<p>If I apply ED, how do i know how much financial aid I get?</p>
<p>If you apply ED, usually your financial aid award is either sent with your acceptance letter OR very shortly thereafter. Usually.</p>
<p>BUT make sure you adhere to the filing of the financial aid application forms and supporting documents. ED applicants often have a “priority filing” date that is very early…Profile can be by November 1. FAFSA cannot be done until Jan 1, but most schools awarding ED financial aid have some way to look at the finances before…either Profile of their own form.</p>
<p>If financial aid is a big concern for you, it’s a good idea NOT to apply ED because that prevents your being able to compare offers. It also is not that easy to back out of an ED acceptance because a college didn’t give you the aid that your family feels is necessary. Remember, it’s the college, not your family, that determines how much aid you need. The college also may meet your financial need by including higher loans than what you would be comfortable or wise to take on.</p>
<p>A financial aid estimate will come around the time of your acceptance. It can only be an estimate because the year is not yet over and the final numbers are not compiled and FAFSA cannot be done. Any differences caused by actual numbers will be adjusted when the final financials are submitted.</p>
<p>I agree with NSM about ED. If you and your parents are not resolved to take whatever the school gives you, or if you simply cannot afford more than a certain amount, ED is not a good option. Nor is it a good option if you want to see what you can get from other colleges. </p>
<p>This year, one of my son’s classmates who applied ED to Lehigh and was accepted and delighted is now a bit upset as are his parents. Apparently a couple of kids with “lower” stats from the same school were accepted at Vanderbilt which also pretty high on their list. They went ED to Lehigh because they really weren’t sure of acceptance at either school, or any for that matter at that selectivity, and kids were rejected the prior year from that school with similar stats. So they were using ED to max their chances at the most selective school and to get the whole danged thing finished by year end. And they were successful. But the buyer’s remorse really set in when the kids got some really nice financial/merit packages from Vanderbilt. Apparently the Lehigh package was no where nearly as good. It has left a bad taste in the family’s mouth. Who knows? Maybe Vandy would have rejected the kid or given him/her nothing. But then maybe s/he could be headed there at about half the cost which really makes a big difference to a family. </p>
<p>When the focus is on just getting in, getting accepted, it’s difficult to remember that you do have to pay for all of this, and it ain’t cheap. With ED, you just don’t know what your cost options are because you can’t compare.</p>
<p>Unless you’re very low income with no assets (both parents), if you need financial aid, then I wouldn’t apply to an ED school. And, no one with need should apply ED to a school that doesn’t promise to meet 100% of need. </p>
<p>Those in the “gray area” of having some need sometimes find that their ED school expects a larger “family contribution” then what the family can pay. And, since you can’t compare offers (or use a better offer from elsewhere to leverage to get increased aid at your ED school), then applying ED is not a good idea.</p>
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<p>How did they get financial aid packages from Vandy if they were accepted (and agreed to attend) to Lehigh ED? When they accepted enrollment at Lehigh, all other applications and accepances were required to be withdrawn.</p>
<p>I think he said the other kids with lower stats were accepted and got good aid at Vandy so they realized that may have been a possibility for their kid if he had not locked himself into ED at Lehigh.</p>
<p>I see Swimcats…he was talking about stats driven financial aid…but we also don’t know if there was a need component. The Lehigh kid’s finaid package might not have been as good as other kids’ packages from Vandy…if you KWIM.</p>
<p>Your package is just an estimate - official packages come out April 1st.</p>
<p>^^cpt is assuming that FA would have been comparable for one kid as another at Vandy; big assumption IMO unless they “shared” financial statements…</p>
<p>otoh, Vandy is known for being more generous with FA than Lehigh at any level…but as another poster mentioned, who knows if the kid would have even been admitted? none of us know why the kids with lowerish stats were admitted ED to Vandy regardless…</p>
<p>Good point. But it does illustrate that ED may not be the best way to go as you never get to know what your other options might have been</p>
<p>Sorry for the confusion. It’s just that once you get something, buyer’s remorse often sets in. This happened to this ED family. They were elated in December that the kid was accepted to a school he liked and they all liked. Vandy was on the list, but they decided that it was a bit too risky to apply ED there, so they went a notch down. Other kids from the same school applied to VAndy, were accepted and got some nice money to boot. </p>
<p>You’re all right. Who knows what would have happened with the kid? He may not have gotten accepted to Vandy, particularly early, and who knows about anyone’s financial situation really? Those kids might be a lot needier, the profiles much better and the family is just looking at all of these with green eyes. But they will never know because they did not put in the app anywhere else. Now that the kid is in the school, has been in the school since last December, it is no longer dangling as an unattainable which can diminish it’s value to many, especially when other options were not investigated. Also, how you feel in fall of senior year is not always the way you are going to feel in the spring. The talk among peers, visits, information increase, and info sinking into the brain can change a lot of priorities and desires. It can open possibilities. First choice schools can be replaced with other schools, especially when there are new developments that arise.</p>
<p>I know kids who did not even want to consider SUNY, just stuck it on the list as a financial safety. When the acceptances rolled in, and the financials became a reality, many of them then visited Binghamton, Albany, Buffalo with others from their schools, and were able to make a decision with all the facts in front of them. Is Lehigh really worth 3x the cost of Binghamton? Especially when the mortgage rate has been raised,and dad’s business is not doing so well , and mom’s hours are cut with the college fund, if any at an all time low. Those 6% and 9% loans that the government is offering carry quite a premium per year for $40K borrowed. When you see the numbers right in your face and realize that your friends also in the same boat are looking at other alternatives, it really can make you open your mind to other possibilities. I know two kids accepted to Colgate, Lehigh and a number of other fine small expensive schools that decided that Geneseo or other SUNYs were a better deal in this climate.</p>