Hi,
I want to apply ED for American University but the. binding part makes me nervous because if I don’t get enough financial aid I can’t go and I’m unsure if I can back out. Does anybody know if generally when you apply ED you get more financial aid? I just don’t want to have to commit to a school I can’t pay for.
You can back out if it is not affordable. Run the net price calculator to see an estimate of what they’d charge first.
Definitely apply to some affordable colleges early, also.
A case could be made that you may get less aid with ED since they don’t have to entice you. You can back out if the school is unaffordable. Do run the Net Price Calculator to see if it makes sense to apply.
The problem with backing out of ED is that you don’t have the opportunity to compare aid, and it could be that you back out in December, and then find that the options you have in April are even more costly than the offer you backed out of. There is not always a clear line between “affordable” or not – a lot of people have to do a little bit of stretching to meet college costs that were higher than hoped for… but still better than other options.
American University does not promise to meet full need. Less than half of students who are determined to have need have their full need met – so there’s a fairly high likelihood that your aid will come up short, and ED students don’t have any leverage to appeal or negotiate for better packages.
So bottom line-- not a good idea to apply ED if you need significant aid to attend.