<p>So it looks like I will be needing a lot of financial aid from some private colleges and universities, since my EFC is about $20000. I would like to apply early decision to one of my top schools, but I'm afraid that if I get accepted with little financial aid then I will be in big trouble.</p>
<p>SO should I even use early decision to help me make it into a school with a financial situation like this???? Thanks for the help!</p>
<p>A lot depends on your stats, your desirability as far as the school is concerned and your other options e.g. financial safety like your state school. </p>
<p>In general I would not advice anyone with large financial needs like you (about $35-40K) to do ED. However there are other posters in CC who believe it is worth the risk and that you can back out if the aid is not to your liking. If you name the school, someone may be able to give you specific advice (that school does not give good aid for ED or does give good aid etc), but in the absence of that, my suggestion is don’t.</p>
<p>OK that sounds like a good idea
Thinking about that topic, do schools generally give more ginacisl aid to people who apply early decision/early action?</p>
<p>The trouble with ED is you can’t compare offers. There was a post a while back where a student withdrew from the ED school because they did not think the FA was good enough, and then discovered later on that it was actually better than the other offers he received and it was not an option any more. It might not have turned out that way, but he had no way of knowing that at the time. So it is risky.</p>
<p>Post #4 is right. Unless you are applying ED to a place like Princeton that has some of the best financial aid in the country, you are taking a big risk because you can’t compare offers.</p>
<p>I disagree. If you run the EFC calculators, and the numbers you give it are good then you should have a pretty good idea of what aid you will need. The next important piece of information is, do the schools you are applying to meet full need. That is critical… then you need to understand how they meet that need with loans or grants. </p>
<p>It seems like you know your need, now find out how the school you are considering meet your need. You can always call the Financial aid office and ask also. they want people who are considering ED to have all the information they need or all the work admissions does could be wasted.</p>
<p>If you are applying ED, you are potentially giving up the opportunity to apply to schools with large merit scholarships. (By the time one would receive an ED rejection, it’s possible that the merit deadline at other schools has passed.)</p>
<p>Also, it’s possible that another “meets full need” would calculate your need differently, and give you a better package.</p>
<p>A school to which you are accepted ED has no incentive to give your aid package any sort of boost or other consideration. You are locked in.</p>
<p>If you need FA never apply ED.</p>
<p>^^I don’t totally agree with that Iron Maiden. If a student is applying to a college that meets need, and is a no-loan college and if that student’s family has a clear idea of what their family contribution will be, doesn’t have flutuating income or a busines that needs to be valued then the family should have a pretty good idea of what the finaid package will look like and it may be appropriate to apply ED. Some college also offer an "early read and some colleges have their own finaid calucalators on line which can also help families get a pretty good grasp of what they will be required to pay. If the family is not certain what they will need to pay and money is a concern because the family cannot pay the entire cost or the expected family contribution, the student might be better offer not appying ED and having the ability to evaluate offers from different colleges.</p>
<p>99.999% of cases then. I’ve never ever seen it turn out well. FA is always an issue and then options are few.</p>
<p>Is your family prepared to pay the EFC that you have as an ESTIMATE? If not, that is another entire issue.</p>
<p>The online calculators give you an estimate ONLY of your family contribution. They do NOT give you an estimate of your financial aid. EFC is a FAFSA term…FAFSA EFC is really used to determine eligibility for federally funded need based aid. With an EFC in the $20K range, your federally funded aid will come in the form of a Stafford loan, and maybe Work Study (depending on the cost of the school, your demonstrated need at that school, and the school’s policy on awarding WS).</p>
<p>The family contributions for those schools that give large amounts of institutional aid and meet full need are computed using VARYING formulas. Each college uses the information to determine your family contribution AND how they will package your financial aid. Even with schools that meet full need, the financial aid awards can vary by THOUSANDS of dollars. </p>
<p>If your ED school has its OWN online calculator, your estimate will be the best. In addition, some schools will give you an “early read” on your financial aid. You can ask to see if the school will do this.</p>
<p>As noted, with an ED acceptance in hand and the financial aid for that ED acceptance, you have nothing to compare. The ED award could very well be your best bet. OTOH, it might not be. You have no way to discuss your financial aid awards with peer schools to see if your award can be increased…you only have ONE award.</p>
<p>If you are applying to private schools with $50K pricetags, you are looking for about $30K in need based aid.</p>
<p>There is NO online calculator that works for supposed full need schools. The FAFSA EFC is NOT the determining factor – it is the CSS Profile-based calculation, and every school is different on that. (In case people don’t know, the College Board uses that information in conjunction with software that allows each college to customize and set its own options as to how various information is treated). </p>
<p>ED is not a good idea for someone needing financial aid, especially for someone who has a FAFSA EFC in the $20K range – which is a number high enough that there are probably all sorts of additional factors that might come into play. Unless the parents are willing and able to pay that much and more for college, the OP should be considering numerous options for college, being sure to include some colleges that are likely to offer significant merit aid.</p>
<p>^^Son just interviewed at a selective LAC where he is also a recruited athlete. Coach says to apply ED1 (as athletes are generally encouraged to do). Admissions tells us this school is need-blind during the ED1 round and that they meet 100% of demonstrated need with a capped federal loan component of $3000/year (no loans for family income less than 70,000). FA officer we spoke with told us to use the online calculator for institutional methodology and the number we get will be in the ballpark of what they get. We will also have high need…I expect our EFT to be no more than $15,000 and this is an expensive school. I guess we will give it a shot. I have heard the fa is very good at this school.</p>
<p>Coaches often press recruited athletes to apply ED - it gives them a little more certainty in the recruiting process. Do it if you’re comfortable with the results of the school’s online EFC calculator (are you?) but don’t feel pressured by the coach if this isn’t your son’s absolute top choice.</p>
<p>*
So it looks like I will be needing a lot of financial aid from some private colleges and universities, since my EFC is about $20000. *</p>
<p>Which school is this? Boston College?</p>
<p>Can your parents pay for your EFC? Since BC is a CSS school, they may say that your family needs to pay more. Will they do that?</p>
<p>How much will your parents pay each year? If you don’t know, ask</p>
<p>I’m not sure from your post if you think that BECAUSE you have a high EFC, you need FA. I don’t know if you think FA is going to help cover your EFC. It won’t.</p>
<p>No, you don’t get more FA for applying ED.</p>
<p>I understand about ED1 and recruiting. I was just describing our particular situation. At this school, they are need-blind ED1. It would be son’s first choice. If the amount of aid isn’t enough (I believe f/a was honest with us when they described their process), he will likely pursue pg year of hs.</p>
<p>Keylyme, if it’s your son’s first choice school you should do it.</p>