<p>There are two essential considerations that have to be made when you are making your college lists. You are aware of both of them, which puts you well ahead of a lot of your peers and even parents.</p>
<p>You have to get accepted to a school. Most people know that and focus on that aspect, as you are. The second thing is that you and your family have to be able to pay for the school, and there are many misconception about that. Posting here shows that you are aware of those issues.</p>
<p>Sometimes, the second comes before the first. You need to talk to your parents and get a good hard commitment as to what they can and will pay for your college. Because your family income is high, you may not get any financial aid. Run the numbers and see what you can expect from various schools, but be aware that in the final reckoning, these schools look hard at every resource your family might have and can tap to pay for your education. </p>
<p>The two aspects are very much intertwined as admissions tends to be much more difficult in those schools that guarantee to meet full need and are generous. Harvard, Princeton, for example, have great aid packages even for families verging in what I consider high income figures. Getting in is the major obstacle with those school but you have to add the chances of getting and getting money to get a true idea how far fetched your lottery ticket wiinnings might be.</p>
<p>Regardless of what you end up doing, you and any student should have a school that you know you can afford and will accept you. The trick there is finding such schools that will also provide you with the education and amenities that you want. It’s usually the amenities that are the big hangup here.</p>
<p>As a general rule, for most schools offering the option, ED and EA (though less so for EA) gives an admissions advantage. You can check that by checking what that the early admit stats are vs regular. FOr some schools, there is no advantage if those numbers are close. For some, it is drastic, even given the fact that the early birds might be better candidates and are certainly showing early initiative getting their apps out so early. You are locking yourself into a commitment and giving the school a solid “yes” early in the process and helping yield figures, in exchange for that extra consideration that is usually not defined, but yes, it is usually an advantage. It’s also an advantage to apply as early as possible to schools with rolling admissions as it gets more difficult as fewer seats are available. As a rule, schools make an attempt to give good solid aid packages to ED students, as they really want that category to be a done deal. What you lose is the ability to compare packages as you may just have that one package to assess with no idea what other colleges might give. ALso, if your family finances are unusual or you do not represent them accurately (since you have to estimate when applying early, before the year is over and you actually have some of the financial info), it is possible that you get an inaccurate package. For schools with merit awards, it has been the thought that those who apply and are accepted ED are at disadvantage for those monies, since you are a “done deal” and those funds are used to entice those on the fence about coming that the school wants. That is not an issue with a school like Penn that has no merit scholarships.</p>
<p>Unless you get a good idea of what aid you might get from Penn and a commitment from your parents that they can afford the school, it may not be wise to apply ED there. Yes, you can back out of the commitment if the aid package is not acceptable, but that process is usually a lot messier and more painful than it is to say that. I’ve seen it happen, and it “ain’t pretty”. </p>
<p>The thing is, that if you have the stats to make Penn and Berkely serious considerations, you are a candidate for merit money at a number of schools. That is why the money end of it is so important.</p>