<p>The college that is #1 on my list, it seems that there is a 3 times better chance of getting in on early decision than regular. The NPC shows we can afford it. But then I get worried. What if I get in, and then the financial aid package is not good enough like it says it will be? And they "have" me because it is binding? I don't want to not get in just because I applied regular decision. But, I also don't want to get myself stuck in a bad position because of early decision. Is it safe to assume the NPC will be correct?</p>
<p>(1) It depends on your family’s finances - if there’s a self-employed parent, family-owned business, non-custodial parent who might not be willing to pay his/her share of college expenses, or unusual assets, then the NPC could be wildly inaccurate.</p>
<p>(2) If the offer you receive is not affordable, you can absolutely say “no.” That’s part of the ED contract - you are not bound to accept an offer you can’t afford.</p>
<p>(3) Going with ED when you need financial aid is a HUGE risk . . . yes, you might get into the college of your dreams, but you will not have the chance to compare financial aid offers. And those offers can vary dramatically from one school to another. Schools that meet full need use Profile, not just FAFSA - and each school collects different data and reaches its own independent calculation of need. So, it’s possible that your dream school might give you an okay (barely manageable) offer, while your second choice school could end up giving you an amazing offer that enables you to graduate completely debt-free. Problem is, you’ll never know, because the only offer you’ll be able to see is the ED offer - and that’ll be “take it or leave it.”</p>
<p>Do a search of the financial aid forum for threads with the words “early decision” in the title. There are plenty, and they discuss the potential pitfalls of ED at length.</p>
<p>After that, it’s up to you.</p>
<p>Undecided2014, I am not one to say it never makes sense to apply ED if you have financial need, and in fact my son did just that with my total support. (It worked out very well for us.)</p>
<p>The list of considerations in dodgersmom’s post is really good. I’d like to add a couple more:</p>
<p>1) The ED application should only be to a school that is so clearly your 1st choice that the question isn’t whether it will give you the best financial aid, but that if it gives you a manageable aid package you’d still choose it over a different school that might give you a better one. You have be saying to yourself, “As long as the aid is sufficient, this is where I want to go.”</p>
<p>2) I don’t think it makes much sense in any case, though, to do it for a school that packages loans in their financial aid awards. Either it should be on of the few “no loans” schools, or a school that has a clear, published low total maximum loan load. Otherwise you just don’t know how much debt you might graduate with… and that’s a very bad deal.</p>
<p>“Otherwise you just don’t know how much debt you might graduate with… and that’s a very bad deal.”</p>
<p>The financial aid package should itemize the various components, like grants, work-study, student loans, parent loans, etc. Student loans in excess of federal limits (currently around $25K total over four years?) are generally considered too burdensome; parents can accept whatever loans they can bear.</p>
<p>A school’s packaging student loans can be the very reason for your admission; if 10% of the cost is paid by student loans, 10% more needy students can be enrolled.</p>
<p>If the financial aid package at your ED school is not sufficient for you to attend, you can withdraw from the ED agreement. However, the thing is…you won’t really KNOW…that might turn put to be your best offer! There is no way to compare bottom line costs when you have ony your one ED acceptance.</p>
<p>Personally, I would not recommend an ED application unless you are sure you can attend…no financial issues. Remember…the NPC works with averages using your information. There really isn’t any way to know if your package will completely match the NPC.</p>
<p>Another IMPORTANT thing…the NPCs you are using are for the 2013-2014 academic year. Schools update these calculators annually…and what you are seeing today may not match what the NPC for 2014-2015 will say.</p>
<p>Even if the NPC predicts an affordable aid package, and even if your family agrees that if that package does result, you can attend the ED institution, the risk remains that the aid package won’t be workable. This means that you need to have your back-up applications ready to go the second you receive an unaffordable aid offer and/or you need to apply to one or more rolling admissions institutions where you know you will get in and where you know the cost will be affordable. Please do not set yourself up to be scrambling in January or February for somewhere to go after you finally realize that your ED aid will not work for your family.</p>
<p>As long as applicants consider an ED application to be an additional application, and continue preparing and submitting their RD applications, all can be fine.</p>
