I have read that schools are reluctant to give huge financial packages to internationals in RD to protect their yield, and the schools that are need blind are already too competitive. I was thinking that if I apply ED to Colgate( you can convert your application to Colgate from RD to ED by March 1), there will be a high chance I can be accepted with my stats. I will do this because my chances at other schools like Swarthmore, Colby, Bucknell, Middlebury, Trinity, Skidmore are low because of my high financial aid requirement and other schools like Amherst, Princeton, Yale, Duke are already too hard to get in disregarding my condition, so if I apply ED to Colgate, I will have a greater chance of getting accepted, or else I will very little chance of getting accepted anywhere and maybe be rejected from them all. Also, Colgate may reject me in RD because my stats are comparatively better than other applicants(SAT 1 1550/1600(Maths 760 and Eng 790) SAT 2 Maths Lvl2 800 Chem 800 Phy 790, some national awards, student council and magazine chief editor, amazing essays and good rec.) , and they may think that I am just using them as a safety for better schools, but ED will solve this.
If I do get accepted ED to Colgate, there will be two possibilities:
- I get accepted with enough financial aid, and I go to Colgate.
- I don’t get enough financial aid and come out of my ED offer. Then I will still have all my other colleges, which have little chance for me to get in, to rely on.
This is what I think right now, but I am still reluctant to apply because no matter how small the chance, I still have a shot at those other colleges. Colgate is like my 4th or 5th choice. I am really confused and torn between the two options. What do you think I should do?
Just my opinion but it seems you had a plan to apply to many schools and not go the ED route. your stats are terrific. Perhaps it’s the waiting, wondering and anxiety this time of year brings but I’d stick to your original plan and don’t doubt yourself. Especially if Colgate (a terrific school) is not your top (or even second) choice and you have no idea of the aid package you will receive. Let it play out, you have many schools to hear from. I would guess the results you get will be somewhat of a mixed bag; some acceptances some rejections, maybe a wait list and varying amounts of aid but still more choices for you to make than relying on a financial aid officer at Colgate.
@BU871820 Your opinion is absolutely correct! And I think that the anxiety is getting to me too.
"you have no idea of the aid package you will receive. "
But why does that matter? I still have two options with me if the package is insufficient .
I hope so too but from what I have seen about international requesting high financial aid in Cc is that most of the time they are saved by just one college and some of the time, they even get rejected or wait listed everywhere.
Also, how will I be relying on a financial aid officer?
If you want to switch your app to ED and they give you enough aid, you have to withdraw your other apps. You won’t know if you got accepted to those schools or what your financial aid packages would look like. Since your family can only pay $10k/year your chances of getting accepted are lower than international students whose families can pay more, so I think I’d go the ED route. The worst that happens is that you get accepted to a school that provides enough aid for you to attend and you don’t get to see other offers. That’s not a bad result.
@BU871820 @austinmshauri Thank You for your help! I have decided that I will wait it out and if nothing works out, I can take a gap year. I talked to a current student at Colgate and figured out that it is not my first choice ,so I will just see what happens in RD.
Also, I think ED works best in December when colleges can’t see students with other stats and they have to admit certain percentage of applicants but in this, they already have a good grasp of applicants, so I don’t think it will be as effective.