<p>So I've heard that applying ED is not a good idea if I'm looking to get financial aid. Is the only reason for this that I can compare offers from other schools and try to get Columbia to match the offers, or are they less likely to give me financial aid if I apply ED?</p>
<p>The formula that Columbia uses will spit out the same set of numbers whether you are ED and RD. The downside of ED is, as you seem to realize, the inability to match and compare offers.</p>
<p>You can, however, get out of ED for financial reasons but it's unlikely Columbia won't give you enough to attend.</p>
<p>Does anyone really get out of ED for financial reasons? I've never heard of it actually happening. I can see them releasing some poor kid who got a free ride to his local state school, but I can't imagine Columbia allowing some kid to get out of ED because Penn offered $5,000 more in grants.</p>
<p>It happens, but usually you're required to go to a local state school. It can't be, oh they offerred me more money, so I think I'm going to head over there. :)</p>
<p>the point is metsfan, dont apply ED if you want to compare packages and still have a chance to go to Columbia--if you get in ED but cant go for fin reasons then they rescind your acceptance--but with RD you can use other colleges as leverage for a better package.</p>
<p>My S, who defintitely needed fin aid, applied ED last year after being assured by Columbia that they would meet 100% demonstrated need and that they would work with us if we still felt fin aid package was not good enough. He applied ED and got in with what we felt was a very good package: 22% of COA was family contribution (a bit challenging but doable for us with some belt-tightening and a PLUS loan), 17% "self-help" (work-study and Stafford Loan), and 61% a combo of state, federal and Columbia grants.</p>
<p>Every college says they meet 100% of your "demonstrated need." Yet they have wholly different ways of calculating your "need." For ED, you're basically stuck with what CU's computer spits out, unless you have some way of proving extenuating circumstances (i.e., your numbers don't reflect your financial situation).</p>
<p>First of all, I'd like to thank everyone for their responses.
So Columbia will use the same formula (does anyone know their formula?) for calculating financial aid for ED as they would for RD? They won't, realizing that I don't have other colleges to compare their offer to, offer me less money? That would be great. Anyone who has any more info on Columbia ED+Financial Aid, please post, thanks again.</p>
<p>They wont offer you less money, I hear its the same formula. Actually, one of my friends got significantly more financial aid applying ED than an RD friend, and they cant seem to find out how seeing as their financial profiles are essentially the same...go figure.</p>
<p>Essentially the same? Did they compare how much equity each has in their homes, how much each has in bank accounts, etc.?</p>
<p>Columbia's average need based loan is around 3500, and their loan to grant ratio is 20/80 - excellent. It's likely that they match EFC, add 2500 or so for student contribution, give you the Perkins and Stafford loans and the rest in grants. Work STudy? Not quite on the level of Princeton but pretty damn good.</p>
<p>What if we're Canadian citizens so we're not eligible for work-study?</p>
<p>Is that amount made up through a bigger fin aid package from Columbia or added to family contribution?</p>
<p>I think I might be switching to a student's visa that has a US work permit, but it's unlikely that it'll happen in time, next fall, that is.</p>