<p>My counselor said that applying ED means that no financial aid will be offered..</p>
<p>is that true? if it is my family won't be able to afford it, and ill have to go with regular decision...</p>
<p>Your counselor is wrong.</p>
<p>Financial aid is not dependent on whether you apply ED or RD.</p>
<p>Some people believe there is a problem with applying ED if you are in need of financial aid. That problem is that if you are accepted by your ED school, you are obligated to attend regardless of the financial aid package offered. Whereas, if you apply RD and are accepted at several schools, you can compare the financial aid packages and factor that into your decisionmaking.</p>
<p>While this is all true, it should not deter you from applying ED if (1) you have done your homework, have filled out various EFC calculators and the FAFSA and are you are completely comfortable with and can afford the EFC as calculated; and (2) you are applying to schools that meet 100% of financial need and have good reputations in terms of meeting that financial aid.</p>
<p>There are also appeals processes whereby if you think the school made an error in calculating your family contribution, you can ask for them to reconsider something.</p>
<p>Also, keep in mind you can reject your ED admission if the financial aid package is considerably out of whack with your expectations based on the EFC calculators. This is a rare exception, especially with schools with good financial aid reputations.</p>
<p>Even though you fill out the FAFSA and Profile and submit the exact same forms to each school you apply to, each financial aid office uses these numbers to calculate their own financial aid packages. Even though your "input" numbers are the exact same at each school, each school spits out slightly different financial aid numbers in terms of loans, work study, family contributions, and grants. My experience last year was that these numbers can vary by as much as $2-4,000 in additional family contribution or loans even when comparing schools that meet 100% of financial need. So, if that much money can affect your attendance decision, then just be aware of that when applying ED. </p>
<p>If you are accepted ED, you cannot submit applications to a bunch of other schools to troll for better financial aid packages. So if you are looking for the best deal, a full-ride scholarship, or even just to contribute less than your calculated EFC, ED may not be for you.</p>
<p>thanks!!! i value your information a lot, and it seems to me that applying ED has more benefits that compenstates with its disadvantages...</p>
<p>i would definitely consider ED then.. =)</p>