<p>I just got into my first choice college with an ED. I got an email from them. But I am wondering, if this college does not give me enough scholarships and financial aid that I can't afford to go to it, can I reject them and go to another school that offers me more? </p>
<p>Please explain.</p>
<p>yes if they do not give you enough financial aid. that is probably the only reason why if you look at the ED yeilds they are not 100% (usually like 2 or 3 end up not going)</p>
<p>but is getting out of ED (b/c of money) really hard?</p>
<p>I think it depends on the school- I know a lot do say though that they will not penalize students who absolutely need to get out of it for financial reasons.</p>
<p>On another note though- if I get into my ED school, for $36000 and no aid, but also to my EA school, for only $22000, is there that much of a penalty for backing out of ED to go to the EA? I know you loose the $500 or so deposit, but seeing that I'd save a total of like $65000, is it at least possiblee to do wihtout being like illegal??</p>
<p>Backing out of ED is not an option unless the ED school judges that you can't afford it - it's their call, and it's a binding agreement. The financial concerns are supposed to be discussed before signing the ED agreement.</p>
<p>but how do they judge that i cannot afford it? I mean, they gave me that amount of money because they thought I could afford with that money.
Do I need some kinds of documents to prove?</p>
<p>They're going to go off of information that they get off the FAFSA, CSS Profile, etc. Unless you have some extraordinary circumstances like medical bills or something, they're probably not going to want to bargain with you. It's going to be very hard to back out at this point. If you apply ED, one of the things you agree to is that you'll go with whatever money they decide to give you. If you're worried about money, most would advise you not to apply early decision at all.</p>
<p>I don't get it. If I applied ED and financial aid and I get accepted with no fin aid, I have to go?? and owe like 40 grand a year? That's stupid.</p>
<p>It's a risk you run in applying ED. One of the main warnings about ED is that you should be absolutely fine with the financial aspects before signing the binding ED agreement.</p>
<p>What's stupid is applying ED to a school you can't afford and counting on either a rejection or an acceptance+significant financial aid</p>
<p>You do NOT have to go; they can't force you, and ED is not a legal contract. People on this thread seem to prefer to lecture the op rather than offer helpful information for his situation. Any college will tell you that finances are the only way out of ED.</p>
<p>From what I can tell the biggest harm backing out of ed causes is increased difficulty in getting accepted RD. I'm not exactly sure how this works; can someone explain?</p>
<p>Well people usually apply ED to get more aid and scholarships to lessen thier load. Honestly, mephist0, do you mean to tell me that if I don't get any fin aid or scholarships that I have to pay over 50,000 a year in tuition no matter what? I don't think most people are going to go for that amount.</p>
<p>I wish you had visited here earlier. Mephist0 is right. Before you apply ED you should use the online FAFSA calculators to get an idea of your family's EFC. If your family can't afford the school, don't apply. Many schools don't even meet the limit of the EFC. It is up to the schools to decide what "meeting need" means. In my view ED is a way for the schools to get students who will pay full freight for their education, helping to subsidize those who need aid.</p>
<p>Dianabelle, you are incredibly mistaken.
I had a friend who decided that they wanted to back out of her ED agreement. After the shcool found out that they weren't going to pay for their first year of college, they threatened to sue. With your parents, your counselor, and you signing the contract, it is legally binding for your family. Even if you choose not to go there, many colleges will force you to pay first year tuition. </p>
<p>There are only 2 real ways to get out of an ED agreement. 1) not enough financial aid offered, 2) not going to college that year.</p>
<p>^ well isn't option number one what we are talking about?</p>
<p>Nope, not "incredibly mistaken." My information comes from both my counselor and admission officers. </p>
<p>The best online statements about ED's not being a legal agreement that I can find are here, first by Swarthmore's Dean of Admissions:</p>
<p>'"Early Decision is "not a legally binding contract," said Bock, "and we won't force a student to attend if they can't afford it."'</p>
<p>(Bock:</a> Early Decision admissions "works in the context of Swarthmore" :: The Daily Gazette)</p>
<p>Second, via another college website:</p>
<p>"Q: Is Early Decision "binding" in the legal sense of the word? If so, then what is the legal basis? Or do the colleges just have an agreement to "black list" students who fail to attend their Early Decision college?</p>
<p>A: Bottom line, I can't speak for the practices that colleges and universities take to enforce the binding element of their early decision programs. Enforcement mechanisms are not standardized and I think the dilemma itself is rare (most students who get in are happy to attend). That said, any legal action that a college could take to ensure specific performance would probably not be worth the resources to pursue. Colleges and universities operate in large part on an honor system that hopes and trusts the intentions and integrity of the students in the applicant pool. Universities also have little interest in unnecessary law suits. College counselors have an interest in upholding this integrity to avoid a negative reflection on them, their school and future applicants. Students themselves hopefully will continue to approach this decision responsibly."</p>
<p>Third, from the NY Times:</p>
<p>"[ED] can also put certain strains on colleges. More than a third of colleges in the association's survey said students are not honoring early-decision commitments the way they used to. Though students must file a nonrefundable deposit at some point, the system operates on trust, not on anything legally binding."</p>
<p>(COLLEGE</a> PREP; On the Early-Decision Bandwagon - New York Times)</p>
<p>I'm curious what school your friend backed out of, and wonder if there aren't some details we're missing. Did she try to renege at the last minute, possibly to attend another school -- one that was not a public state school -- and therefore significantly cheaper? Perhaps she couldn't provide sufficient documentation of her financial situation? (I assume that's the OP's biggest concern.)</p>
<p>What I know is that ED is not something you back out of lightly, and not without good reason, regardless of whether or not it is legally binding. Kids who try to game the system end up utterly screwed. The most common way out of ED is finances, like I've said. The real issue is proving, with documentation, that you cannot afford your ED school. That's what the OP is asking about, particularly because it is the school itself who decides how much you can afford.</p>
<p>Does anyone have any personal experience about the sort of financial documentation necessary to decline an ED offer?</p>
<p>yeah i know that if the colleges do not give enough financial aid, students could back out. It's just how do you go on about proving that the FA is not enough?</p>