<p>So then let me get this straight…(none of my kids applied ED). Can students send ALL of their other applications out at the same time as the ED application OR is it just to rolling admissions/their state public universities? I KNOW they can’t send other ED applications out…but exactly WHERE can they apply concurrent with their ED applications so the do NOT miss merit aid deadlines should they be denied admittance to their ED schools?</p>
<p>Yes, Thumper, most of the time, the college counseling dept secretary at the high school LOVES getting the stuff early because that means less to be dumped on her later. It’s easier to do all of one kid’s stuff at the same time. To be giving the secretary a batch of apps by deadline means s/he is pulling up those same files repeatedly. They love it when they get a student’ stuff before that crunch time. </p>
<p>Now every once in a while you may get a secretary who has a different system, so really, you have to check with the school’s way of doing things. One of the things that I find stupid about all of this is that you get all of the info and face time with the college counselor who is all experienced and has it all under control, when in reality, it’s poor overloaded Mr/s X, the secretary who is physically dealing with your kid’s stuff and s/he may not feel the same way as the counselors. Sort of like the moving companies that send the guy in the professional suit with the briefcase to give you the estimate and get the contract signed, and then on moving day…you meet the actual movers. </p>
<p>My kids tended to send their stuff in two batches. All of the 12/31 and earlier deadline stuff, and then maybe another group in March. However if you hit the secretary up the day before common EA/ED deadlines, s/he may refuse to do the schools without such deadlines if she is simply overworked and has her hands full with those packages that HAVE TO get out that week. Not that it gets better for the 12/31 deadline, in my opinion, but sometimes, they will refuse to do more than what has to get out that day, making more work for themselves in that they have to pull out the stuff and copy it again.</p>
<p>Thumper…maybe the confusion is this: There’s a difference between what ED kids can do and what they actually do. </p>
<p>they can apply to rolling admissions, EA, etc, in the fall…and some do. However, too often they are distracted by the whole intense ED timeframe, they aren’t even aware that there are scholarship deadlines out there for safety schools because safety schools admissions deadlines are much further out.</p>
<p>I vaguely recall something about rolling, but I can’t remember what it is. If you apply ED and early to rolling and you get your rolling acceptance, and then you get your ED acceptance…I can’t remember if you have to drop that rolling acceptance in the same prompt way that you have to withdraw apps at other schools where you haven’t been accepted yet. </p>
<p>Frankly, the whole ED process has become a sham since it’s become quite clear that you can decline if the money is bad. ED should change to SCEA.</p>
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<p>Yes…you are supposed to withdraw any pending applications and inform other schools where you have already been accepted (EA or Rolling) that you will not be attending their school…if you get accepted to your ED school.</p>
<p>The biggest rub is…you may actually GET a better offer from your ED school than the others. You have no way of knowing if you apply ED .</p>
<p>So…if finances are a consideration and you want to COMPARE your bottom line costs…don’t apply ED.</p>
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<p>thumper, they can send out all of their applications, be it rolling, public university, private university, scholarship app, whatever. Some ED applicants want the entire thing to be over and done with, so they submit all of their applications by the time they do the ED app. Others submit just to schools/programs/scholarships with application deadlines before the ED decision date, and then hold the rest of their (completed) RD applications until after ED date–that saves on app fees. And, of course, some just put in the ED app and then have to scramble if they get bad acceptance or FA news.</p>
<p>If you are accepted ED and accept the ED offer, then you must withdraw all other applications and acceptances, be they RD, rolling, or publics with early deadlines. </p>
<p>My understanding is that some of the SCEA schools are much more restrictive on filing other early apps than the ED schools are. I seem to recall that you are allowed to apply to your own state’s school if the deadline comes before SCEA decision day, but not necessarily to other publics, or even possibly for some privates that have early scholarship deadlines. Though those rules seem to vary between different SCEA schools. mom2collegekids, if ED schools were to change to SCEA and have those sorts of restrictive rules, that’s no improvement. </p>
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<p>That’s not just the fault of the students–I blame the parents as well. Students (at least the usual 17 year old variety) cannot apply ED without parental permission. The parent has to sign an ED agreement, stating that they understand the ramifications of ED. Sure, there are parents who don’t get it…but it does give parents power over the application process. A parent can insist that the student submit other applications prior to the ED app, and that the student have their other applications ready to go. Heck, I could probably have insisted that D1 wash the windows and cook dinner every night until right before the ED deadline. </p>
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<p>Yet most families don’t decline an ED acceptance. If tons of students were turning down ED offers, then colleges would drop the program, because it wouldn’t be doing the job of boosting their yield rates. I suspect that there are more families who end up taking less-than-optimal ED FA packages because they think the package is a great one, or because their kid is over the moon at being admitted.</p>
<p>Hey OP, if you’re still reading: you definitely want to dig into the details of the Emory FA program. Ask tons of questions on the Emory forum, talk to FA counselors, find out if you can get an early read. I’d also suggest to your parents 
that they set a budget…and they set it a bit lower than what they can really afford. If they can afford $5k a year, they should tell you that you can apply ED to Emory, but that you can only accept if the COA is $4k. Then if the FA package says you’ll have to pay $5k, they’ll be able to look like they’re stretching a bit. But if it comes in at $10k a year, that’s out of range. Check with the Emory forumites to see if Emory would reconsider FA packages at all during ED, or if they were more willing to do so during RD.</p>
<p>@happymomof1 Thank you so much for the formula. You have no idea how grateful I am. lol.
