ok…sorry to sound dumb. what is ED,EA.RD, and EDll?
We knew that we would not be offered need-based aid. We ran the calculations beforehand. That is a moot point. We weren’t expecting any. This is why we researched only schools that offered merit aid and contacted the admissions office to ask if merit was awarded in ED round. It was. My daughter just only received the minimal amount which made it impossible for her to afford it with what we have determined we can contribute.
The original post I wrote just asked about the process to decline Early Decision as I had not heard back from the school and couldn’t find any info on how she was supposed to do it.
ok …got ED ( no, don’t have it but understand now) lol
Sorry, did not tag @jym626 in previous post.
@raven2016 - ED - Early Decision, EA - Early Action, RD - Regular Decision, EDII - Early Decision 2 (some schools offer a second round of early decision)
I just want to emphasize that I think was important–and a very good idea–that the OP’s daughter explicitly said in her ED admissions materials that she would not be able to attend the school without substantial merit aid. Honestly, if the school wasn’t going to grant the merit aid, they should have simply rejected her, or deferred her to RD.
The bottom line, though, is that colleges are not going to get into a legal wrangle over whether a student who has declined ED admission can afford to go to the school. I suspect that they are only likely to get angry and possibly punish the high school (and the GC) if a kid declines ED and then goes to another school that costs the same or more.
But @hunt they really have no way of knowing if the other school cost more since they don’t know what merit aid got offered (unless it is a no merit school). And if they have the time and inclination to track this student down, how do they know where the student enrolled?
I really think admissions offices have so many more important things to do than track down where students end who decline end up and try to punish their high schools. In the grand scheme of things, I really don’t think this is something productive that they would do.
Wow, quite a disingenuous way to use ED and skip out on your commitment. If you look at the Common Data Set for the school and see what % of students get non-need based aid, and calculate whether your D falls in that top % of the class, does it look like she is s good merit aid candidate? If you look at the average amount of aid offered, would it have been enough to be affordable? The ED “out” really isn’t intended for families fishing for merit aid.
If this is true at the school where OP’s daughter applied, why didn’t the school simply reject her when she explicitly told them that she was, in fact, fishing for merit aid and wouldn’t attend if she didn’t get it?
“If you look at the Common Data Set for the school and see what % of students get non-need based aid, and calculate whether your D falls in that top % of the class, does it look like she is s good merit aid candidate? If you look at the average amount of aid offered, would it have been enough to be affordable?”
The OP has previously answered both of these questions in the affirmative.
@intparent We asked the school about merit aid and applying ED BEFORE we applied. There was nothing disingenuous about it. What an incredibly rude and judgmental comment. Merit aid IS a form of financial aid. There was no fishing. This was my daughter’s top school and she chose to show her HIGH INTEREST. Yes, my daughter fell in the top of the class—35 ACT, 4.9 gpa. She was an excellent candidate for merit aid or we would never have applied at this school. They simply did not choose to give her the level of merit aid that would have made the school feasible for her which is absolutely no fault of the school or of my daughter’s.
You have no right to make a determination on who should use ED. That is between the family and the school–who we contacted before applying. The school itself stated that ED agreements are released if the families determine that after the AID package is offered they determine they cannot afford it.
I’ll refer you to my previous post that financial aid includes merit and need-based ACCORDING to the federal government AND the association of financial aid administrators…Financial aid is not just what YOU think it means. No one on CC can determine the definition of Financial Aid is something different than the official definition.
OP’s D did get merit aid. It just wasn’t the considerable amount of aid that they were hoping for.
The school may not have noticed the “fine print” that student supplied with her materials, explaining how she wanted to negotiate the terms of the school’s ED policy. Or the school may have felt they were offering enough aid to a family that is well enough off to get zero need based aid. Or maybe the school thought that despite the lower merit award, the student would still be able to come up with the money to attend.
So there are reasons why a school might not just reject the student, though I agree w/ Hunt that a rejection or RD would have been a better alternative…
Not only has OP said that the student’s stats were in the upper range, she said that the school did offer merit aid. Simply not enough to make the school affordable for them. So clearly, she was a viable contender for merit aid.
thank ya ClaremontMom!
Can this thread be closed? The OP’s question has been answered.
@txserenity I commend you on your graciousness and patience in responding to posters!
@txserenity I agree with @TheStig2. You have been honest and gracious and endlessly patient. I wish you and your daughter the best.
The situation has been thoroughly discussed and at this point any further discussion should be between the OP and the school. Closing thread.