<p>If you have applied ED to a college and you get selected but not with enough scholarship,
is there anyway to get out of the ED commitment? </p>
<p>I haven't applied ED anywhere as i don't think that if i am accepted and i get no scholarship, i would be able to afford all of the tuition fee.</p>
<p>ED is binding without regard to the financial aid awarded. Given your situation, it is better to apply EA.</p>
<p>shauryagupta : go to the school’s net price calculator on their Finaid pages. See what your award might be. If it’s unaffordable, then you shouldn’t apply ED – why waste that slot?</p>
<p>I can’t speak for all but I know several that we’ve looked at have an out clause restricted to those who are accepted but don’t get enough financial aid to afford to go. Make sure to know your finances and run the net price calculators so you aren’t applying to any schools that don’t have even a shot at being financial possibilities.</p>
<p>turtletime is correct–in most cases the only acceptable reason for backing out of ED is that the financial package makes it impossible for the student to attend. As a strategic matter, though, it’s probably not a good idea to use up your ED option at a school where there’s a reasonable chance you wouldn’t be able to attend.</p>
<p>First of all thank you for the quick replies.
Though i am not applying ED, but how do you calculate a good financial package? As in one of the replies i was told that if you do not get sufficient package. How do you tell if the package is sufficient and how do we convince the universities that it is not?</p>
<p>Moreover, if all things are given to us, i.e financial aid, admission, is it possble to back out of ED by convincing the universities somehow? </p>
<p>Is ED a legal thing that the universities can’t do anything about it.</p>
<p>yes, you are completely within your right to decline an ED offer for financial reasons. For example what if a parent loses a job during that time? there are some people (including myself) who believe that some schools will unfortunately offer less aid to ED acceptees. </p>
<p>I agree, use the school’s net price calculator to see where you will probably stand. I would also contact the school if accepted ED to see if the might improve their aid offer. Definitely do not be reticent. They are procssing thousands of applications. Be fair but assertive is my advice. I would not count on any scholarship money, only possible need based aid, if you are US high school grad. Scholarship money based on achievement should be seen only as icing on a cake and can’t be counted upon. There are several schools like U of Alabama that guarantee merit aid based on a GPA versus SAT ACT grid.</p>
<p>^^Good advice. The topic of ED comes up alot this time of year on CC, along with some commentary about “blacklists” and list sharing (neither of which I subscribe to). The best advice has been offered, complete the calculator, assess the #s, contact the FA office and ask directly if ED offers any FA benefit (at some schools it does, and FA officers will usually be up front about it). ED is “binding” in that you should enter into the agreement with the best intentions of attending the school if it’s financially possible, but no one from the school is going to force you to attend. It’s more an ethical agreement than anything else.</p>
<p>i noticed from your profile that you are non -US student. My understanding is that the answers you are given here apply to US grads. Unfortunately there are different standards for US versus non-US. You may not be able to really count on much aid in most cases.</p>
<p>There may be a few schools that are more generous in your case. University of Cincinnati comes to mind ( I am not positive) I also seem to recall Skidmore in New York may be a place to look at. I would definitely talk to a lot of people and keep an eye on the Threads here that are relative to your situation.</p>
<p>Be careful understanding need-blind admissions, versus need-aware admissions, versus promise to meet that financial need by the college, and especially be aware of US high school versus non-US high school graduate policies. Can be very confusing… For example Harvard is reknown for amazing aid to US students who get admitted but can’t afford, but I am certain that they have a separate ‘pool’ when looking at non-US grads…</p>
<p>I am a Permanent Resident, so am i entitled to some aid??</p>
<p>"*Moreover, if all things are given to us, i.e financial aid, admission, is it possble to back out of ED by convincing the universities somehow? </p>
<p>Is ED a legal thing that the universities can’t do anything about it.*"</p>
<p>No convincing is necessary; you simply decline the ED FA offer and apply RD elsewhere. There are no legal issues; ED is an honor-system agreement.</p>
<p>“Be careful understanding need-blind admissions, versus need-aware admissions …”</p>
<p>This should be irrelevant to applicants, since it affects only your chances of admission, not how much you like a school.</p>
<p>this is from Duke website We view our financial aid program as an investment in students and their futures; that’s why we are fully committed to our need-based financial aid program. Over half of our undergraduates receive some form of financial assistance.</p>
<p>We admit U.S. citizens and permanent residents without regard to their financial circumstances or aid eligibility, and we meet 100% of demonstrated need for these students throughout their undergraduate enrollment. For instructions on how to apply for need-based financial aid, visit the Financial Aid Office website. If family circumstances change, U.S. citizens and permanent residents may apply for need-based aid at any time during their four years at Duke.</p>
<p>We seek a diverse student body and are committed to ensuring that all students can take full advantage of the Duke experience.</p>
<p>HOWEVER, I don’t know if the pool of aid for perm res is the same pool as for US citizens. Also don’t know how other schools look at it…</p>
<p>“We admit U.S. citizens and permanent residents without regard to their financial circumstances or aid eligibility, and we meet 100% of demonstrated need for these students throughout their undergraduate enrollment.” But is this for all students??</p>
<p>I thought of applying there but their total cost is like 60k $. Too much even if i get a aid of like 20k $ per year.</p>
<p>this is from Columbia ;
Columbia is need-blind for US Citizens, US Permanent Residents and persons granted refugee visas by the US. As a result, the Office of Admissions considers your application without regard to your financial need. International / non-domestic applicants, please see International Financial Aid information.
