<p>I really want to apply ED for BU and both my mom and dad work and make enough money for us to be considered "upper class." However, I have two younger siblings (15 and 9) who will be going to college, so my parents do not want me applying early because they can't afford BU's tuition. How do schools take this into account? Is there any hope for me at all to receive any sort of money?</p>
<p>They most likely won't be able to afford it even if I apply RD.</p>
<p>They don’t really take siblings into account unless they are in college at the same time. </p>
<p>On FAFSA, there is a slightly higher income protection allowance (around $4,000 per additional person) based on the house hold size being larger. That’s about it.</p>
<p>the fact that you have younger siblings won’t matter except for household count size.</p>
<p>Right now, your college has NO IDEA if your younger siblings will eventually go to college…they may not want to. </p>
<p>The amount that your parents will be expected to pay will be based on their income and the fact that they will only have ONE CHILD in college to pay for.</p>
<p>Also…BU doesn’t “meet need”. I can’t remember if BU practices “preferential packaging”, but if it does, don’t expect a good aid pkg if your stats aren’t high for the school.</p>
<p>you need to sit down with your parents and run BU’s NPC with their information. Use the results only as a “best case scenario”. If your parents can’t/won’t pay what they’re expected to pay, then maybe you shouldn’t be applying ED.</p>
<p>BTW…find out how much your parents WILL pay and find some financial safeties that will work for you.</p>
<p>In a similar vein, what should I do on the FAFSA if we’re not SURE Kid #2 will be attending college next year? I’d say there’s about a 75% chance he will be, so I don’t know what to do…</p>
<p>Maine Longhorn, if Kid #2 is a senior and at least going through the motions of attending college, the go on the assumption that he is. If he demurs for whatever reason or goes part time takes a gap year, then you have to let the college that the college kid is attending know and that financial aid will almost certainly be reduced accordingly. We are never 100% sure ANY of our kids will go off to college. A few of my son’s classmates who were accepted and were " all systems go" for college decided over the summer to request a gap year for some opportunities that arose. In one case some years ago, a student had an accident over the summer that delayed his college. Anything can happen to anyone.</p>
<p>For your own protection, you should run some numbers to see what costs would be if he does not go to college and be prepared for that. But in terms of getting the extra aid set aside at the colleges, you should operate as though he is.</p>
<p>I would put down that he is going. That way you are in line for any aid that may be limited. Then if he doesn’t go, you can change the info. You’d lose some aid of course. But better to get the award initially then lose it if you’re not eligible, rather than not have it initially then find out you are eligible after all but oops they ran out of $$.</p>
<p>The drawback would be that you might not be exactly sure what your award is until later. But that is the case either way.</p>
<p>OP, your parents are wise in having you apply ED. Schools like BU are very unpredicatable about financial aid, though they used to have a matrix that gave a good idea. Since they do not guarantee to meet 100% of need, your package could be all over the place. By having several packages to compare, you can get an idea of what you are required by a number of colleges, not just one school’s opinion. You also may find a better deal that way.</p>
<p>I think CPR means that your parents are wise to be against applying ED.</p>
<p>BU’s early decision policy is unique though. If you apply ED and get in but after getting a financial package that isn’t good enough, you can get out of it. In other words, it’s only binding if you can pay, which means that they still may ring true to their promise of same financial regardless of applying ED or RD.</p>
<p>I think my parents are just afraid of getting tangled up in something that’s supposed to be such a commitment.</p>
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<p>There is nothing unique about this as it is the policy at pretty much every school. The challenge is that the school decides if what they have given you is good enough. If the offer is not financially feasible for your family you can be released. The challenge is you probably will not be going forward with the process until you are released. </p>
<p>At some schools, they will not even send out transcripts, recommendation letters, etc to other schools, until they receive in writing that you have been released from ED (because too many GCs and high schools have been burned by students applying ED then not committing).</p>
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<p>Then they definitely will not be able to afford it if you apply ED.</p>
<p>I think you need to find a new list of colleges. A 3.3/27 is not competitive for merit money at the colleges on your July list. And definitely drop the OOS publics. Even if you are accepted, they will expect you to be full pay.</p>
<p>*U/W: 3.33
Weighted: 3.52 </p>
<p>ACT:
Best composite: 27
Superscore: 28 *</p>
<p>Yes, you need a different list. BU will not be affordable no matter how you apply. Your stats won’t get you merit or a preferred aid pkg. You might not even get accepted.</p>
<p>The OOS publics on your list won’t work either unless your parents are willing to pay all the costs. Again, your stats aren’t high enough for merit at those schools.</p>
<p>If you’re not careful, you’re going to end up spending a LOT of time and money on applications and end up with only acceptances at unaffordable schools.</p>
<p>The amount of money that your parents will pay will LARGELY determine where you should apply. You need to ask them how much they’ll pay. That info will influence your list.</p>
<p>The only OOS public school on my list is Indiana, which my parents can afford.
We’re trying to figure it out right now, what my alternatives are, if I need to take out loans, etc. BU’s profile for an ED candidate is a 3.4/27, and I’ve been told by my school’s college counselor and our school’s statistics (we’re the #5 public in the state) that I’d have a good chance of getting in ED and a somewhat worse chance RD. Also, my freshman year I didn’t do well but I got almost all A’s/have been taking AP and Honor’s classes since freshman year. BU doesn’t look at GPA as an overall thing, but rather each semester’s GPA. Last semester I got a 3.8. So there are other factors. </p>
<p>It’s just a matter of finding alternatives to financial aid, and how much I can do from now until December 15th, when I get my admissions decision and if I get in.</p>
<p>Aly, it’s really your parents’ call since they will be the ones on the front line financially. It sounds really simple that if the numbers don’t work but you are accepted, you just back out, but it rarely works that way. For many, it means getting a package that isn’t quite what was expected and something that the parents really would have liked to have gotten more but maybe, maybe would work with it IF that is as good as it gets. But with ED, you don’t know since it is an offer in isolation, and you’ve got your beloved kid’s eyes on you begging, pleading and sooo wanting you to make it a go. I think your paren’ts are wise to avoid that scenario, because frankly,as a parent, I would probably break and make financial leap I should not in a case like that, for all of posturing on these forums. I was very lucky with my son who didn’t make a murmur about the private schools that accepted him but offered no award. Off the table they went. It really would have hurt and I would have wanted to do something, anything to afford sending him to one, if he looked at me and said, he really wanted to go to one of them. And that is at RD with with a bunch of affordable choices there. With ED, I’d be a goner. </p>
<p>So yes, ED does tend to give applicants a better chance of acceptance and at some schools, it means a better fin aid package too. In exchange, it puts the parent in a tight spot. It’s no accident that few people turn down ED. The whole way it is set up, it’s difficult to say no. </p>
<p>Your parents want to see what other choices you have so that they can decide how much of a chance they can take in terms of committing to your college costs. And for many of us, it is a chance we are taking when it comes to that kind of money.</p>
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<p>Most applicants to BU have a good chance ED. THAT is the point, since ED’ers are expected to be primarily full pay. BU is quite open about that too.</p>
<p>It seems to me OP, that you came onto cc looking for support of your ED app. But you will not find that support given your parameters. (Well, you might find it from other 17-year olds, but…) WHY go thru the disappointment of having to reject an ED acceptance because you cannot afford it? What is the point in that? Why ruin your holiday season?</p>
<p>fwiw: an upward trend is excellent, and better than the opposite, but the merit money goes to those who “got almost all A’s” over four years, not just 2+.</p>