I’ve been accepted to Boston University with a nice financial aid package, but they need a decision on it by May 1st (before their deposit deadline, sadly). I’m still waiting to hear back from Brandeis, my top choice school, which sent out its first wave of notifications yesterday and may take until June to get back to me. I feel like I have a good chance of being accepted there, but if I don’t hear back by May 1st, I will accept BU’s financial aid package to ensure that I have somewhere to go come fall semester.
The problem is: what if I hear back from Brandeis after May 1st and they offer better financial aid than BU? Can I decline the financial aid package with BU? Is it possible? Legal? Surely not advisable, but we do what we must.
Should I contact BU about this? Would my pragmatism negatively affect my aid offer with BU? Any advice is welcome.
Of course. If you don’t go to BU, you don’t get the FA from BU. People go to School B after committing to School A all the time. Just notify BU that you’ve picked a different school if you get accepted to Brandeis. You may lose any deposit. Do NOT tell BU until after you’ve been accepted at Brandeis.
Thanks for the advice. So even if I accept loans as part of BU’s financial aid package, I’m not committed to them if I don’t attend the school? That’s my main concern. The way the financial aid award is worded, it sounds like accepting the package amounts to a commitment to attend. Also yes, I definitely wouldn’t tell BU until after Brandeis offers a better package, if they do.
@thumper1 I could try to ask BU for an extension of the matriculation decision, but I worry that will betray the fact that they aren’t my top choice (just a close second) and I’ve heard of aid being reduced for this reason. Since I suspect one of the reasons I heard back from BU so quickly/with a good aid package is because they anticipate a CC transfer student like me will jump at the chance to enroll, I’m hesitant to diminish that image.
After talking to others, it seems the safest course of action is to accept the financial aid package, hold off on the deposit until absolutely necessary, and hope Brandeis gets back to me before June. If acknowledgement of the financial aid package is equivalent to accepting admission, then I have until September to withdraw with a 100% refund (according to BU’s website). Seems like a solid plan, but I could be missing something.
If you accept the loans and don’t go to the school, you CAN’T borrow the money through that school. Even if you do go to BU and filled out all the loan documents and they processed and applied the loans to your tuition, you can STILL change your mind and they will back out the loans.
Are you on a waitlist for Brandeis? If so, and BU is your second choice and you will go there if you don’t get into Brandeis, you can accept BU. If you later get into Brandeis, you will probably lose your deposit at BU.
@thumper1 That’s true; colleges must understand that students are applying to different schools. I was thinking of a story I’d read about aid being reduced because a student made a request similar to the one we’re discussing.
@twoinanddone Thanks for spelling that out for me so clearly. That’s what I needed to hear-- that I can still back out of the loans if I decide not to attend. I wasn’t sure exactly how that would go down, and I really appreciate the advice. I’m not on a waitlist for Brandeis, just waiting to hear back about Fall transfer decision.
Thank everyone who replied to this thread. I’ve been freaking out a little bit about it, but now I feel better.