<p>If one applies Early Decision, is accepted,but doesn't get any or little merit or FA,can they decline the acceptance even if they would never qualify for FA due to income and assets?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance</p>
<p>Read the college website fine print regarding ED. Some spell out quite clearly. Some make it more complicated that “gee thanks but no thanks.” Also look very closely at any dates mentioned relative to other schools of interest.</p>
<p>Here is an interesting article from the NY Times on how binding ED is, by Dr. Robert Massa, vice president for communications at Lafayette College:
[The</a> Case for Early Decision - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/13/the-case-for-early-decision/]The”>The Case for Early Decision - The New York Times)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>When your child applies early decision…it is with the understanding that your child will enroll if an offer of acceptance is made. However, you CAN decline the ED offer if school fails to meet your need. </p>
<p>If you don’t HAVE financial need…than an offer of no need based aid would meet your need. I doubt that the school can force your child to attend if you can’t pay the bill…but if you don’t have need…you really would have no basis for breaking the ED contract.</p>
<p>Re: merit awards…you would have to find out if the school even AWARDS it’s merit aid in time to make the ED decision. Some schools do NOT…merit awards come later.</p>
<p>Although schools can differ on their policies, ED is generally thought of as- student promises to attend if accepted in exchange for an early answer to his app.
Most feel a student should have all bases covered on finances before he makes that promise.</p>
<p>So, to broadly answer your question, they often can get out of it, but to specifically answer your question under those conditions a student completely lacking in integrity might be able to weasel out. THE key to your question- is if a student knows, going in, that he won’t qualify for FA. That is very different than a student expecting it. If a student knows in advance he does not qualify for FA, but applies anyway, it would be deceitful to use the “I didn’t get FA” as an excuse to renege.</p>
<p>To say that a FA package is inadequate- when a person is expecting zero FA is ridiculous. To honestly say it’s inadequate it would have to be less than one expected.</p>
<p>^^ Good point about aid expectations younghoss and one that is not often brought up.</p>
<p>
Not sure why (s)he would renege in this case. Why would one apply ED to a college that is not one’s first choice (unless one has a change of heart between date of application and notice of acceptance)?</p>
<p>So why not just skip the ED & if applicant applies to schools that give merit aid, wait and see what is offered? Be able to compare when April 1st arrives! </p>
<p>Even if merit aid received is only $10,000/year, that is $40,000.
If merit is $12,000/year that is $48,000.
If merit is $15,000/year that is $60,000. </p>
<p>No matter what your family’s income level, those amounts are a nice discount off the sticker price!</p>
<p>“Why not skip the ED”(post 8) sounds like a fine plan, but it doesn’t apply here because the OP has asked about a student that has already applied ED, and has been accepted. The Op’s question, is can he renege now?</p>
<p>Younghoss…I don’t think the OP’s student has already applied ED. He wants to know what will happen IF the student applies ED and doesn’t get merit aid.</p>
<p>I agree with others…the school will most definitely MEET this family’s financial need (which according to the OP…is zero aid). That being the case…they would have no basis to renege on the ED offer.</p>
<p>How many colleges with ED actually offer merit aid? Most seem to be FA only (maybe those are just the ones I keep reading about on CC).</p>
<p>I don’t know if student has really applied ED.
But I do know that the OP posed a question based on the premise that if a student has already been accepted ED, and got the FA expected($0), then can that student renege? </p>
<p>To try to answer the Op’s question we must offer suggestions limited to after the acceptance. That has been the context of my posts.</p>
<p>“Should a student apply ED?” Is a thought provoking question- but it isn’t what OP is asking.</p>
<p>One can always decline ED. even absent financial necessity, but there will be consequences (the ED school can’t make you attend, but it can make gaining admission to another school - - especially a peer-school - - difficult). One avoids those consequences if one declines b/c of financial necessity.</p>
<p>Failure to be awarded merit oney does not constitute financial necessity b/c merit money is awarded without regard for need (ie: given to kids whose amilies can pay full COA). And since merit money is often a sweetener to entice otherwise full-pay students to enroll, most (but by no means all) schools do NOT offer merit money to ED applicants b/c there’s no need to entice an applicant who has already signed a contract promising to enroll if s/he is offered a seat.</p>
<p>If one files a FAFSA (and CSS, if necessary) and FAFSA-EFC is equal to or greater than COA, how can family have legit expatation of receiving need-based aid? And if there’s no legit basis for expecting need-based aid, how can the failure to be awarded such aid be the basis for declining the ED offer of admission?</p>
<p>Fwiw, the student is NOT my child…Just asking a question for a friend…</p>
<p>^^ The simple answer is that no basis is necessary; the applicant simply declines the “offer” of zero aid; no questions will be asked. Perhaps requesting financial aid when none is indicated can decrease the chances of ED admission… ;)</p>
<p>Many of the ED schools are need blind. If a student requests financial aid, the admissions folk would have no idea how much they needed. Could be $100, or could be $50,000…wouldn’t matter if the school is need blind. NOW if the school is need AWARD…the level of financial need could very well impact the admissions because the need factor is seen by admissions folks somewhere in the admissions process.</p>
<p>P.S. Personal opinion…if a family is already trying to figure out what to do to NOT take an ED offer, perhaps the family should consider just having the student apply RD.</p>
<p>To thumper’s P.S., post 16: Absolutely!
Legally and morally, if a person isn’t sure they are willing and able to comply with a promise going in, then they shouldn’t make such a promise.</p>
<p>^ I also agree with Thumper. The family can always decline the ED acceptance but there could be fall out to the school (which is unfair to following classes).</p>
<p>The key thing, from my standpoint, is that if you decline ED for financial reasons (spurious or otherwise), you have to do it long before you hear from most other RD colleges. (You may have heard from a rolling admission school, but you are unlikely to have gotten word of any big merit scholarships yet.) So basically you are kissing your #1 choice goodbye in favor of What’s Behind Curtain #2 when What’s Behind Curtain #2 may well be nothing. </p>
<p>Surprise, surprise: very few people do that.</p>
<p>Also totally agree with thumper1. My kids did ED but this was with their instate schools. If you think you may need aid or are going to be dependent on merit to make it work,just don’t do it. EA,RD are much better options for most people unless you can do ED at very expensive schools and are willing and able to meet your EFC if accepted.</p>