Is ED really Binding?

Applying to College
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<p>Here's a quote from the Swarthmore Daily Gazette which is on point:</p>

<p>Early Decision is "not a legally binding contract," said [Admissions Dean] Bock, "and we won't force a student to attend if they can't afford it." Students are notified of Swarthmore's decision in time to apply to other colleges if they so choose. In practice, one or two families a year withdraw from early decision. Bock follows these students, and he assured us that "they all have options... they end up at good schools." In the past, most of these families have actually been upper-to-middle class families who choose large amounts of merit aid over Swarthmore's financial aid package, which is based solely on need.</p>

<p>In my view the key points are:
1) ED is not a legally binding contract
2) But it is a commitment, and should be viewed as such by applicants and their parents
3) ED commitments are sometimes waived by the college if the Financial Aid package doesn't work for the family. My personal view is that this should only be used if the FA package is literally unaffordable by the family, not just because there is hope of a better offer from another college.</p>

22

<p>Mountaindog,
I wouldn't trust that coach. My understanding is that people can back out ED if they don't get the financial aid package that meets their documented need. That's not the same as not getting the same package that you want or that you figure that you may get by getting also generous merit aid or athletic scholarships.</p>

<p>However, you always could check this by asking the coach for contactables of people who did back out because they didn't like the aid package.</p>

23

<p>
[quote]
Keep the other options open and back out later if someone comes thru with a package by Dec 31.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>ED was not designed for this as one caveat of applying ED is that you "lose" the ability to compare offers. Even as a recuited athelete, if your son does not get the "offer" you and your family are looking for, since so many coaches do lock in students & money during the ED round it is not very likely your son would get the money during RD. It seems like this is a question that should have been asked before committing to a school as some schools website will give information on the number of teams and the approximate amount of money that is allocated to each team. If your son is in a non-revenue sport, the money may still not come regardless of when he is admitted.</p>

24

<p>since I was the one who suggested the OP ask parents for advice on this, let me add that you may get more relevant responses on the parents forum if the question is asked with a title along the lines of "recruited athlete and ED?" so that the it catches the eye of parents of recruited athletes. </p>

<p>"ED really binding?" is an interesting title, too, but might not be attracting the eye of the parents who had kids that were recruited. I know I've read a number of stories from parents of kids that were recruited or were applying to very selective arts programs, so there are a good number of parents on the forum with experience/expertise in specialized areas.</p>

25

<p>Latest Update: I heard the exact same message from another coach at a different LAC that is now talking to my S. You can get out of ED if you don't "like the package". Same conference. Hmmmm....makes me wonder. BTW - didn't apply ED1.</p>

26

<p>There are ways out of it. A girl in my graduating class was accepted ED at Emory and then decided not to go there. I don't know exactly how she got out of it, but she did.</p>

27

<p>Ya....how do you "just get out of it." Do you write a letter saying, "thanks, but no thanks?"</p>

28

<p>an applicant is able to break ED acceptance if the family determines that the fin aid offer is not sufficient.</p>

29

<p>The coach does not seem to be very honest. Most Top LAC's also provide financial aid based on need so the only real difference you might see in a "package" is more money and less loans.</p>

30

<p>ED can be broken due to financial situations. And that's the truth.</p>

31

<p>Sure, it can be broken due to one's financial situation, but that can be difficult. If the college has from their perspective met 100% of your financial need, the college won't find it acceptable if you back out because you didn't want to take out $10,000 in loans each year or because you'd prefer the free ride plus laptop that your rolling decision state public university offered you. </p>

<p>Bottom line: If finances are a consideration, don't apply ED.</p>

32

<p>"Bottom line: If finances are a consideration, don't apply ED."</p>

<p>Note that this is the OPPOSITE message some colleges want to send. These colleges understand that there are often extenuating circumstances which don't show up (e.g., bad credit rating precluding loans, inability to liquidate an asset), and consider such ED acceptances to be offers, declinable without consequence. If your desired ED school does not include the word "offer" in its web site ED financial aid discussion, contact them (annonymously if you're hesitant) for clarification.</p>

33

<p>It is difficult for universities to address the issue of coaches misleading recruits.
There are two basic realities. Firstly, some coaches will get carried away by competitive fire and start ignoring rules. On the other hand, recruits, and especially their parents, have a way of interpreting meetings with coaches in unrealistically optimistic lights and then making complaints when reality strikes on december 15.</p>

<p>When a coach tells a goalie that he is his #1 pick this should be interpreted as subject to change. One never knows who might show interest in a school at the eleventh hour. If, however, a coach commits to supporting an athlete, be it oral or otherwise, he should have to honor his word. Furthermore, if it is established that a coach made a deliberately misleading statement regarding school policy, or any issue of fact, the coach should be disciplined.</p>

34

<p>Also, I <em>think</em> that some schools have in their ED contract that the student can decline only to attend a public state university? I'm not sure how common that is but I do think I saw it on someone's ED program. </p>

<p>So unless you get something in writing...the coach could say "oh yeah sure ED isn't binding here" - but does that have qualifications/limitations to break the contract without consequences?</p>

35

<p>Wait wait ...I have a question. </p>

<p>Is this D1 or D3? </p>

<p>In other words -- are we talking about an athletic scholarship available at D1 schools -- and didn't the coach give you/your son information about exactly what is available? And what about an National Letter of Intent?</p>

