<p>I live in Georgia and I am planning to apply early decision to Emory University as I really want to go there. My only holdback is the financial aid offer. I know that Emory may not offer me as much financial aid as I would want, and if I have problems with paying the tuition, I know I can release my admission. But since Emory is early decision, if I release my admission, would I still be able to accept admission from say, University of Georgia, which I can apply as Early action since it is a public university in Georgia and would probably offer me a much better aid? And would I still be able to apply regular to any other colleges if I do release it without any disadvantages (besides having to apply regular)?</p>
<p>Also, I plan to study law in the future and go in to grad school, and it is probably not a good idea to stack up loans for the many years of study I would have to go through, so is applying early decision to an expensive school an ultimately bad decision, would you say?</p>
<p>I suggest that you post this on the FA board. Also do a search on that board since this is a frequent topic.</p>
<p>To answer you questions, yes you can get out of the ED with Emory if you cannot afford it and accept admission to UG. You can also apply to any school you want at any time.</p>
<p>However you must understand that many schools will have early deadlines (think October/November for some) for applying if you want to be considered for all of the possible scholarships. If you wait until you hear about ED from Emory, you will miss these deadlines. Just because you apply ED does not mean that you cannot apply regular decision at any other school. Do not wait until the ED decision are out to apply to other schools. Apply as early as possible. If you are accepted ED to Emory and decide to attend you then MUST notify the other schools and withdraw your applications. In that case, you will not be able to compare the offers from other schools.</p>
<p>The problem with ED is that you lose the ability to compare FA packages. The ED FA package might be the best or the worst. If money is an issue then ED might not be the best option.</p>
<p>Read the rules for Emory as they pertain to applying EA to other schools to see what their policy is for EA.</p>
<p>Thank You, does that mean that if I release my Emory early admission, the early action schools that I applied to like UGA could still accept my early application, even though that would technically mean that I did not withdraw my Emory ED admission right away?</p>
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I know that Emory may not offer me as much financial aid as I would want,]/quote]</p>
<p>It is not the amount of financial aid that you want but what the school feels that you need. For example, if Emory offers a portion of aid in loans and you refuse to accept the loans, then they may not release you. </p>
<p>This chart from the NY times shows the net cost to the average low to middle income students for different top schools. It’s a good resource.</p>
<p><a href=“The Most Economically Diverse Top Colleges - The New York Times”>The Most Economically Diverse Top Colleges - The New York Times;