Our adjusted gross income is around 42700 but my parents said there’s a difference between that and our actual income (which is around 50000, sorry for that…) Oh, and what’s qualified as assets? Is it how much money we have saved in the bank, house, and cars?? Btw, does the EFC calculates the expected amount your family has to pay for all 4 years or just one year? </p>
<p>ED sounds really risky according to many answerers who have had experience with college admissions here. Thanks a lot you guys for the great advice. I will definitely put them to good use ^^ Oh, I didn’t even know that we have to use income tax of 2011 for college admission this upcoming year…I thought that by the time we do income tax, it’d be too late because regular decisions are usually in December…umm…Oh, and the reason I’m asking so many questions on this forum is because I have no one in my school to advise me on such things. My school counselors can barely help high school kids with their schedule problems let along with college admissions (they messed up with a lot of seniors’ schedules and college admissions this year)</p>
<p>MySweetMelodies, people here LOVE to help. Please ask away!!!</p>
<p>EFC is indeed just for one year. Everyone seems to go through a similar experience of running the calculator, thinking “surely this must be for all four years”, and then learning that no, that’s just one year’s contribution. :eek: </p>
<p>The FAFSA won’t ask about things like cars and house equity, but the Profile form will ask for all of that information. Savings accounts in either your name or your parents’ name count as well, though retirement savings are generally not considered. There are nuances and details to all of this, but you don’t need to know all of that yet.</p>
<p>You have to use an estimate when you do PROFILE a lot of times when the due date for that form is before you have the full information for the 2011 calendar year. You then resubmit the corrected the form. The same with the FAFSA, though it is not even available till 1/1/2012 for the 2012-13 school year because sometimes folks don’t have all of the info yet available, and have tax extensions but they still have to go by the school deadlines to file something for consideration.</p>
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I, for one, come to the opposite conclusion, because of this consideration:
Again, this applies only if you have, by far, a number one choice, a dream school, when you care only if you can afford it, and don’t care about comparing offers from other schools that you’d rather not attend. If you’re admitted ED to, but can’t afford, your top choice, you sadly say thanks but no thanks, and continue preparing and submitting your RD apps, where you have indeed been watching their various deadlines.
Not at all. Allowing the offer to be declined is the only way schools can attract top ED applicants who need financial aid. Schools clearly like ED so they can lock in money from full-pay students, but they also want to lock in top talent that they’re willing to take a financial “loss” on, so they must provide the easy “out.”</p>
<p>Few students decline ED. The problem is that you do have that hot bird in the hand that you so want and you will try to make it work with no idea as to what the other options are. And it;s often a pain in the neck to decline, as you will want to see if the school can give you more money and there could be a big back and forth as well.</p>
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Yes, if the applicant creates the pain, by appealing the too-small award. Otherwise a simple “thanks but no thanks” suffices. But then who wouldn’t appeal to their dream school? The same thing applies at RD time if the FA award is too small, but then there may be other offers to present to the dream school. So does the applicant want the possible admission boost at the dream school that ED often confers?</p>
<p>I’m just wondering I’m a permanent resident here in US (permanent green card holder), if I apply to Emory and my family income is less than 50k, assuming I’ll get accepted, will Emory provide me a full financial aid package? </p>
<p>Or I must be Georgia resident in order to receive any financial aid?
