<p>imagine the following situation:
one applies ED to an ivy institution and is accepted, but the financial aid offer is unacceptable, because the loans one would be forced to take out would be too big (i know, this is always a subjective judgement based on one's point of view).</p>
<p>at the columbia website, i read this:
"If you are admitted under the Early Decision program, you are obligated to accept Columbias offer of admission. Only students who (after consultation with the Financial Aid Office) cite financial reasons for not attending will be released from the Early Decision agreement."</p>
<p>now, is it really so easy to break the contract? does it truly suffice to shortly inform the office for financial aid ? They could indeed force you to attend, couldn't they?</p>
<p>I read in a book that ED gives you less aid because they know that you have to attend and they don't need to give you any incentives. I think if you can pay for 25% of the tuition they'll just make you take out loans.</p>
<p>It isnt like you are going to have any legal matters if you break the ED contract, but they will put your name on a blacklist for all the other colleges you applied to. In the end you pretty much wont get into any of your other choices.</p>
<p>Yeah ttlyswt is right. No one is going to sue you if that's what you are afraid of. However, don't expect to get into any other good school. I'm pretty sure that you can still get into your local state school though...</p>
<p>How and why do you think a person wouldnt be able to get into another school? Such claims are impossible to know. I dont believe for one minute that colleges share ED information as much as people would like to assume.</p>
<p>i've seen on colleges' websites that it is a "legally binding" contract. just because the college chooses not to act on pursuing it legally, doesn't mean they don't have the option to.</p>
<p>It's in the sixth paragraph. There are more but i dont feel like going on every college's website to prove a point when you can do so yourselves.</p>
<p>I've seen it many times being referred to as legally binding. if it is not so, then many colleges and representatives of the early decision program have been misleading people.</p>
<p>ED contracts are only honor-bound agreements, plain and simple. Just because a college creates a contract doesn’t mean said contract is in any way shape or form legally binding. Also, I don’t believe that colleges share information in the way people think they do.</p>
<p>I checked Princeton's website:
"Early Decision-
If you have determined that Princeton is your first choice, you may submit your application by November 1 and receive a decision from us by mid-December. Applying Early Decision constitutes a commitment to attend Princeton if you are offered admission. </p>
<p>Early Decision application outcomes include: admission to Princeton; deferral of the final decision until after another review in the Regular Decision process; and refusal of admission. </p>
<p>Early Decision applicants must have taken the SAT Reasoning Test and SAT Subject tests no later than the November 2006 test date. </p>
<p>Early Decision applicants may not apply under Early Decision or Early Action plans at any other college or university (but may submit Regular Decision applications elsewhere). </p>
<p>Early Decision applicants who apply for financial aid and are offered admission in December will be notified of any aid awards at the same time."</p>
<p>I'm not sure how it works exactly, but I would assume if the finances didn't work out, one could enroll in another college.</p>
<p>Just don't apply ED if financial aid is going to be an enormous factor. What you think may be too burdenous a loan may not line up with what the financial aid office thinks. Besides, once you ED, the school is the one in charge; only they can release you from your contract. If you apply ED expecting an easy financial ride through college, then you are setting yourself up for trouble.</p>
<p>princeton ed lets you apply rd at other places because you dont get your results back until the deadlines for rd have already passed. it'd be too dangerous to apply to princeton only.</p>