<p>I am an international student and i am applying for fin aid. What if i am accepted on Early Decision, but I am not awarded enough aid or the loan part is too big ? Can I reject and apply then regular? Is it better to apply only RD and wait to see all the offers? Thank you.</p>
<p>First of all keep in mind that most schools are not blind to international students so your abilty to apy could be a factor in admissions.</p>
<p>Second, keep in mind when you apply ED you are saying that in exchange for an early decision you will commit to attend regarless of the aid package that is given to you. When you are admitted ED, you must withdraw all other applications and not make any new applications.</p>
<p>If you need to compare offers, it is best to apply RD</p>
<p>"First of all keep in mind that most schools are not blind to international students so your abilty to apy could be a factor in admissions. "</p>
<p>Yes I know this, and that is why I thought about ED to improve my chances.</p>
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Second, keep in mind when you apply ED you are saying that in exchange for an early decision you will commit to attend regarless of the aid package that is given to you.
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<p>Are you absolutely sure about that?
If it is so, ED is quite risky. I might end up with big loans on graduation.</p>
<p>Yes, I am sure about that.</p>
<p>If the aid package is truely not good enough, you can reject it, but I heard its quite hard to get out of ED.</p>
<p>I dont know if this is true for international students though.</p>
<p>ED involves a commitment to attend if accepted. You have to sign a contract regarding that commitment when you apply ED that you will withdraw any applications still out there and let those schools that have already accepted you (this can happen with rolling admissions, usually to state schools). When you are accepted ED, your name can go on a list that is circulated to other colleges so that if you "forget" to let them know, they can strike you from consideration. So if the estimated financial aid package that usually come with an ED acceptance (the final numbers do not usually come until the Regular Acceptance kids get their packages too, and because changes have to be made to match with the 2006 income which is not final untill 12/31/06 at earliest), does not work out, you have to hustle to let them know that you want to get out of the ED contract. Now keep in mind that colleges close around mid December for Christmas break so you are not going to have a lot of time to discuss and negotiate a financial package if you don't like the one you got. You also have no basis of comparison with any other schools' offers. If you turn it down, it is usually wise to let the other colleges know what is going on so that you won't be taken out of consideration if the list is already circulated. With computers these days, things can move quickly.Then at the end of the year, you may well have turned down your best offer, if it turns out the other schools did not even give you as much. This is true for international students, and probably more trouble because of the distance involved in getting back and forth to discuss a financial aid package if something is not quite right.
As a rule, I would not recommend ED for anyone who needs or wants aid. I would suggest looking at some EA or rolling admissions schools where you can get an answer early, but wait until all your other colleges send their responses before you commit.</p>
<p>Thank u very much for your replies.
Do you know any good private colleges that offer EA?
I think that none of those that I have been checking does..</p>
<p>I am not sure at what range of universities you are looking at, but Yale, Harvard and Princeton are need-blind and will not give you much problems with financial aid. However, Harvard and Princeton will not have ED next year and Yale is the toughest to get into...</p>
<p>how about columbia?
does applying ED affect my chances for getting financial aid?
will i be receiving any aid at all?</p>
<p>='(</p>
<p>Keep in mind that there is a very limited pool of money for international students and you will 'competing" against the pool of international students for approximately 100 slots in the freshman class (less if you are applying to Fu). If admitted, Columbia will meet 100% of your demonstrated need (remember it is the school that determines your need not what you or your parents feel you can afford)</p>