<p>Hi gals/guys! I'm a rising senior and my top choice is definitely WashU, so naturally I want to apply ED. My parents, however, are somewhat discouraging it because they don't think I'll get any aid if I apply early. From the start they've saved heavily for my education, and since we have a large portion of our assets devoted to paying for college they're skeptical that we'll get much help from schools. And private school is DEFINITELY not cheap. They often cite stories comparing one student who applied ED and got nothing, and another who applied regular and got a full ride, or the example of one of our family friends, who got his tuition slashed by $10,000 as an incentive to attend the college he's at, etc. And then, during my interview, the admissions officer told me that ED wouldn't help me THAT much, it's the same student that gets admitted either way and the ED rates are higher just because its a smaller pool of qualified applicants who think they can get in, and ED shows extra demonstrated interest. I was so confused, everyone else says ED helps by miles!!</p>
<p>So is the little boost in demonstrated interest from applying ED not worth potentially getting zero financial aid? Does WashU ever do the "we'll slash your tuition by x amount so you'll come here even though it's not a formal merit scholarship" type deal? I appreciate how much my parents have invested in my future and I would never want them to have to pay more than they have to, but they've always stressed that as long as I make grades and such they'll be sure to save so the doors are open to wherever I want to go. I want to go to WashU, and I don't want applying RD to close that door, either. Advice?</p>