<p>"We just disagree about the meaning of "afford." In my view, a student can either afford a school or not . . . ."</p>
<p>Yes, but some things we can comfortably afford and others we can afford only with great sacrifice. (That I would mortgage everything I had for a child's medical care doesn't mean that I would or should go that far for any other expense.)</p>
<p>Okay, I've pretty much avoided CC for the last year and never registered, mostly because I'm turned off by all the parents living through their children, parents who care so much more about their own clearly privileged child than all the children truly suffering and getting terrible educations in this country, etc., etc. But I finally had to register so I could comment after checking the site today. Please, please do not not apply to Smith ED because of financial aid. I agree that at many colleges, ED is for the wealthy, but it ISN"T TRUE at Smith. We are what I would consider comfortable financially but not in a situation where we could afford to pay much for college. My daughter fell in love with Smith and wanted to apply ED. I called the extremely nice and helpful financial aid people and asked in every way possible if applying early would hurt her chances of aid and if she would be able to turn down early admission if the aid packet was, in our opinion, not enough. I was reassured that you can turn down an early admission offer if the financial aid packet is, in YOUR OPINION, not enough. My daughter was admitted ED, Smith knew it was the only college she was applying to, and she got great aid. Would she have gotten even better aid if she'd applied RD? Perhaps, but I'm actually willing (and I admit, able) to pay an extra thousand dollars for the luxury of her having been able to apply to only one school, not retake those horrible SATs one more time, and be able to relax now and enjoy senior year. And I felt completely confident that, had she not, she could have turned down their offer without any harm done. I already love Smith because it really and truly does seem interested in avoiding all the games these other colleges are playing. It wants to make it possible for low-income women to attend and it wants to be fair and honest with everyone else. Please don't believe all the things you'll read over and over again about ED...at least not when it comes to Smith.</p>
<p>I think one reason all ED is considered to favor the wealthy (or those, like cloverdale, can pay a few thou more to assure their kids get into the dread school) is that while you can decline the ED seat b/c of the money offer, you lose the ED boost and risk not being admitted RD. I assume that it is unsual (but not impossible) that an ED candidate who who rolls-over to RD is not admittted - - there is at least a psychological advantage to already having been admitted.</p>
<p>And applying ED and getting an aid package might seem good -- but you don't know how good an aid package is, psychologically, unless you have the chance to compare. My aid from Smith was pretty good, but it wasn't as good as what a LAC in Wisconsin offered me, but it was better than a LAC in Maryland.</p>
<p>While applying ED works well for some people with concern about financial aid because they can back out of the contract, it's not one-size-fits-all for everyone. I was concerned about aid. Smith was my clear first choice, but I applied EA (or rolling decision) to every other school on my list. When the aid packages came in April, I knew that other schools offered me more than Smith did and my parents had something to take to the financial aid office when they went to ask for a little more aid. </p>
<p>And I wouldn't consider the timing of one's application to be indicative of one's "obsessiveness" with a school.</p>
<p>The simple bottom line: </p>
<p>Don't apply ED if you want to compare aid packages.</p>
<p>You can apply ED if you have a no-questions favorite school, you have no interest in comparing aid packages, and your only concern is the aid being enough. You can turn down the aid offer with no consequences if it is, in your opinion, insufficient.</p>
<p>"to assure their kids get into the DREAD school" - - one wrong keystroke changes the whole thing.</p>
<p>Borgin pretty much summed up everything I've been trying to say. But just to respond to one point Vossron made...</p>
<p>"There really are middle-class kids in your situation who are so obsessed that they apply ED."</p>
<p>Yeah, and their parents are probably paying for the majority of their college education. My parents have already told me they can only afford x amount of money, which essentially leaves me paying for more than 3/4 of my own college education. I'm quite obsessed with Smith, but I'm also quite obsessed with minimizing just how ridiculously in debt I'll be by the time I graduate college. </p>
<p>Maybe from your point-of-view that's not being "traditionally obsessed" with a school; for me, it's simply being realistic.</p>
<p>Sounds like you've got a good head on your shoulders, ajlangs. I'll cross my fingers that Smith comes through for you--if not, there are many great schools out there you could be happy with, and it's also possible to come to Smith as a transfer or exchange student if you want a taste of Smith but aren't willing to pay for four years of it.</p>