<p>I am applying to Duke ED, UVA RD, UNC EA, and NC State EA. I'm still not sure which one is my first choice, but I think that I have the best chance of getting into Duke if I do ED. I know that the ED if supposed to be my first choice, but assuming I get accepted and don't want to go, can I claim that the financial aid package isn't big enough and avoid the obligation of going to Duke? Is there any way Duke could force me to attend?</p>
<p><a href=“The Case for Early Decision - The New York Times”>http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/13/the-case-for-early-decision</a>
That said, applying ED to a school that you know will NOT give you enough aid is a waste of an early slot. You and your your parents should run Duke’s Net Price Calculator to get an estimate of how much financial aid you will receive. Those calculators are pretty accurate, so if you can’t afford Duke, don’t apply ED, otherwise your parents will have a difficult time claiming you can’t afford to go: <a href=“Net Price Calculator”>Net Price Calculator;
<p>Bottom line: If you are undecided as to your first choice school, you should not apply to Duke, but instead apply to a larger group of non-binding EA schools and apply to Duke RD.</p>
<p>Only apply to a school ED if that school is the one you would attend over any other.</p>
<p>Your plan to lie demonstrates a lack of character on your part. Unfortunate. Hopefully you will choose to be ethical.</p>
<p>@alamemom already throwing out accusations. Although it does seem like he could use it as a way out of the binding app, he could also just be wondering if it is a possibility given certain financial circumstances. </p>
<p>You could say that but the thing is, you will have an Estimated Family Contribution(EFC) number listed on your FAFSA when you submit it. Pretend Duke costs 60K to attend and your EFC is 50K. This means that you’d qualify for about 10K in aid from Duke, which is what they give you. You wouldn’t be able to opt out (well, technically, they could, but that gets ugly fast if it’s not for money reasons) of it in that case because Duke would be meeting your need. </p>
<p>Best advice would be to run the net price calculator before you apply. It’ll save you some time later on =)</p>
<p>^^ Speaking of lack of character…</p>
<p>Why would you even apply to it if you ever think of not attending? Obviously you are not 100% sure you want to go there, therefore, you should not apply ED at the first place. If you did and regret, you may need to communicate with your GC first before taking any action. For my D’s school, the GC would only help the student to get into an in state public if declined an ED offer. Remember, you still need to submit final school report and transcript to the matriculated school. The ED contract is signed by you, your parent, and your GC. All are responsible parties.</p>
<p>I think I’m going to get some popcorn and see how this plays out.</p>
<p>The OP isn’t asking about financial aid, the OP is asking,
because:
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<p>If Duke is not the first choice, do not apply ED. To do otherwise demonstrates a lack of character and would be unethical.</p>
<p>^^ I’m in agreement there.</p>
<p>In addition, as your guidance counselor has to sign the ED agreement, it places them and your school in a difficult position for future applicants. If you withdraw from your early contract for “financial reasons” that are not really indicated by your parent’s income/assets, why should Duke accept more students ED from you school? Way to look out for #1 and be damned who you might hurt in the process!</p>
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<p>Duke would have your financial information and of course know what aid they are offering you. From that information, they would know if your claim to be withdrawing because they did not offer enough aid was true or not. If they offer generous aid, and you use the “I can’t afford to attend” excuse because you decided you would rather attend a different school, they could make life miserable for you. It is within their right to contact your guidance counselor and insist that other schools be told about your ED CONTRACT.</p>
<p>I have to agree with alamemom on this one. Using the hook of ED to gain an advantage in the admissions process is only fair if the student is honest that it is an absolute first choice. It is a contract and it is a bad thing to start out one’s adult life so willing to break a contract to get an unfair advantage. As a mom of four, I totally understand how teenagers might not be able to commit to one specific college in October. That is what RD is for. And, as is the case of most of the donut applicant pool, if one really needs to weigh actual FA decisions, and competitive merit awards, one has to apply RD as well. </p>
<p>Do not apply to Duke ED unless it is your absolute first choice.</p>
<p>@Nflpackers96 - What you are postulating is absolutely unethical. That, of course, is bad enough. But as gibby correctly points out, because your guidance counselor has to sign off on your ED app, what you are proposing would hurt others. I will assume you didn’t think that part through and thought it was a “victimless” act. That still doesn’t excuse the immorality, but perhaps it is enough to make you rethink it anyway.</p>
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<p>Duke may calculate EFC differently from the FAFSA calculation.</p>
<p>But even it it happens to be the same at the example numbers given above, some of the $10,000 will likely be assumed to be student self-help contribution – either student work earnings (for which work-study may be offered) or student loan – so grant money will be less than $10,000.</p>
<p>So use Duke’s net price calculator rather than relying on FAFSA EFC and other assumptions to estimate financial aid at Duke.</p>
<p>In any case, do not apply ED unless the school is your clear first choice, you are reasonably sure of its affordability based on its net price calculator results, and you do not need to compare its financial aid with that of other schools.</p>
<p>First, I would like to thank everybody that gave a constructed response and didn’t just attack my morality and ethics.</p>
<p>@alamemom, @gibby, @fallenchemist: I haven’t even finished my junior year yet, so nothing is set in stone. I still don’t know what I am going to do. It is just a question, so there is no need to start throwing around accusations and making premature judgements. I am not watching out for #1 and screwing everyone else, I am asking an honest question. So sorry for that inexcusably immoral act.</p>
<p>Well, now if know that for both logistical and ethical reasons I shouldn’t apply for Duke ED unless it’s my first choice. Unfortunately, I ran the net price calculator and realized that there is no way I can pay for Duke. So I guess that’s that.</p>
<p>@Nflpackers96 - If you read my response, I addressed the ethics of your hypothetical. Of course you can ask the question, and it was answered. But look at how you phrased the question. In essence it was “I am thinking of doing X. If I do this and I don’t like how it turns out, can I just lie to get out of it?” And the answer was “If you do X and lie to get out of it, it is unethical in and of itself, and even worse it can hurt others”. I didn’t accuse you of being unethical or immoral, I said the act you asked about was. No accusations and no premature judgement.</p>
<p>Yes, one should run those NPCs before putting the schools on the list. Financial reach schools are even more impossible than admission reach schools.</p>
<p>OP, thank you for mentioning me in your post thereby inviting a response. I would not have noticed the further posts on this thread if not for the notification. I understand you felt that by pointing out that your plan was unethical I was saying that someone who would carry out such a plan was unethical. You are correct, someone who would proceed with your stated plan would be, by definition, unethical.
Your opening post clearly stated your plan to apply ED and then lie to get out of the ED contract while also stating the you already knew that an ED school was supposed to be your first choice and that you would be obligated to attend. Then you asked if the scheme would work. Perhaps you need to go back and re-read what you wrote:
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<p>I am very glad to have helped you see how unethical your plan was. I am relieved to hear you have taken the good advice provided to you by many posters here and have chosen not to lie in attempt to gain an *unethical advantage over others<a href=“aka” title=“watching out for #1 and screwing everyone else”>/i</a>. </p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>I realize the OP has already decided not to apply ED to Duke but I just wanted to add for anyone else reading this in the future - applying ED to a school you aren’t sure you want to attend doesn’t make much sense for the applicant. You may well have to say yes or no to that school before you hear from any other schools, and before you see any other financial aid/merit offers. </p>
<p>ED is, IMO, only for those who know they want to attend and know they can afford to go if admitted. Ethics aside, it just doesn’t make sense for the student to do it if those two conditions aren’t met.</p>