I regret applying ED

I agree with eliminating ED1/ED2…and revamping the whole system.

It’s also really annoying that those of us applying RD (because schools only had ED1, ED2 and RD - no EA) have to wait to hear until mid to end-March to hear decisions…since priority is to the ED1 and ED2 which was a gamble many of us knew we could not afford to take. I think the whole “game” is very unfair, especially to the middle class who cannot count on aid, and cannot pay tuitions of $60-70K. While NPCs may think we can afford that, they are not looking at number of kids in the family, cost of living, whether income is secure, pensions (or not!), etc. It is not logical for families not in the top income brackets to apply ED without knowing the costs and if merit aid will be offered.

@intparent. I don’t disagree with you either. It’s just my BS meter didn’t go off on this student. Look at #72 post(“I think) of his. This is not like” haha look I got in and I am so great since I got all these acceptances and merit and now I am going to buck the system "kind of post that I see over and over. I am giving benefit of the doubt on this one.

@thumper1 this is untrue for ED 1 and 2. In the regular round, schools accept far more applicants than they need because they know that many will not end up attending. The ED rounds are binding and end up with almost 100% yield. There are ED applicants that have been rejected at this point and declining an ED spot means someone else was denied admittance.

@chobani2023 running the NPC should have been done BEFORE you applied. You’ll revive your FA package and can use that. You’ve really done things backwards here.

With the NPC being so integral to the process, it’s a shame more colleges don’t emphasize - or even mention - the NPC on their ED page.

I see no reason to inject ideas of personal morality into the ED process.

When organizations set up a system that uses nontransparent admissions criteria, with wildly different admit rates between ED and RD, they in effect pressure kids to make decisions too early. Fine, if the admissions criteria are transparent, but no bueno in the era of holistic. This process solely benefits the schools by restricting choice - and restricting it on the basis of asymmetric information.

No problem, they are free to do what they want as private institutions. But I do not think they have any reasonable expectation that applicants should supply personal morality to “backstop” their legally unenforceable “contract.”

This is a lot of responsibility to put on a 17-year-old. Maybe the parents assumed that high stats would garner merit aid. The school apparently offers it so they wouldn’t be the first parents to assume that. If paying is going to cause OP’s parents financial distress then they have the right to turn the offer down. It’s easy for us to tell her she made an agreement she has to keep, but it’s not our $280,000.

Over the course of this thread, I see 4 reasons the OP has given for potentially backing out of ED:

  1. possible financial strain on the family even though their parents said it is affordable
  2. unsure whether Wash U is worth it for “education, connections, and experience”
  3. less than enthusiastic reaction by parents on acceptance
  4. feeling they ‘fell prey’ to the “power imbalance and elitism” of ED

You need to put 2,3,4 out of your head now. These are never valid reasons for breaking an ED agreement. #1 is the only valid reason, but it is still unclear whether WashU is truly unaffordable for your parents, and I doubt even you know all the details of their finances. Yes, have another talk with them, and if they reiterate that they can manage the finances even considering younger brother and possible future grad school, then you should absolutely go forward with Wash U.

As others have said, there may be more Financial Aid in future years with a second child in college. And there are ways to pay for med school (two of my family members had the US Govt forgive >>$100K in loans after they spent two years in the Indian Health Service.)

I recognize that the OP is not trying to game the system (unlike some CC posters who treat ED as “optional” if one decides to choose a “better” college.) Nevertheless you have an ethical obligation to honor the ED agreement.

Actually, if OP and her family decide, after considering the financial aid package, that WashU isn’t affordable then there’s nothing unethical about rejecting the offer. OP seems to be receiving mixed messages from her parents about the school’s affordability. This could be one of those situations where the parents allowed the student to apply hoping they’d be rejected so they wouldn’t have to be the ones to say no. If she has doubts they can truly afford it she should turn the offer down.

@pickpocket Re: Med School - or one could simply get into NYU Med School - now free for all med school students. (Realize this is easier said than done)

There is nothing unethical about backing out of the agreement if you have financial concerns. Going to washU without adequate funds will affect you, your parents, and your little brother for years to come. Whereas if you back out of the agreement, WashU will just move on to the next applicant. Your actions will not hurt the school at all!

Do not go there for 1 year and plan to transfer. Attending for 1 year spends over half of a college fund that it sounds like could be used to cover all 4 years at the state school.