Thanxx</p>
<p>Emory is a private U so it doesn’t matter what state you are from.</p>
<p>*Though those rules seem to vary between different SCEA schools. mom2collegekids, if ED schools were to change to SCEA and have those sorts of restrictive rules, that’s no improvement. </p>
<p>*</p>
<p>I may not know all the rules for SCEA, so I may be wrong…but I prefer SCEA over ED because (I think) you still get the FA package in the spring…so (if that’s true), then none of the pressure to accept/reject FA offers by themselves.</p>
<p>I don’t know if SCEA means that you can’t apply elsewhere RD. It thought it just means that you can’t apply ED/EA elsewhere.</p>
<p>Few students decline ED.</p>
<p>That could be since many affluent people take advantage of it. But, if you were to look only at those who earn - say 120k and below, you might see a highish number of declines.</p>
<p>*Quote:
Frankly, the whole ED process has become a sham since it’s become quite clear that you can decline if the money is bad. </p>
<p>==================</p>
<p>Not at all. Allowing the offer to be declined is the only way schools can attract top ED applicants who need financial aid. Schools clearly like ED so they can lock in money from full-pay students, but they also want to lock in top talent that they’re willing to take a financial “loss” on, so they must provide the easy “out.” *</p>
<p>I agree that ED needs to have a decline mechanism for those who don’t get the FA they need. But, since you can decline by saying you can’t afford it (whether you can or can’t), it really isn’t what it was intended to be anymore. And, yes, it’s a way to lock in full pay affluent students (that was the initial reason…lol)</p>
<p>*[ED applicants] apply to rolling admissions, EA, etc, in the fall…and some do. However, too often they are distracted by the whole intense ED timeframe, they aren’t even aware that there are scholarship deadlines out there for safety schools because safety schools admissions deadlines are much further out. </p>
<p>That’s not just the fault of the students–I blame the parents as well. Students (at least the usual 17 year old variety) cannot apply ED without parental permission. The parent has to sign an ED agreement, stating that they understand the ramifications of ED. Sure, there are parents who don’t get it…but it does give parents power over the application process. A parent can insist that the student submit other applications prior to the ED app, and that the student have their other applications ready to go. Heck, I could probably have insisted that D1 wash the windows and cook dinner every night until right before the ED deadline. </p>
<p>*</p>
<p>Oh I agree…but many parents aren’t aware that there are earlier deadlines for big scholarships at safety schools because the app deadlines are so much later.</p>
<p>This is where I think many GCs are not doing their jobs. Every GC should insist that every student apply to at least one financial safety school. At my nephew’s school in Calif, the GC requires that every student apply to at least one CSU and/or CC that he/she can commute to. If a parent complains, the GC has the parent sign some kind of paper outlining the risk of not having a cheap safety. </p>
<p>BTW…so far, only one parent signed such a paper, and lo and behold, that child got all rejections…and had to quickly apply to an OOS school that was still taking apps and has EZ acceptances…the family is paying thru the nose for their stubborness.</p>
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<p>A good idea, depending on the nature of the student body…and the student and parents, for that matter. I agree that something like this might prevent a lot of heartache, but I personally would’ve been rolling my eyes like mad and posting here on CC about the GC’s ridiculous insistence on something that was totally unnecessary for our family. </p>
<p>Poor GC’s, they’re damned if they do and damned if they don’t. :)</p>
<p>* but I personally would’ve been rolling my eyes like mad and posting here on CC about the GC’s ridiculous insistence on something that was totally unnecessary for our family.*</p>
<p>Yes, for some it will be unnecessary, but by having the parent sign the paper, it just makes sure that the parent isn’t operating under some “old info” about school cost, acceptance rates or just wild-haired ideas concerning financial aid. </p>
<p>No GC wants to later hear, “Why didn’t someone tell us that USC now costs $55k+ per year to attend?” (I’m reminded of my neighbor ( a UIUC grad) who had no idea that room and board can cost $10k-15k per year…he knew tuitions had risen at various schools, but he thought R&B would just be a couple thousand at most.)</p>
<p>I’m sure if the student/parent shows that the child has another sure-fire safety then that is fine too.</p>
<p>But, even the affluent sometimes find that they need to attend a safety because some unforeseen fiasco occurs…divorce, income drop, health issue, etc.</p>
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<p>First and foremost GC are not paying anyone’s college tuition outside of their own kids , so it is not their job to insist that any family do anything because at the end of the day, they cannot tell a parent/family how they should spend their money. I personally do not impose my values or what I would do for** my child** on my students or my parents, because my situation is not their situation and I only know of their situation what they are willing to tell me.</p>
<p>The GC’s job is to advise the student. That does not mean that the student will take the advice given. At the end of the day, the college application and financial aid process belongs to the student and his/her family.</p>
<p>You would be suprised at the number of students and parent who do either do not want to talk about their finanicals with the GC because they feel that it is “none of their business” or will tell the GC that they are not worried about the money.</p>
<p>In NYC the financial safety is CUNY. However, unless a student is applying to the Honors College or needs one of the less than 10 fee waivers that we get as a school, the CUNY application, requires absolutely no input from the school or the guidance counselor. The student fills out the application on line, puts in their student ID # an the transcript is automatically downloaded from the NYCDOE . They submit their SAT scores directly to CUNY. I could tell a student to make sure that you apply to CUNY and they could yes me to death and then go and do whatever they please.</p>
<p>Ad far as a student sending in their rolling admissions application along with the ED application and RD applications, we will allow them to do it. However, we will not send out any transcripts other than SUNY until we hear from the ED school. If a student is accepted to an ED school, we will not send out any RD applications until the student is given a release in writing from the ED school. Since most RD schools, do not need the transcript until ~ Feb 15, and even then they will grant a professional courtesy, no on is on the hook.</p>
<p>Great explanation of a large school system process Sybbie. And I’m surprised NY has the autorouting of the transcripts. Very neat.</p>