<p>In regular decision, schools are essentially competing for you and therefore it would make sense for them to offer a financial aid package that would contend with the offers from other schools. Whereas, I understand early decision is binding so do schools take advantage of that by offering less generous aid packages? Basically, is applying early decision a bad idea if you are in need of financial aid?</p>
<p>On the financial aid forum on CC this question comes up quite often. You could dig up some old, or not-so-old, threads there or pose your question anew. Consensus on that forum is not to apply ED if financial aid is a concern. However, it is not because the schools take advantage of ED applicants, although that’s possible. It is just hard to tell in advance what a school’s FA package will be, even if the school provides an estimate prior to application. Being able to compare FA packages in April carries far less risk and leads to better financial outcomes most of the time. And keep in mind that college is a 4-year proposition, so that even small differences in first-year FA packages become greatly magnified by graduation.</p>
<p>Dartmouth offers very good need-based financial aid. It’s not the best, but it doesn’t lag far behind. However, students that gain admission to Dartmouth may also be able to obtain merit scholarships elsewhere that exceed any need-based FA package.</p>
<p>If accepted and you feel your first choice school’s FA offer isn’t the best, it’s not unheard of to call them and say :“here’s my other offers. Can you close the gap?” If they admit you, they *really really *want you.</p>
<p>Of course, this is only possible thru RD</p>