To me, it seems like applying ED ups your chances of being accepted. That seems like a plus. But others say that applying ED means that you’re being compared to a smaller pool of more competitive candidates, and that you actually have LESS chance of being accepted. Can anyone vouch for this?
A teacher at my school often hosts after-school help sessions about all things college (he’s wonderful). He seems to repeatedly give the same advice to people whose dream school is a selective, top-tier private school: “Apply early decision.”
I’m wondering why he says this. It sounds very financially risky. I know I am going to be paying for college on my own. That really makes ED quite scary for me. Right now my top choice is Emory, but when I apply next year, would it be just plain stupid to apply ED? I’d LOVE to be accepted, but there is of course the (large) chance that I’ll get absolutely no financial aid. Having to pay on my own + being contractually bound to a private school tuition + no financial aid = alarms are going off in my head already.
But it’s my top choice, my dream school. People really don’t seem to apply regular-decision to their dream schools. Idk what to do.
You can only borrow $5500/year, so if your family can’t contribute it’s not a good idea to apply ED. What are your stats? If they’re high enough, you may qualify for merit aid.
Well then I hope it’s not true that ED boosts your chances of acceptance - because that would mean that people whose parents will not pay* and who, therefore, cannot apply ED, are less likely to be accepted. Huh, it’s almost like rich kids have better chances of getting into prestigious colleges…
*will not, not “cannot.” My parents will not pay. Could they contribute? Yes, especially considering my dad is about to move onto a much higher paying job. That means higher EFC, but more money they could put towards my college. Buuut they don’t think they have any responsibility to help me out.
My stats are, I’m sure, not high enough for merit aid from Emory, the place I would apply ED if I could. 2190 SAT, 3.9/4.5 GPA.
Not only can you NOT borrow the costs…your parents would have to sign the ED agreement for the application. Why would they bother to sign if they’re not going to pay?
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Cost-wise, I need somewhere CHEAP. Preferably public with some scholarship/financial aid opportunities, and if it’s private, I’m reaaally gonna need financial aid. I’m paying for college on my own.
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You need to understand FA. FA is based on NEED, and the schools determine how much your family has to pay. The school isn’t going to give your need-based aid to cover what your parents are supposed to pay.
You also mention that your family is middle class. What does that mean? Does that mean an income of $75k? 100k? more? less?
Are your parents saying that they won’t give you ANYTHING? Is that because they expect you to use Bright Futures and apply to a Florida school that will also give you a merit scholarship?
YOU can only borrow $5500…and most schools will ALREADY have that loan in your aid pkg so you can’t also use it towards your family contribution.
Do you have a non-custodial parent?
Do any of your parents own a business or take business deductions? Do they own properties? Do they have savings and investments?
edited to add this…
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Yes, especially considering my dad is about to move onto a much higher paying job. That means higher EFC, but more money they could put towards my college. Buuut they don't think they have any responsibility to help me out.
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Ok…you need to get Emory and emory-like schools out of your head. You need to find schools that will give you HUGE merit for your stats. No school is going to give you need-based aid just cuz your parents won’t pay.
They might. I’ve only been posting here for a few months but I’ve learned that some parents can be… erratic… in their decision-making when it comes to college.
Incked – I do think that the value of the Early Decision ‘bump’ is exaggerated. If you as an applicant know that you can’t afford to attend the school, what is the value of the ED ‘bump’? Even if Early Decision guaranteed admission – which it doesn’t – it still doesn’t get you any closer towards your dream school.
One thing that I would point out is that some of Emory’s best merit aid scholarship is awarded well after the Early Decision announcements are made. This means that you won’t really know about the merit scholarship until after you have to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to their regular financial aid package.
I’m sure that your teacher means well, but he won’t be the one helping you pay your tuition bill. It’s important that you take advice like that, but it’s also important that you do your own research. Having a dream is great, but having a backup plan in case the dream doesn’t work out is just common sense. You will feel better if you have some schools that you know you can afford realistically in case Emory doesn’t come through.
For kids who’s parents are willing to what a school expects them to after fin aid, ED is terrific. For others, it isn’t (and even schools like Emory who give out big merit money use it to woo strong RD applicants from other schools), so if you’re aiming for merit money, don’t bother applying ED.
That’s life. Is it unfair? Maybe. But is it fair that one kid is born in to a family worth billions and another kid is born in to a family too poor to even buy enough food to keep him/her from growing up stunted and malnourished? And there are a ton more of the latter in the world than the former. Compared to a kid like that growing up in Africa or running from the Taliban in Afghanistan, and not being able to take advantage of ED doesn’t seem like much of a hardship (one of those first world problems that people reference).
If you have some idea of what your parents make in income, own in assets you can run some NPCs and FAFSA EFC estimators to see what your family would be expected to contribute. Highly unlikely you will get financial aid if they are deemed able to pay, even if they will not or cannot for some reason not recognized by the process. Unless you can come up with the money yourself, and you will be very limited in borrowing without parents involved, you won’t be able to go. So ED is not for you. You need a mix of possibilities and to go with the best affordable option.
Yes, ED usually offers somewhat of a better chance. it varies by school and by student, but overall, it makes a difference. Emory ED is a plus for admissions, yes. But it isn’t a better choice for those who need financial aid and scholarship options to compare.
I second the suggestion that you start researching schools that will offer you merit money and applying there. Dream schools often turn into nightmares.
