<p>My D is trying to decide whether to apply anywhere ED. Our situation is that we will not qualify for any need-based financial aid. We could put a crowbar in our wallet and pay sticker price for her to attend a private school, but we would rather get a deal if we can.</p>
<p>By applying ED, are we basically saying to the school, "We will come to this school and pay full freight no matter what, so name your price!"? Do they give merit aid to people who apply ED (if the applicant isn't amazingly gifted), or does applying ED take you out of the running for merit aid because they know they have already secured your commitment?</p>
<p>I ask because it seems to me that if our D applied ED to her dream school, it would cost us dearly, whereas she might score some merit aid if she waits for RD. Alas, I can't seem to get anyone to offer me an opinion on this, as most people I know are wringing their hands over need-based FA or are so wealthy that they do not care.</p>
<p>Also, I notice that in the ED stats for some schools (Duke, Bucknell), the ED admitted number is higher than the ED enrolled number. About 5-10 people who were admitted ED don't show up in the frosh class. Why would that be? People backing out of their ED commitment because of a poor financial aid package?</p>
<p>If it's binding, I wouldn't apply ED because while you could still get some merit aid, you've already said to the school that you're willing to go no matter what the cost. Most schools will pursue the applicants who they want, but aren't as set on attending- it gives the students more of an incentive to attend the university.</p>
<p>I would look at a school that has non-binding ED (there are actually some schools that require you to apply early to receive some of the big merit scholarships). I applied to a university ED and received a full ride through that process, so applying ED DOES NOT take you out of the running for merit aid and, in some non-binding ED cases, it probably helps because it shows that you're really interested in attending the school.</p>
<p>As for the ED stats, I have no idea why this is, but I would assume it probably is people backing out of the ED commitment.</p>
<p>I hope this helps!</p>
<p>"By applying ED, are we basically saying to the school, "We will come to this school and pay full freight no matter what, so name your price!"? Do they give merit aid to people who apply ED (if the applicant isn't amazingly gifted), or does applying ED take you out of the running for merit aid because they know they have already secured your commitment?"</p>
<p>No. You're saying that this school is your first choice, and you're 100% sure of that. You will probably get financial aid from your ED school, unless your family has the financial means to pay for the entire thing without financial aid, in which case they won't give you much. If what they give you is seen as inadequate by both you and the college, you can back out, but if it is adequate, you have to accept it, even if you don't really want to pay the price. When it comes to merit aid, it depends on whether the college gives merit-based aid or not. For example, Swarthmore College gives no merit-based aid (with one very tiny exception). </p>
<p>NACAC</a> Early Decision and Early Action: Does the Early Bird Get the Worm?</p>
<p>The answer to your last question is yes, the college didn't give them adequate aid.</p>
<p>Schools who have ED will give merit aid if they give merit aid to RD students as well. They will also give need based aid to ED students. The problem is that when you apply ED, you don't have thing to compare it to to know if it is a good offer or not. If you are looking for a good financial aid package, you are better off waiting until the RD round. And yes, that might mean your daughter may have a harder time being accepted. So you need to decide which is more important to you - a better chance at her getting into her dream school or a chance to weigh different aid packages? </p>
<p>Our personal experience - son was an excellent candidate at a top school that does not provide merit scholarships. Since he would be attending school at the same time as an older brother, we HAD to look at different fin. aid packages. Son eventually was waitlisted at his top choice. I think he would have been admitted had he applied ED. However, he is currently attending a school where he is very happy and we know that we can manage financially. If your daughter chooses schools carefully, she will likely be happy wherever she ends up even if it is not her #1 choice. And you will be happy knowing that you have a much better handle on the finances.</p>
<p>D applied to a fairly expensive school ED last winter. I had the same reservations as the OP. I flat-out asked the admissions counselor about the impact of applying ED in the FA awards; and was told it had NO effect. We filled out Profile based on estimates and ended up with a small-ish need based package (just about 100% of calculated need, which was not much). When filing FAFSA on Actual information I discovered a relatively material difference between Actuals/Estimates. I spoke to the FA office about it, they recommended I request a review of the package. (so, at this point, d had already been accepted, we had paid the deposit, etc). When the package was reviewed D was actually awarded a Merit award for greater than the original needbased award.</p>
<p>A long winded way to say, 1) ask the school flat out what their policy is (although you should take the answer with a grain of salt); and 2) in our personal experience, the ED commitment made no difference.</p>
<p>While most schools say that ED candidates are considered for merit aid, these schools have no incentive to give aid to these applicants. There's no harm in asking schools what their policy is, but if they claim that ED applicants are equally competitive for merit aid, then you should ask for supporting statistics. Make sure that you emphasize that you are interested in merit based, rather than need based, aid as they are otherwise likely to misunderstand or even knowingly dodge your question.</p>