<p>I'm sure this question has come up many times before on CC, but I did a quick search and got lost in the results, so here goes again. For the record, S2 is not applying ED, but I'm still curious--</p>
<p>If a student applies early decision, does it have any effect on how much aid they are apt to get? And-- if a student applies to a school that gives merit aid and is somewhat borderline in that respect, might they be less apt to receive merit money, because the college knows they are already committed?<br>
The second question came up an an information session once, and the admissions person pretty much said it would NOT make a difference, and could only help, because in terms of the amount of money available, the earlier the better. But- it seems too easy to look at it the other way as well...</p>
<p>It CAN – whether it does depend on school policies.</p>
<p>If the school offers ONLY need based aid, AND promises to meet 100% of need, AND has clear policies about the structuring of packages (such as a limit on the amount of loans and work-study) – THEN it would make no difference at that school whether the applicant came in ED or not. (But the ED student still would lose the ability to compare packages with other schools – since each school defines “need” according to its own internal formulas, “meeting 100% need” can still be very different from one school to another.)</p>
<p>If the college does NOT promise to meet full need, they MAY give priority to ED students, but that would depend on the college’s internal policies.</p>
<p>If the college gives merit aid, the college has a vested interest in reserving its best aid for the RD round, to use to entice the most attractive students. The ED students are already committed to come – whereas the college needs to create an attractive package to bring in the RD students. The best and brightest of the RD students are likely to also be admitted to rival schools. This is called “enrollment management” and its simply how the system works. (Basically is a matter of simple economics and market forces). </p>
<p>Given that vested interest, you need to take what the college says about its practices with a grain of salt. Most colleges probably also do offer some level of merit money to ED students – after all, they ALSO have a vested interest in having students apply ED, so they would want to avoid the impression that ED students lose out entirely on merit money. But its kind of like airline fares: there’s a list price, and then there’s the price you get depending on when you make your reservation and what time you fly. The latter is more fluid and while in theory its a good idea to make reservations in advance, the best prices are often part of the last-minute deals that are offered when the airline is trying to fill a plane.</p>
<p>Thanks, calmom–
re: merit aid-- that’s pretty much the way I see it too, despite assurances otherwise in the information session. I think they try to counter it with “the money may run out” scenario…</p>
<p>“If the college gives merit aid, the college has a vested interest in reserving its BEST AID for the RD round, to use to entice the most attractive students.”</p>
<p>“Most colleges probably also do offer some level of merit money to ED students – after all, they ALSO have a vested interest in having students apply ED.”</p>
<p>I think calmom hit the nail on the head with this response - - yes, there’s some merit $ available for ED students, but the best/largest awards tend to be available during RD.</p>