Financial Aid at Columbia is need-based. There are no academic, athletic or talent-based institutional scholarships.
Columbia meets 100% of the demonstrated financial need for all students admitted as first-years, including international / non-domestic students. And we continue to meet your 100% of your demonstrated financial need for all four years of study.
Columbia admits a large number of international / non-domestic students who apply and receive a substantial amount of financial aid. However, Columbia is not need blind for international / non-domestic students. If admitted and you demonstrate financial need, then Columbia will meet 100% of your demonstrated financial need.</p>
<p>APPEARS to me from this that perm res is treated same as US citiz at Columbia with need blind acceptance and meet 100% of need…</p>
<p>i think herein lies the art of applying for you. each school will make its own definitions… general advice is to always apply to one or two schools that you are certain you will be able to afford… suggest you look at schools that promise to meet 100 percent of need as a start. big issue is the philosophy of your parents. schools may expect more from the parents than the parents care to contribute… suggest that you do a lot of ‘homework’ on this since there is good information out there…</p>
<p>OP: you need to find the Net Price Calculator. Then run the numbers and see how much you’d have to pay at each schools. Schools that meet 100% need typically are the most generous if you need financial aid but are also the most selective.</p>
<p>Typically, if your parents make under $60,000 a year, the 100% need schools will be the cheapest for you (sometimes cheaper than your state school).
Elite 100% need schools provide need-based aid up to $180,000 and the other 100% need schools typically up to$120,000.
If your family makes more than $120,000 and you have good stats, most private schools in the South and Midwest will provide you with nice merit packages that may make costs similar to your state university or so.
The only situation where it’s rarely worth it is out of state public universities (outside of UNC-CH and UVA) where you’ll receive zero need-based aid and which may not offer merit aid. If the school offers merit aid (Truman State, Ole Miss, UAlabama) or if its costs are low (UMN, SD school of mines…) it may be worth it, but in all other cases OOS universities aren’t worth getting into debt for.</p>
<p>Don’t even think of playing with ED.
Insufficient financial aid is the ONLY reason a student should back out of ED. There are very real risks of being “blackballed” (as well as your counselor and students who will come after you) if you just “change your mind” after being admitted - even if, legally,
For instance, it’s not uncommon for admission officers to share information re: ED (in fact, it’s the norm in the Ivy League and NESCAC) so that if you back out of your agreement with one school you can kiss all others goodbye. It’s the honor system so there are no legal repercussion, except no elite college wants a student who has no honor. See the issue?
Applying ED means you’re 100% sure you want to attend that school. So, if they make if possible for you to attend, you must attend. If they don’t make it possible for you to attend because the financial aid package is not enough, call the financial aid office and let them know. However, applying ED’s main drawback is that you can’t compare financial aid packages. So, if you get mostly loans from a school rather than grants, you may be stuck. I do believe you’re allowed to say that you’re not comfortable with the debt burden the school supposes though. But if they meet EFC mostly with grants and don’t go over the federal loan limit, then you can’t back out of your agreement.</p>
<p>“So, if they make if possible for you to attend, you must attend.”</p>
<p>Note that it’s 100% your decision; the only thing the school could possibly do is improve the offer, but I think it’s rare.</p>
<p>Here’s the rule:
</p>
<p>Note that “the student may decline”.</p>
<p>Previously this was on the public common app web site, but now you see it during the submission process.</p>
<p>generally apply ED to a school that you would love to attend. but we are human. no purpose is served spending four years at a place if you decide that you made a miscalculation. schools do what is best for schools, individuals do what is best for individuals (hopefully including others). i am 54 and have never met anyone who was blacklisted from a college…</p>
<p>i do agree that a guidance counselor may take issue with a non-economic ED change of mind, as they may feel that there could be some compromise to future applicants. this is undestandable.</p>
<p>Here is a pretty comprehensive breakdown of schools that are ‘need-blind’ and ‘full need met’ and the breakdown of which students are included in that consideration. I don’t claim that is is 100% correct or complete. Be sure to check with all schools regarding their policies, they do change. This is intended to be a starting point for research.</p>
<p><a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Need-blind_admission[/url]”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Need-blind_admission</a></p>
<p>It is my opinion, and no one asked, that any student that has a financial need component is better off taking advantage of EA and RD where they can fully compare FA offers. I think going into ED with the idea that you will just back out if you don’t get enough is a risky proposition. Let’s say that happens and you are released from your ED commitment, you move on to RD and find that the offer you were given from your ED school was in fact the most generous, but you didn’t know that because with ED you give up the option to compare offers. At that point there’s no going back.</p>