<p>Well I was wondering if I should do ED but I heard from a friend who loves Vanderbilt that ED applications are compared to applicants from the year before. I am applying this fall and I was wondering if my stats are a little bit below what was considered average this year would it be better to do ED or just do RD?</p>
<p>ED 1 had a 40% acceptance rate. Regular was under 18%, with higher stats. You can get out of it if you dont like your financial aide, so that shouldnt be a problem. So you decide</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>That is not normally true of ED. Do you have a citation for that?</p>
<p>//\As midmo points out, be very careful of assuming that you can get out of ED because of not liking FA offer. There are numerous threads about the hazards of committing to ED if you have any concerns about financial aid or if you have any uncertainty about where you want to go (use “Search” function). The conventional wisdom, frequently repeated, is only to do ED if financial aid is not a concern and you are certain about where you want to go. Lots of people have been burned by trying to “game the system” with ED. You might be luckier…but it’s risky.</p>
<p>You cannot “get out of” ED if accepted.</p>
<p>If the ED school felt like it, you could be liable for damages up to and exceeding four year tuition. While that probably wouldn’t happen, schools regularly report to their consortium and academic peers the names of students that balk on ED offers. Assuming you’re not bailing on a Vandy ED for Auburn, odds are the “new school” would rescind that offer as well.</p>
<p>Financial aid would be an issue due to the fact that my EFC is probably 5000. What would be the best route for me.</p>
<p>^^Absolutely no way any court would assess damages. To receive “damages”, Vandy would have to show that they were “damaged” by someone who reneged on an ED “contract.” But that is impossible since they’d just give the spot to someone else and, if full pay, Vandy is better off!</p>
<p>…One of the most ridiculous (and speculative) posts I’ve seen on cc… :)</p>
<p>Woah there champ, cool your jets. Clearly no school is going to waste time taking some high school senior to court, sorry if that was confusing…</p>
<p>The point of the post is to illustrate that sneaking out of an ED contract (which ED applicants do sign) is not exactly an option unless a few bank accounts up and disappear.</p>
<p>So ED students receive less FA on average?</p>
<p>The idea is that students who apply ED (aka “binding early decision”) are much more likely not to need or qualify for financial aid. If you can afford to promise to attend without seeing the offer, then you probably are not as financially constrained. That doesn’t mean any given student is likely to be offered less aid.</p>