<p>Or is it D3 -- i.e. no athletic scholarships -- or an Ivy (D1 with no athletic scholarships and rather muddy waters on need/merit aid available to athletes)?</p>

36

<p>
[quote]
These colleges understand that there are often extenuating circumstances which don't show up (e.g., bad credit rating precluding loans, inability to liquidate an asset), and consider such ED acceptances to be offers, declinable without consequence.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>For the most part one's credit worthiness, or debt that they have racked up (with the exception of debt due to unreimbursed medical expenses) are not factored into the financial aid process and are not considered vailid means to back out of ED because there is an expectation that families know their financial situation before applying. </p>

<p>In addition to the numerous financial aid calculators, some schools will give an early read. One thing to consider, if you run your numbers and cannot come up with your EFC based on the Federal Methodology (which tends to be lower than what your institutional EFC would come out to be ) and are not in a postition to borrow it if you need to then ED is definitely not for you and you should be looking to schools that may offer merit.</p>

37

<p>I believe sybbie is correct for some schools, but, again, this is the OPPOSITE message some other schools want to send, i.e., those who are defending their ED programs from the criticism that ED favors the wealthy.</p>

<p>If you have picked an ED school and need financial aid, just ask them if their ED acceptance is an offer, declinable without consequence. It's too late for ED I, but not ED II if your school has one.</p>

38

<p>I also think that students need to remember that college (especially paying for college) is a family decision. Before a student even considers applying fro ED or even RD, they should talk with their parents and get a realistic answer to how much money the parent is willing to spend or to borrow for their education. </p>

<p>The other side of the coin is the parents really need to be forth coming with the fact that if their is an expectation that loans will be part of the financial aid package if as vossron stated, if the parent is credit worthy, or if they are willing to take out home equity loans or liquate assets to pay for college.</p>

39

<p>At Cornell they said that financial aid is the only reason you can back out of ED. They specifically stated that if you don't think it's enough then you must talk to the financial aid committee and try to negotiate, but if you still aren't happy (regardless of if they met your "need") they will release you from your contract and you can apply to other schools rd. I guess if they give you a free ride then there is no way out, but otherwise you are allowed to say the fin. package is not good enough. Columbia, Upenn, and other schools said the same thing. Many gc's and parents think this is not true, but every college I have asked has said that they will release you if you don't like the fin. aid package. Perhaps there are a few exceptions, but the majority of schools WILL release you. This should seriously be on mythbusters lol!</p>

40

<p>Yes, as others have stated a school may release you from ED, but don't automatically assume if you are released ED from an ivy that you will be admitted to another one or even to a "comprable" school.</p>

<p>Columbia University has publicly said what they do. They release 1 or 2 ED acceptees a year if 1) they can't make the finances work; and 2) ONLY to non-competing schools (they specifically said lower cost state schools.) They share data on acceptances with other members of the COFHE consortium (meaning all Ivies, virtually all prestige LACs, Stanford, MIT, Chicago, etc.)</p>

<p>10. Can I be released from my Early Decision contract because of my financial aid package?</p>

<p>It is extremely rare for a family to ask to be released from the Early Decision commitment for financial reasons. There are usually only two or three families each year that ultimately are released for financial aid reasons, and this is normally due to a lack of understanding of need-based aid (i.e., they were expecting merit-based aid, they did not submit complete information when using a financial aid estimator, etc).</p>

<p>IT IS THE FAMILY’S DETERMINATION THAT THEY CANNOT AFFORD TO FINANCE A COLUMBIA EDUCATION THAT ALLOWS THEM TO BE RELEASED FROM THE BINDING EARLY DECISION ADMISSIONS OFFER. The family must first speak with a financial aid officer, before the release is granted. Ultimately, it is the family’s decision whether or not they feel capable of accepting the need-based Columbia financial aid award. </p>

<p>**Those who do opt out of their Early Decision contract are released to pursue lower-cost school options, such as state schools and/or schools that award merit aid. **The admission offer at Columbia is then cancelled. A candidate who declines Columbia’s Early Decision offer will not be allowed to reconsider Columbia’s financial aid estimate in the spring Regular Decision cycle and will not be able to reinstate the original offer of admission. </p>

<p><a href="http://www.studentaffairs.columbia.edu/admissions/faq/aid.php#10%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.studentaffairs.columbia.edu/admissions/faq/aid.php#10&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>from:</p>

<p>Joint Statement for Candidates on Common Ivy Group Admission Procedure</p>

<p>
[quote]
The College Board-approved Early Decision Plan, which is offered by Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, the University of Pennsylvania and Princeton, requires a prior commitment to matriculate; thus a student may not file more than one Early Decision application among these or any other institutions. Financial aid awards for those qualifying for financial assistance will normally be announced in full detail at the same time as the admission decisions. *An applicant receiving admission and an adequate financial award under the Early Decision Plan will be required to accept that offer of admission and withdraw all applications to other colleges or universities. All Ivy institutions will honor any required commitment to matriculate which has been made to another college under this plan. *

[/quote]
</p>

<p><a href="http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/utilities/faq/Common_Ivy_Statement.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/utilities/faq/Common_Ivy_Statement.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Remember it is the college, not you or your family that determines what is adequate.</p>