<p>Since ED is a binding decision, is it wise to apply ED to a school you're not sure you can afford even after receiving a financial aid package?</p>
<p>No.</p>
<p>(unless you can find my grove of magic money trees. They're after me lucky bills! <em>fwoosh!</em>)</p>
<p>Technically, if aid is insufficient, you usually are given an exemption from the ED contract. But really, if you need to compare FA offers, do not apply ED.</p>
<p>Simply put: no.</p>
<p>"Technically, if aid is insufficient, you usually are given an exemption from the ED contract."</p>
<p>This confuses me a bit. Why would the college accept a student ED in the first place with aid that they acknowledge to be insufficient?</p>
<p>herein lies the fault of ED</p>
<p>Call the school's financial aid office to discuss whether they would consider an ED application that explicitly states that you would prefer not to be admitted if the financial aid amount is less than (name your threshhold). Explain your situation-you want to come, this is your first choice, but you can only pay x amount p.a. </p>
<p>You will not be able to negotiate a financial aid offer if admitted, as you might if you had competing offers from different schools, but you would be able to secure the advantages that go with applying ED.</p>
<p>The worst thing that can happen is the Financial Aid office says you will get turned down if you have this caveat in your application...and since you couldn't afford the school anyway, that's not a problem. (I suppose you could argue that the real worst case is that they take you and ignore your caveat about needing a certain level of aid, but that seems unlikely to happen.) When in doubt, ask! This is a reasonable question.</p>
<p>I don't know M's Mom, that sounds kinda risky. In addition to the psychological torture of not knowing whether you would have been admitted otherwise, you still loose the ability to compare FA offers from other schools, no small gain if money is tight. Also, although less likely, if they were planning on giving you more money than your offer stated, they may not consider it such a high priority to give you the best scholarship.</p>
<p>Perhaps you could call the school's Fa office and give them a brief listing of your assets and income to get a rough idea of the package you would get, after explaining your dilemma? Also, you might try using a FAFSA calculator on the web to see what your EFC would likely be, and then looking at what % of need the school has a history of meeting to get a very general ballpark figure. </p>
<p>But I have little to no experience with FA, so you might want to wait for someone with more experience in the area to come by, or ask on the FA forum. But I'd still advise you not to apply ED.</p>
<p>The answer is NO.</p>
<p>If you don't get what you and your family consider to be enough aid, although the college considers it to be enough aid, you will be in a difficult situation.</p>
<p>One of the best lessons is life is to learn when to listen to a 'NO' and when to ignore it. A 'NO' from an expert is probably worth listening to. A 'NO' from someone with no expertise, is should be taken with a grain of salt. You lose nothing by calling the financial aid office at your ED school and talking to them. Reputable schools are not in the business of tricking people into applying ED who will then regret coming because it places them under financial duress.</p>
<p>Consider if the ED school will allow you to have apps in at other colleges before you hear from the ED school when the other colleges are rolling or EA. Apparently some ED schools make you promise not to have any other apps out there until they give you an answer and that might affect your chances at the other schools as well as chances for FA at other schools</p>
<p>thanks!!! much appreciated. :)</p>
<p>Jellyfishjelly,</p>
<p>Your username isn't a reference to the band Jellyfish, is it? Incredible pop band from the 90s.</p>
<p>My niece's boyfriend applied ED to a school where he was accepted but found that he could not afford. He had a very hard time breaking the contract and ended up at a community college for his freshman year. He was a top notch student, not one headed for community college. Don't do it. You do not want to be in the position of trying to break a binding ED contract because the financial package you were awarded is not enough. Apply RD where you can compare financial offers and even negotiate them. While ED gives you an advantage in terms of getting accepted, it can backfire if you are not sure you can afford the school.</p>
<p>On the other hand, S applied ED to his school after first receiving assurances from the financial aid office that his eligibility for aid, and the amount of that aid, would not be impacted by the decision to apply ED. Subsequent contacts with those admitted RD confirms that he got exactly the same package they did-and he avoided the months of uncertainty wondering if he'd get in.</p>
<p>If my family's income is <$30,000, would you say that I shouldn't worry too much about financial aid if I applied ED?</p>
<p>I'd say you would be wrong to apply anywhere ED. You need to apply to a large number of schools where you are mostly above their statistics so they will want to give you money to attend. Then you can compare packages. Doing ED with an income less then 30K a year just sets you up for disappointment, in my opinion. Your efc will most likely be zero or very close to it. If you do ED, you will need to apply to a need blind school that guarantees to meet 100% of your need. Those schools are mostly the very top schools, so unless you are a very top student you shouldn't do it. Even the schools that claim to meet 100% of need meet it the way THEY figure your need. It can be very different from what your efc says. </p>
<p>You can get out of an ED school for financial reasons, but you add a lot of stress onto an already stressful time.</p>
<p>Thanks for your input, citrusbelt. I'll take all that into consideration.</p>
<p>It would be extremely helpful if someone could list some top schools, and second/third-tier schools as well, that are need-blind. Preferably with a good business/econ program.</p>
<p>from an article on need blind admissions:</p>
<p>There are only nine colleges that are need blind for all applicants, including international students.These are Dartmouth College, Harvard University, Middlebury College, MIT, Princeton University, Williams College, Yale University, St. John's College, U.S., and Amherst College.</p>
<p>The following schools state they are need-blind and full-need (to Americans):</p>
<pre><code>* Amherst College
* Beloit College
* Boston College
* Bowdoin College
* Brandeis University
* Brown University
* California Institute of Technology
* Claremont McKenna College
* Columbia University
* Cornell University
* Cooper Union
* Dartmouth College
* Davidson College
* Duke University
* Emory University [2]
* Georgetown University
* Grinnell College
* Harvard University
* Haverford College
* Massachusetts Institute of Technology
* Middlebury College
* Northwestern University
* Pomona College
* Princeton University
* Rice University [3]
* Stanford University
* Swarthmore College
* University of Chicago
* University of Pennsylvania
* University of Richmond
* University of Virginia [4]
* Vassar College [5]
* Vanderbilt University
* Wake Forest University
* Wellesley College
* Wesleyan University
* Williams College
* Yale University
</code></pre>
<p>There are lots of schools that you would want to consider though, not just these. In fact, many great schools lower down the admissions ladder will give a great student as much or more then any of these will. I know that Pomona College is exceedingly generous, for example and truly meet the need of low income students without even loans, just grant. I know a student with an efc of 6K who was offered everything and they will only have to pay 4K. 4K is what the student could earn themselves, but you have to be able to get into Pomona. ;) </p>
<p>These schools may say they are need blind and meet full need, but many people will say they don't always do that, so don't count on it. You will notice that most of these schools are not going to be safeties for anyone! Please don't forget a safety that you can afford. That may be your local community college even. You could ask people what would be good financially feasible schools to have on your list if you post your stats and financial situation in an appropriate thread. </p>
<p>You will be able to go to college, but you will need to consider both where you want to go and how much you can afford. If you are international your choices are limited.</p>