Plagmah seems stubborn. No way he/she could be wrong. There have been studies done that compared FA offers from colleges for ED applicants to RD applicants and they have all shown there was no significant difference.</p>
<p>The rule for ED is that you can only apply to ONE school for ED. You can apply to other schools under RD (or ED2 if you get reject ED). No school has a RD application deadline earlier than Jan 1st and ED decisions come out Dec 15th.</p>
<p>and how do we find what our Applicant ID is? I don’t have any emails that have that information, and I can’t find it on my WUSTL account either.</p>
<p>i did the pre-application online to begin my application so i was automatically given a username/password and everything. my guess is if you submitted it via mail you may have to fill out what @smashace showed</p>
<p>I submitted everything online, and I have a username/password. However, I never received an Applicant ID number, and I wasn’t sure if the link that I posted above was for checking admission decisions also. If it isn’t, how do we find out about the decisions?</p>
<p>I’m also an ED applicant. I found out by logging into the WUSTL pathway <a href=“https://admissions.wustl.edu/pathway/Pages/login.aspx[/url]”>https://admissions.wustl.edu/pathway/Pages/login.aspx</a> using the username and password I had previously signed up with. There should be a link there that says something like Decision Notification on the sidebar when the decisions are available. You click on that and it will have a short paragraph saying whether you were admitted, denied, or waitlisted.</p>
<p>Good luck everyone! Hopefully I’ll see some of you next year!</p>
<p>agreed with thentheresme - just keep logging into your wustl pathway account. the day ED decisions was posted, i had probably checked 5x before that day (i know, i was a little obsessive) and the account had looked the same. when i logged in the ‘6th’ time there was a different screen that said something like ‘An admissions decision has been reached and you will notified by mail in the next week. You can also view your status by clicking the Decision Notification link on the left.’ I received an e-mail the next day saying that if I already hadn’t checked I should.</p>
<p>My advice: KEEP CHECKING! ED decisions were posted around 4:30pm so I suggest logging in every now and then, especially around 4:30-5. It could be any day and WashU probably won’t send e-mails out about it until the next day</p>