<p>Hi, George Washington is my #1 choice by far!!! However i have some problems. My college consultant told me the only way to have a good chance of getting in is applying Early Decision. I would love to but my parents object. We got our EFC this summer it was way more than any college will cost per year. So i'm expecting no need-based financial aid. My parents aren't willing to spend more than $50,000 a year and won't let me take out loans for the difference because they want me to graduate w/o dept. GWU will be at least 60,000 a year and they are letting me apply RD w/ the hope i get some kind of aid money. I'm barely smart enough to get in so i'm not counting on merit aid either.</p>
<p>If you were in my situation what would you do? Is there better chance for aid w/ ED? Any tips?</p>
<p>we would be able to give you better advice if we knew some of your stats…</p>
<p>it’s not about being “smart” it’s about what you can contribute to the school and what kind of person you are. a 1900 sat and 3.7 will still get you in if you can prove that you’ll contribute to your class in a significant way and want to be at gw. granted, easier said than done.</p>
<p>12 Artleye</p>
<p>There’s a good chance you’ll get some merit aid if you get accepted to GW ED. GW gives generous Scholarships and Grant Aid. IF your SAT’s/GPA are good, I bet you be offered enough merit aid to bring the COT to less than 40K/Yr. Scholarships are usually renewable for all 4 yrs - you have to keep your GPA above 3.0.</p>
<p>Even if you don’t - you can always tell GW that their FA award was not satisfactory to you and your parents and withdraw from the ED contract. That is a legitimate reason for ED withdrawal as stated in the CommonApp. However, I’m not sure how they define “Not Satisfactory”. I also have never heard of any college trying to enforce an ED contract for financial reasons.</p>
<p>You might try and actually talk to an admissions advisor at GW and let them know your concerns. Even though they can’t be definitive on either acceptance ED Or the FA award, they might be able to tell you where “you” fit compared to previous classes and merit aid award.</p>
<p>As a parent - we did NOT let our son apply to GW ED for this very reason. He was accepted RD and received 1/2 of his COT in FA awards. We were pleased, but every student and their numbers are different.</p>
<p>CJ</p>
<p>If you’re banking, so to speak, on merit aid in order to make GW affordable, it makes no sense whatsoever to make a binding commitment by applying ED. </p>
<p>You can’t back out of an ED agreement when the reason is, “My parents could afford to pay this, but they won’t.” And you shouldn’t be able to, either.</p>
<p>I agree with Sikorsky. If your parents won’t spend more than $50,000 & won’t let you take out loans, then GW may not be the school for you. You also can’t get out of a binding ED agreement by saying “I knew what it would cost, but I don’t want to pay it.” </p>
<p>Apply to GW RD, but look for schools in your parents’ price range. There are plenty of schools you can go to that cost less than $50,000.</p>
<p>I appreciate the advice. Sometimes the middle class sucks. For rich kids, 60k a year is no big deal, and the lower class don’t have to spend a cent thanks to the government.</p>
<p>12Artleye</p>
<p>I would like to retract my earlier post. I agree with Sikorsy and shellfell after researching this “ED” agreement and talking to some college reps.</p>
<p>IF your family EFC is above the COT at GW (about 60K/yr), there’s no way you or your family could dispute your ability to pay if accepted ED. and, your merit aid is difficult to predict.</p>
<p>Agree with RD application if your still interested - then you can comapre FA awards from other schools and any merit aid offered sice you won’t recieve any need-based aid.</p>
<p>I didn’t read your post closely enough about your family’s EFC being so high. </p>
<p>Sorry</p>
<p>CJ</p>
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<p>Yes, I am sure you and your whole family would enjoy life more if you were poor. Who wouldn’t want to be just one missed paycheck or one illness away from homelessness?</p>
<p>That’s taking it a little far Sikorsky. You know what i meant by that. According to college reps, anyone making less than 100K a year doesn’t have to pay much for college. What they don’t take into consideration is that 100K means different things in different areas. Where i live, cost of living is very high and 100K doesn’t get you too much. In other areas that can buy you a pretty good lifestyle.</p>
<p>No need for cynicism. The OP shouls be very happy to have parents willing to spend up to 50K/yr COT on college.</p>
<p>You should be able to find a very good school for that - maybe not GW.</p>
<p>CJ</p>
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<p>This is true. I agree with this, Artleye; I also live in a very expensive part of the country.</p>
<p>But it is equally going too far for you to complain that “the government” will see to it that the “lower class don’t have to pay a cent” for college. “The government” doesn’t see to it that low-income students can attend fancy private colleges for free. Most students who really need aid from “the government” are in public universities or community colleges. When low-income students do get full rides to expensive institutions, it’s usually a combination of government aid and institutional aid, often with family contribution and outside funding thrown in, too.</p>
<p>And don’t overlook the fact that a low-income family’s contribution may seem trifling to you, but it’s usually huge to the family. Even if your family contributes a much higher fraction of your household income to college expenses than a low-income family might, your family is likely still much better off. Not only are you slicing up a much bigger pie than the other family, but you also pay a much smaller fraction of your income for basic necessities than the other family. There’s no means testing for most necessities: you pay the same price for a gallon of milk as everyone else, even though you could probably afford to pay much more.</p>
<p>I really found your earlier statement insensitive at best, and at worst offensive, Artleye. It smacked of class warfare, complaining about all the benefits the “lower class” gets, and it also suggested that you’re “middle class” when your posting history on CC suggests otherwise.</p>
<p>I do have some sympathy for your situation. You are in an uncomfortable spot. You want something that you believe your family can afford, but they choose not to deploy their resources that way. That does leave you pretty stuck, and that’s too bad. But complaining about aid to truly needy families–the ones using Pell grants to send their kids to community colleges–doesn’t reflect where your problem really lies.</p>
<p>You make good points, i can see where your coming from. I’m not trying to start an argument. W/ that, i thank everyone for the advice/conversation. I’m still working on finding a way to make GWU ED to work. I can only hope.</p>
<p>I wish you luck.</p>
<p>Sent from my DROIDX using CC App</p>