Also, I also think the Early Decision bump is somewhat exaggerated. It’s undeniable that Early Decision rounds have higher acceptance rates than the regular rounds, but most colleges claim that’s simply because more competitive applicants apply then - recruited athletes, legacies, development cases, and very-well prepared seniors who started formulating college plans quite early. It doesn’t mean that any individual student has a better chance of getting admitted. At best, it might give a slight bump to the borderline or below-average student.
However, your grades and test scores put you very near the top 25% of Emory’s admitted students - probably in the top 30%. You have good chances even without applying ED. So just apply RD and see how the financial aid pans out. This gives you the opportunity to compare offers at different universities - and potentially even use an offer at one school as leverage for Emory.
You can also apply to Oxford College! Oxford is a two-year lower division of Emory; it’s a small liberal arts environment. After two years at Oxford, you automatically transfer into Emory.
You have stats very similar to my daughter’s. She applied to several quality private LACs where her scores were in their top 25%. In some she was in their top 10 to 15%. She has been offered some generous scholarships or invited to interview for them. It would bring the costs right in line with public schools. the most selective school she applied to still gave her $18K, but it costs $52K to attend there. If you are close to their top 25% you are likely to be accepted regular decision at Emory. I think if you visit a few schools you’ll find that you could be happy at most of them. Giver yourself options.
It just seems no point to securing an ED acceptance that you have to decline for financial reasons. Am I missing something?
I posted in your other new thread asking where to apply. You seem to think you are going to be paying everything yourself, but how will you do that, or do you have some big trust fund?
You can borrow on your own:
Student Federal Direct Loan
freshman 5,500
sophomore 6,500
jr 7,500
sr 7,500
Also can you articulate the features that you like about Emory and maybe there will be suggestions for other colleges that have some features you like but might give you an award? And what dollar amount do you have per year to spend?
There is zero point of applying ED and getting in if your parent’s won’t pay the projected cost of attendance. Your teacher isn’t giving you good advice based on YOUR situation. Does it improve your chances of getting in? Maybe… does it give you ONE likely unaffordable school where you then can’t compare financial aid with other schools (and honestly you lower your chances for merit at the ED school if they offer it, because why give merit to students who have already committed to attend?). I am sure your teacher has some great advice on essays, schools that fit you, etc. But like many people who will give you advice in your college process (even many GCs!), he isn’t look at the financial side for you and your family.
There’s another big reason not to do ED at this school…
When kids do ED, they often are sooooo focused on THAT school (read the chances threads), that they are literally frozen in application activity until Dec results and FA awards arrive.
Then, for students like this student, those that got unaffordable FA pkgs, are then realizing that their families can’t/won’t pay the “family contribution” and the student has no means to do so, BUT…it’s now too late to apply to schools that give the huge merit…because those merit deadlines are in Nov and early Dec.
So, now they’re screwed.
The teacher is like many in education, solely looking at this from an application/acceptance point of view. Many in education don’t even understand the FA process because everything has changed since they went to school. Enough FA isn’t given to students whose parents “won’t pay”. What good does getting a $20k award to a school that costs $60k?
There is only one scenario that makes sense if the student insists on doing ED. Get his apps in EARLY to the financial safety schools that will give him HUGE merit …do those over the summer and get them in.
The term “huge merit” is relative…$30k each year may sound huge, but it’s NOT huge if the school costs $55k. For you, HUGE merit would be an award that is so big that it covers nearly all costs…maybe leaving $8k uncovered that YOU will cover with a 5500 student loan and some summer work money.
From an application point of view, there may be an ED “boost”, so if you’re sure it’s your top school and if you apply to a school that meets 100% need AND you’ve run the NPCs and if you got in, it’d be affordable… yes it’s worth trying.
Apply to Emory on time for Emory Scholars. Then forget it. The odds that Emory would be affordable (ie., that your total costs would be $10,000 tops) are so negligible as to not exist.
Focus on the big competitive scholarships that are offered (Nov 15, Dec 1st), such as the GATech Presidential, UNC Robertson, Jefferson Scholars… but those are super competitive and will depend on how amazing your essays and ECs are (those need to be at least “state-level” but are typically one level above, and may include research, Eagle Scout/Gold Award, All-State depending on the sport, etc.) Do include the “less competitive but still competitive” scholarships.
Since you’re from FL (I hope I got that right?), apply to all the FL publics by the scholarship deadline. FIU has easy scholarships, USF’s are harder, and of course the higher up to go, the harder they get. Look into the designated Honors colleges - Wilkes and NCF.
Find all the colleges with automatic scholarships - go to the Financial aid forum and look at the sticky thread titled something like “all the most-requested FA threads” which collected all the OOS tuition waivers and scholarships.
The student’s stats and ECs are not competitive for top super-selective awards. Unless something changes, the student should not waste too much time trying for those…it just keeps the mind muddied and not focused on finding and liking the schools that will work for this financial situation.
Since the student is in Florida and has good stats, I’m wondering if one reason the parents won’t pay is that between Bright Futures and a merit scholarship at a good Florida public and maybe a small student loan, her costs would be paid for. And, maybe her home is close enough to commute to a good school. Many parents just can’t justify paying when there are lower cost options available.
And, furthermore, as a pre-law student, it isn’t necessary to spend a bunch of money on undergrad.