<p>I am a junior in high school who has begun to search for colleges to apply to next year. I have come to the conclusion that my favorite school thus far is Vassar. I come from a low income family with a brother already enrolled a college which gives out generous financial aid, thus applying to a school that gives out really good financial aid (such as Vassar) is really important to me. This is especially because as Vassar's president Catherine Hill promotes in an article (Look</a> Beyond College 'Sticker Prices' - BusinessWeek) that often times private schools do help low income families more than public institutions would.</p>
<p>I would like to apply to Vassar ED1, thus increasing my chance of getting accepted. My question is if I apply ED1 to Vassar, would they be more apt to give me a less generous financial aid package? Vassar is also a "need blind school", I might add. </p>
<p>When talking about financial aid I've seen on CC a lot of debate between higher income users and lower income users. I'd like to start off saying I refuse to have any debate with anyone...</p>
<p>I do not recommend applying ED if you have financial restrictions. Vassar may not agree with your need and therefore, many not meet it. If admitted ED, you will be honor-bound to attend.</p>
<p>Alright! This is what I was afraid of, but if it is the case then I think it's better off to apply RD. I'm not the strongest applicant, but I think I will still have a shoot with RD:)</p>
<p>I somewhat disagree about the not applying ED if you want aid. If you are able to, ask the college for an early read. My daughter got one from her ED school. They will basically tell you what your FA award would be prior to applying so you can get a good idea of costs. If Vassar does meet 100% of need, then what you get will be very close to what you would get from other schools of a similar caliber. It is easier to get in ED, also, typically.</p>
<p>Sorry, but hope2getrice is just plain wrong. Many kids get in trouble believing that.</p>
<p>However, you can take a hard look at your individual school and talk to their FA office to get a very close read of what you'll be offered. This assumes a school meets 100% of need.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that even among the very few schools that do meet need, packages can look very different. Some have no loan policies while others may make you borrow considerable amounts. Some promise full rides under certain incomes and others don't. Some schools count home equity like Stanford while others like Harvard don't.</p>
<p>So you need to become an expert in how Vassar constructs a package. You then need to run your numbers through their calculator. After that I'd confirm with FA that you've run the numbers correctly. If you do all that and are comfortable with the answers, then you may be able to apply early. Especially if you know that you wouldn't be competitive at schools like HYPSD with no loan, great aid.</p>
<p>Well it's certainly difficult with all these different opinions... Let's see</p>
<p>hmom5 - Thank you for your input. I guess I don't know how I would approach calling their financial aid office & really what to say to them... Vas promisest o meet 100% calculated need. </p>
<p>And it's not that I don't think I would be competitive with schools like HYPSD (not that I am), but I simply don't want to go to one of those schools. I want to go to Vassar.</p>
<p>I would call the aid office and say that you want to be very certain how they calculate their packages as you want to apply ED. Ask if you can send them your numbers and get a read. Many schools happily do this.</p>
<p>I know you want to go to Vassar. But for most kids, money matters. And it's very hard to overlook the debt free, 10% of income packages the very top schools are now offering. If money mattered and my kids could qualify for one of them, I'd ask that they not apply ED elsewhere so we could compare packages. In fact, if Vassar is not a no loan school that would probably be enough to stop me from applying ED to also look at it's peer schools that are. When the packages are in your hands and you have to contemplate $25K in loans upon graduation or zero, it might change your desires.</p>
<p>After reading your post I would like the clarify that as far as I know Vassar is a no-loan school for low income families (families that make $60,000 or less a year). And if the school promises to meet 100% financial need, my financial need wouldn't change whether I was RD or ED.</p>
<p>I see that you're saying 'shopping around' is safe, and that is why I will most likely call the Financial Aid office like you suggested.</p>