<p>If i ED to a school, in this situation the school i would be ED'ing to would be Cornell, and apply for financial aid and have insufficient need can i get out of the agreement? i know i've heard that its possible but if i apply ED as well as EA to other schools and get accepted to Cornell am i obligated to withdraw my EA applications even tho i'm applying for financial aid?</p>
<p>If you’re admitted under Early Decision anywhere–Cornell or anywhere else–you’ll be given an estimated financial aid package around the time you get your acceptance. You and your family will have to decide pretty quickly whether the package they offer makes the college affordable. If it does, you’ll have to withdraw any other applications you have pending and agree to enroll at the ED college.</p>
<p>Yes, this does mean that if you apply under Early Decision, you can’t comparison shop for financial aid. This is why I think ED is a bad idea for cash-strapped or value-conscious applicants.</p>
<p>But if the package is insufficient i can turn it down and i still have my other application right?</p>
<p>Yes, you can. But you can’t weigh it against any other FA offers.</p>
<p>It’s not that easy. When you apply ED to a school you have to sign an agreement with your parents and guidance counselor that you WILL attend if accepted. However, in the case that the aid is insufficient you have to first appeal to the school for more aid and if it is still not enough you have to write a letter to them and withdraw your acceptance. The process can be time consuming.</p>
<p>In regards to comparing packages with EA schools, you won’t have much time to consider them as you are obliged to withdraw any EA applications once you are accepted ED, and this has to be done in a timely fashion. I think the rules only change if the EA school you applied to is your state flagship.</p>
<p>If you are that cash-strapped however, I suggest running the net price calculator for Cornell and whatever other schools you are applying to early to give yourself an idea of how the price may differ.</p>
<p>^ Sikorsky answered correctly.</p>
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<p>While the NPCs are a great help, there are many caveats that a family must keep in mind while running them. With a very straightforward financial situation, they may be pretty accurate, but if there is a small business, divorce, rental properties, and several other complications, the NPCs can be very far from the actual FA offer. Please go to the FA & Scholarship forum for more information about NPCs.</p>
<p>As you know one may not not even register for FAFSA by the time ED results announced, in most case it is not likely you will know the full financial package that early. However, you don’t need to withdraw other application when you are pending for the FA package. In addition, you can withdraw your ED acceptance if it is due a financial reason. You should read the fine prints on the application about these.
Nevertheless, you should always check your affordability by their cost calculators before applying ED. This would give you some idea on the financial aid. More important, you would not have time to compare with other schools financial aid package.</p>
<p>so lets say i’m applying for financial aid and i get into a school btu i also have multiple Early action applications. Would i have to withdraw those applications immediately upon acceptance to the school or upon acceptance of the offer? Does getting accepted ED automatically make me inelligible for those EA schools? what if i would have to get out of the ED agreement would i still have those EA schools?</p>
<p>Right. The ED agreement trumps everything else, as long as you can afford the financial aid package that you are offered. And if you cannot afford that financial aid package, then you back out of the ED agreement. That means your EA applications are still in play, but you won’t be going to your ED college.</p>
<p>I get the sense from what you are writing that you’re looking for a way to game the system, so that you can apply early decision someplace and still have all your early action options too. You can’t do that.</p>
<p>You only apply ED if you 100% want to go to that school, hands down, no if’s, no but’s. If you financially can’t afford it and are depending on financial aid, ED is not a good idea unless you have a vague idea what other colleges might offer you and can decide upon acceptance of your ED school that you can get a better offer from a different school, thereby, withdrawing your ED acceptance before seeing any other offers because of financial reasons, the only reason you can turn down ED.</p>
<p>If you’re really not sure what aid you might get at a school to which you are applying ED, and if finances are an issue, all I can say is be very careful with the decision. It makes no sense to go to a “dream” school and end up with many years of “nightmares” in paying back loans that you had to take out.</p>