Not really sure where to ask this question, so I thought I would ask it here.
If I apply to a private school Early decision while stating that I will be looking for financial aid and get in but they decide that I don’t qualify for need based aid but refuse to offer any merit based aid, can I reject that school and still go to another private school or public state school out of state?
In general if you are in a position where you need to compare financial offers then applying ED anywhere is a bad idea.
Yes is the answer
Yes, you can withdraw from your ED if you do not receive sufficient FA, but you should run the NPC on the school before applying. If it is unaffordable with the NPC, then I would not apply ED. NPC estimate may not be correct if your parents are divorced or own a business.
What are your benefits of applying ED and what is the downside? Map it out and decide,…
@Gumbymom @ClarinetDad16 Is turning down an ED acceptance legitimate if they refuse to offer merit aid after acceptance? I guess what I am saying is that I really like this University and they have some fantastic merit based scholarships, but their NPC seems to indicate I won’t quality for any need based aid. If they offer merit aid, I would love to go there if accepted, but there are cheaper out of state and private schools out there. I am thinking of applying ED because I fit their profile, and their ED acceptance is significantly better than their Regular.
If their NPC asks for stats and you don’t get sufficient aid in your EFC then your record isn’t good enough. Yes, you can still decline.
@darth1289 - is the ED rate truly higher - or are the numbers skewed by the recruited athletes and legacy applicants being part of the early decision pool?
@ClarinetDad16 Good point. Don’t really know. but then who can really answer that question conclusively? I think I saw some university communication somewhere that did say that they did give preference to kids who applied ED. That is why I am thinking of applying early decision, but I cant go there without merit aid.
Yes, you can do this, but if you really need the ED boost, you might not be competitive for merit scholarships. In addition, in some cases, merit aid will not be determined by the time of the ED decision, particularly for competitive scholarships. Thus, you might be in a position to be accepted to your dream school but not receive sufficient merit aid, in which case you would have to withdraw. Withdrawals generally have to be made promptly - I don’t think a school would be thrilled if you got accepted by Dec. 15th or so and then waited until March to withdraw. Be aware that schools are allowed to share your ED decision with other schools, so if you adapt this strategy and wait too long before pulling out, there is a risk (although it might be a slight one) that your ED school to tell other schools what you have done. Moreover, your high school might be impacted if you don’t withdraw promptly.
they decide that I don't qualify for need based aid but refuse to offer any merit based aid, can I reject that school and still go to another private school or public state school out of state?
[/QUOTE]
It is a very good thing that you’re asking this question NOW, and not in Dec or Jan. Yes, you can reject the school.
BUT…your post suggests that you suspect that you may not qualify for enough FA. Then you ask about other schools, including OOS publics.
Are you aware that many schools that will give you LARGE merit will have scholarship deadlines that are in November and December? So many EA and ED kids don’t realize that. Then in late Dec or early January, when they find out that their ED or EA schools won’t work out, they sadly find out that they’re TOO LATE to apply to the schools that will give them LARGE merit.
So…go ahead and apply to your ED school now, BUT…also soon submit your apps to the other schools that will give you LARGE merit, so that you’ll have those back-ups in case your ED school doesn’t work out.
Would you like a large merit scholarship school as a back up??
Do you know how much your parents will pay each year?
What are your stats?
@mom2collegekids They will pay for instate school costs. Either school or i have to make up the difference if i want to go out of state. I want to go to the best school i can afford. So i will take an instate school over a merit school if its a mediocre school. My stats guarantee admission to a good state school.
<<<
or i have to make up the difference if i want to go out of state.
[/QUOTE]
YOU can only borrow $5,500 for frosh year. You won’t be able to “make up the difference,” if the difference is very much.
So i will take an instate school
[/QUOTE]
What is your home state? what are your stats?
Most schools use merit aid to lure kids who have high stats (relatively speaking) and might go elsewhere, usually a higher ranked school. So schools have little incentive to award merit aid to ED candidates.
I know someone who was recruited by a well know women’s college that she would get full-tuition if she applied ED. She did and she did. This was a merit award to attract inner city kids, but her parents weren’t poor. They would have qualified for some aid, but not the full tuition.
To answer the OP’s question, yes you can turn down the ED school for financial reasons. But what you can’t do is hang onto the offer of admission from the ED school while you shop around to see if you get a better offer from another school. The ED school will give you a relatively short amount of time to decide yes or no. If you say no, you are done with that school. OP: does the school in question even offer merit aid? Many highly selective private colleges and universities offer only need based aid and no merit aid.
At most colleges, merit aid is awarded in the spring, long after ED decision dates have passed. Applying ED, you are very unlikely to have any idea about merit aid when you have to decide.
@midatlmom You raise an important point. If merit award decisions are not made at the time of the ED decision, then i cant accept the ED admit. Looks like I’m locked out of the ED pool for this school. I checked the school site after you raised the point and it looks like they only notify applicants about need based aid at the time of the decision. Merit decisions are only made in spring. Hmm. I’m going to have to apply RD to this school.
@Corinthian Yes they offer merit aid and they are a very competitive school.
@BobWallace Very true!! I’m glad i caught that subtlety now. One decision made. only fifty more to go 