Frankly, from what you’ve been saying, it sounds like attending this school will cause financial strain for your parents, and that’s likely why they’re not excited - especially when you have affordable options on the table.

Don’t share any info with your state school. Don’t give any schools more info about your situation than what is required. There is a huge power imbalance here. The agreement gives an out for financial reasons and you have financial reasons. That’s all they need to know.

Don’t put the “needs” of an institution above the needs of your family. This school is not hurting for students and will be fine.

My parents are willing and able to pay for a WashU undergrad, but in doing so I doubt they would support grad/med school

I think people are forgetting about or not reading this statement. If grad or med school was an issue OP never should have applied ED.

Med/grad school should be on the student though - if the parents can help, all the better, but the primary responsibility rests with the student at that point. Thinking “if I don’t go to WashU perhaps my parents will pay for Med school” is not very realistic, not fair for the parents.

This whole discussion inspires a reasonable strategy in my opinion: apply ED for the perceived advantage in admit rates, but also apply for financial aid, even if you believe you can pay.

I see no problem with such a strategy from an ethics point of view. The colleges are not transparent with their admissions criteria (“we evaluate applications holistically”). Neither are they transparent with their financial aid policies (“we evaluate each family’s unique situation using our own needs formula”).

In specifying ED, the applicant is giving up something: the perceived - and likely, real - advantage of applying ED elsewhere. In applying for FA, she may also be subjecting herself to longer odds as a financial aid applicant (despite what colleges advertise, their true decision process is unknowable ex ante). In offering ED, the college gives up…

Nothing.

This entire ED system has been created by highly selective colleges to (1) ease their administrative burden by sequencing the application process, (2) manage and game yield figures, (3) induce applicants to give up valuable signal information as to preference, (4) ensure a FP admit pool that then supports the virtue-signal that certain schools are “need blind” and (5) shape their incoming classes according to institutional preference and whim without transmitting specific information regarding selection criteria, which would allow better self-selection. Have I missed any reasons?

The entire process is one of extreme information asymmetry. Again, under these conditions I can’t see the ethics problem for an individual applicant who uses non-receipt of financial aid to back out. Especially as there will be plenty of other applicants for the college to choose from. Just my two cents.

And in return to the benefits listed in posted 93, the students get higher acceptance rates and the knowledge they are accepted early, which minimizes student stress.

Kids apply ED for the admission bump.

If you want to compare offers, don’t apply ED.

OP - I still don’t read anything that validates backing out of ED. Just because your parents will need to eventually use income to pay tuition doesn’t mean they can’t afford it.

Yes, in this case, the OP/parents CAN pay… OP just doesn’t want them to have to pay. IMO, they knew the rules going in and should honor their contract. If the OP really wants med school, they can own the responsibility of paying. There are some scholarships for med school.

I so agree with the above and both sides of this. As I stated before, this system seems to be broken. If the Ed people get acceptances they should also get their answer to scholarships and fianacial aid right away. They make their signed decision before the new year. If they can’t afford it then they are essentially rejected from that school and move on.

The system is so one sided to those that have VS those that don’t have. It’s just a yield play for the school.

While we all understand what ED is, I don’t know how a 17/18 year old can truly be expected to make that commitment and/or understand the financial implications.

I think you should back out of the ED. The finances just take your breath away and you need to put your father first.

@Empireapple It’s not just the student that signs the agrrement. The parents and GC do as well so they should have understood the commitment.

@Empireapple you don’t know how 17/18 year olds can be expected to make such commitments???- isn’t that what this entire college process is about? That is not an ED specific decision, but ALL college decisions have financial implications that are being made by 17/18 year olds. ED has added layers so that 17/18 yo don’t have to make them alone. Parents must sign off as well as school admins.

I see a new admissions strategy emerging here on CC. If we all band together, we might be able to change the tide of admissions and get all of our kids in ED only to walk away. Imagine the impact of a sub 50% yield on ED admissions.

Let’s have all of our children apply ED to top schools with no intention of them ever attending. They can then have the bragging rights that they were accepted to a top 20 and then they can follow the $ to the state schools of their choice. If thousands of CC families do this and spread the word, we can make a change and maybe get turn the table on ED admissions. No impact to the students pulling out and they can feel good about themselves because they were an applicant that was accepted ED to HYP or others but turned them down.