<p>When you turn down an ED offer because it’s insufficient to support attendance, you continue with other applications as if your ED attempt never happened. You’ll get the ED1 decision typically in mid-December and be given a few weeks to decide if it works.</p>
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<p>But will the ED school also give the financial aid offer before the deadline to decide? If not, then an ED student who needs financial aid may not be in a position to accept an ED admission before the deadline.</p>
<p>^ Yes; schools know it’s the only way a decision can be made. The aid offer is preliminary, based on supplied info, which should be close to the school’s online Net Price Calculator result (don’t apply ED if the NPC is way off). If the year’s tax return later shows more/less income, the offer can be adjusted down/up as appropriate (I’ve heard something like 45 cents per dollar). Schools really want these top-achieving FA ED applicants to attend when they’re accepted; it rarely doesn’t work out if the information supplied is accurate (people say). D1’s LAC said (I asked) that they’ve never had it not work when the issue is solely a change in income from one year to the next.</p>
<p>Ed schools typically send the financial aid offer either with or very shortly after the acceptance. Students who have not received their financial aid can request an extension for accepting the ED offer.</p>
<p>HOWEVER, ED students need to very much be aware of priority deadline dates for filing of the CSS Profile and school financial aid forms if required. For ED applicants, these priority deadlines are very early…November 1 for example…but usually not later than November 15. It is important for the ED applicant to submit their financial aid materials ON TIME…or else they will NOT have a financial aid package in a timely fashion. And their parents need to be very prepared to complete the Profile using excellent estimates of income for the full year. They need to be as close as possible to the actual numbers…which CAN be done using pay stubs, and year to date amounts…and then adding the remaining amount to complete the year.</p>
<p>If your child is applying ED, you MUST be prepared to complete the profile by the priority deadline…no excuses!</p>
<p>It’s also possible that you could get accepted into the ED school with a financial aid award that seems to fall short of your needs; get out of the ED contract --and then find out later that you didn’t have any better options from other schools that accepted you. In other words, you think you can afford to pay $10,000 per year for college; the ED financial aid award requires you to pay $15,000 per year, so you turn it down; then after you compare all options from the remaining schools, the best off you have requires you to pay $20,000. </p>
<p>So at that point you’ve turned down your best option. This could happen if your financial situation is complex and you’ve over-estimated your level of financial aid eligibility. It wouldn’t be a problem if you have a for sure “financial safety” that you are willing to attend (for example, if the local public u. is affordable to your family with or without additional aid).</p>
<p>Right Calmom…that’s what I meant in post 5. The ED offer just might be the best…but you have no way of knowing…because it is all you will have!</p>
<p>"… and then find out later that you didn’t have any better options from other schools that accepted you."</p>
<p>That’s why it’s important to have a financial safety (e.g., a state or local school) and apply ED only to your dream school. If you decide you truly can’t afford your dream school, you may have to fall back on your least favorite. :(</p>
<p>Choosing that financial and academic safety should be a top priority. That old saying “love thy safety” is really important to remember. Your safety should be a school you like…and really it’s nice to have two so that you will,have a choice at the end of the day. Many students attend the school that was their safety…and they love it. Choose those safety schools wisely!</p>
<p>I have a safety school chosen where I already know I will receive a fair amount in scholarships. I already do work with one of the professors and already know I will be qualifying for some of the merit scholarships. </p>
<p>My parents financial situation is uncomplicated. In fact, they told me they will be filing a 1040A with standard deductions for 2013. They had something complicated, business income, that will not be repeating, for 2012 (bonus that was deferred for years and then paid out all at once) so they did a 1040 that year. </p>
<p>I think to be safe though, I will rerun all the financial aid calculators with an assumption of a 5-10% higher income. Then I will figure the financial aid should be somewhere between those numbers.</p>
<p>That makes sense. Are you comfortable with attending your safety? Do you know what the financial aid policies are at the ED school (for example, do they promise to meet “full need”)?</p>
<p>There are arguments for going the ED route when finances do matter, in that it gives a student a better chance of getting accepted to a school that meets generous full need. When it works out, it’s beautiful. ED when can end this whole stressful process early, and with ED the chances of getting into some of the highly selective schools can be significantly higher.</p>
