<p>Hey I was hoping that some people from Brown could help me out from personal experience. I have seriously been debating doing ED. However, people have been telling me to wait because schools tend to give less financial aide to EDers and this would be a problem for my family. I was hoping that some people who know about this or people who did ED could talk about personal experience or what they know about this. Any thoughts? Thanks! :)</p>
<p>I've heard the rumor, but honestly, the truth is the numbers are lower for ED aid overall because generally the applicant pool for ED tends to be both more qualified and from a higher socioeconomic bracket than the general admissions group, so I'm not sure that the overall averages/stats are actually due to the difference in the composition of ED applicants rather than giving less aid intentionally.</p>
<p>Remember, breaking ED is only allowed if it's due to financial reasons, and believe me, if Brown is taking you ED they want you to be there and will do what they can to ensure you're not in a situation where you need to turn down admissions due to money.</p>
<p>Beyond that, Brown is very equitable about Financial Aid, and it's largely calculated by a formula unchanged no matter who you are and what year you're in.</p>
<p>the origin of the rumor you hear is the fact that if you are smart enough to get into brown ED, you are smart enough to earn academic scholarships at non-ivy schools. If you apply to Brown ED, you do not get to see what other schools might offer you.</p>
<p>A student from my HS was admitted ED for this coming year, and she received a very nice FA package, which was sweetened even further when Brown revised their FA policies.</p>
<p>If you need financial aid, many experienced in college admissions would strongly suggest you to apply RD. </p>
<p>It is NOT because ED means getting less financial aid. </p>
<p>It is because when you apply regular decision, you will get to compare financial aid packages from more than one school. And people here on CC have reported vast differences in need-based financial aid from schools that meet 100% of your EFC -- differences that can be as much as 5 figures. Also, if you apply RD you can also apply to schools that give merit awards, and it is possible you might do very well.</p>
<p>Brown, for example, tries to match other financial aid packages. If College A gives you a grant of $20,000 and Brown gave you $15,000, it is possible that Brown would reconsider. But you can't go through that process if you had applied ED.</p>
<p>Brown promises to meet 100% of your need. Have you run a financial aid calculator and know your EFC (in the institutional method)? Are you OK with that number?</p>
<p>Thank you! My mom was planning on doing the financial calculator thing soon so we can figure out how much we should expect. Thanks for all the answers. They calmed my nerves about this! :)</p>