<p>As I'm looking through college info, I saw in a guide that applying ED to the Ivies will not affect your financial aid package because they are all need-based.
However, I am considering non-Ivies, and I would like to know if applying early decision gives you a disadvantage in merit aid. When the college sees that you are committed to attend anyway, will they not try to offer you a more appealing package so that you don't go to a rival school? What happens if you apply EA?
I don't think that I will be getting much need-based aid either way, and just to clarify, I was wondering particularly about merit aid.</p>
<p>Thanks in advance for all of your advice.</p>
<p>You hurt your chances for merit aid when you apply ED. You are required to go to that college-why would they offer you money to go there? EA doesn't really matter as much, I think.</p>
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When the college sees that you are committed to attend anyway, will they not try to offer you a more appealing package so that you don't go to a rival school?
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<p>You have pretty much answered your own question. Ditto to what Warblersrule said, if the school knows that you have signed a binding agreement to come, there is no need to negotiate or give you their best package.</p>
<p>IF you apply EA, you still have the opportunity to compare packages with other schools which you have applied RD becasue you will not even get the aid package from the school unitl the RD decisions are mailed.</p>