<p>What you lose, is the ability to compare costs. If a student/family are truly in a situation where they can commit to $X for college, and if the fin aid package is less than $X, they have the resolve to refuse it and move on, if the $X figure is not met, then it can be a go. There was a dad who posted here who has a son who is on the cusp of CMU acceptance, who also qualifies for need, and the family cannot afford to pay full cost. So they asked for a preread ,and came to the conclusion that the package CMU is likely to offer is definitely doable and worth it and they do not care if RPI, Georgia Tech, and other schools also on the list might offer more. That price is what they are willing and able (albeit with difficulty) pay for CMU. In cases like that, ED is great.</p>
<p>But how would you feel if the package is really going to be a hardship, and the term “hardship” can mean very many different things depending on the true need of a family, and that an extra $5-10K from another school would definitely tip the balance? Are you really ready to commit to paying $X for four years when there is that possibility that another school for much less might happen? Things like the required student contributions, required summer at the school, whether a school will pay for required health insurance requirements, whether the COA is defined more generously, whether a school located closer would cut down on even more costs, whether there is work study in the package, whether the school has generous outside scholarship integration policies, whether they integrate PELL or just let it layer, can make a big difference in a family that is low income. Really, $5K is a whole lot of money for a family making $30K to come up with, and if there are alternatives available so that the amount is less, it can take a lot of stress off that family. You don’t have such choices on the table with ED. Maybe that student contribution can be waived if you showed the school a competing offer that has none. Long time members on this board will tell you outright that offers can vary easily $10K among like schools, as they have gone through the process. How much stress and financial hurt can be alleviated with an extra $10K from a like school to play with? These are the issues that arise. </p>
<p>Now if you and the family truly believe that, say an accept from a school, regardless of whether there could be more money out there is worth whatever the school says you should pay, or you will just turn it down and keep trying, then go for it I wouldn’t when need is involved without being in a situation, where the school is so highly desired that it’s worth not knowing if what other aid options from like schools may be.</p>
<p>NPC is only an estimate and not the real deal.</p>
<p>Your package can change when you file taxes for the current year and submit those to the school.</p>
<p>It is important that you work with someone in admissions to ensure your financial numbers are in the ballpark. I see too many threads in late December despairing over the price tag after ED to believe that people’s expectations always match up with their FA packages.</p>
<p>I am thinking I need to drop the ED idea. I do like the safety school. It is just that academically, I am going to be at the high end for the school, and I wonder if that is a problem. I do not know my SAT scores yet (they come out next week) but if they are comparable to my PSAT scores, then I will be over the 75th percentile in every area. I love that I can explore all my interests there. I love that they have this really neat Jan Term. I have enjoyed visiting the campus. I like the campus, it is relaxing and nice. The only thing I am worried about with that school is that I am academically qualified to go to a “better” school. Other than that, I really like the school. </p>
<p>I will know more when my SATs come out. Waiting on pins and needles for that. Plus, I already have 3 APs behind me. I took 3 APs this spring, and will have 6 APs next year. IF I pass them all, that makes 12 APs. I know I can use the AP credits at the safety school.</p>
<p>I really really like the ED school too though.</p>
<p>When I was applyiing to colleges eons ago, I had no idea what I was doing, and neither did my parents. I didn’t understand need/merit and how some schools offer up money. Most people are that way. We, here on this board, are a very small part of the college applying population, and we don’t always get it right.</p>
<p>If i had been accepted ED to my first choice school, I would have gotten a need based package only, most likely. That is what they offered me, not even quite full need, I believe with loans and work study in the mix, when I got my acceptance from them RD Two full need met schools, MIT and an ivy offered me packages that were just that, full need met,but family had to kick in the rest. But two schools offered me a merit award AND I got some government money (BEOG I believe) as well. Accepting either of those in my day, meant I was getting over COA even. Plus I had outside awards. I accepted at the school with the second most generous package. No one, the counselors, parents, self could make any sense of how the offers varied so widely.</p>