<p>I will be applying to college in the next few months, and I do believe that Washington University is my first choice. I would really like to apply ED to emphasize my interest; however, financial aid will be an issue for me.</p>
<p>I have heard heard of students being able to get out of the ED contract in very rare circumstances. I've looked and looked and have not found any information on wustl.edu suggesting that this is possible. Is anyone here familiar with such a situation?</p>
<p>Also, more information I could not find on their site concerns how they determine financial aid for students with divorced parents. On the FAFSA form, I know that they assume one parent to be the main parent. But what I don't know is if WashU will take into account the financial situation of the non-custodial parent. Depending on how they look at this could affect the amount of financial aid I receive quite drastically. I have seen that other schools, like Brown University, consider the cost of education to be the responsibility of the student's family and will take into account all households and incomes that student belongs to. Is this also how Wash U works?</p>
<p>Given this information, would it be wise to apply ED, or wait and apply RD?</p>
<p>If you have financial concerns I’d recommend applying RD (at least that’s the standard advice I’ve heard). You can always talk to an admissions counselor and discuss your concerns that you want to apply ED but have some financial concerns. And yes, to confirm what Johnson said, they do look at both parents. Every so often you come across threads on this forum where one parent refuses to pay anything, which screws over the child since they can’t get decent financial aid.</p>
<p>WashU is not 100% need blind, so I would recommend applying early to maximize financial aid opportunities. From what I’ve heard they try to fill the class mostly need blind, but at a point need to start considering finances during RD. I applied ED last fall and was told that if they did not meet the necessary amount, that I could back out of the offer. I ended up with full tuition + in financial aid. They have excellent financial aid and are generally very accommodating. The counselors in their office are also very helpful in answering any questions- I suggest contacting them.</p>