<p>my friend just told me this and i am panicking like crazy because my family income is about $30-40k and i applied ED to dartmouth.</p>
<p>That is not true.... and if it's really true that your family only makes $30 - 40k, then you should get a very generous f/a package from Dartmouth if you are accepted.</p>
<p>The confusion that exist is this...</p>
<p>If you apply ED, and you are accepted, then you must go, regardless of the F/A they offer you (but since your income is so low, you will likely get a generous offer (make sure your family fills out the FAFSA and/or anything else Dartmouth requires for F/A. .... </p>
<p>Those who apply ED don't have the luxury to wait and compare F/A offers in the spring from all the schools that they applied to and then make a decision as to where they will go.</p>
<p>oh feel better now</p>
<p>for need-blind admissions schools...it should be good right? i REALLYYYY wanna go to penn but that 51 K is kinda big. however, since penn is need-blind, should i worry about it at all?</p>
<p>Do you understand what "need blind" means? Need blind means that when the school is considering your admission, they don't even know if you need/qualify for F/A - so you're not penalized if your family's income is low and you'll need a lot of F/A during the admission process. </p>
<p>But if your family has a high EFC, then you won't receive much F/A. Need blind has nothing to do with that scenario.</p>
<p>Need blind means the admissions people are unaware of whether you have need or not when they consider your application and decide whether to offer you admission or not. </p>
<p>It does not mean they will meet your full need. The need based aid comes from the financial aid department.</p>
<p>oh oops...i confused it with somethin else for a while. my bad. what i meant to say is that penn claims that it will meet a student's need 100%. but since the OP said that applying early means that u can't request financial aid......</p>
<p>Meeting 100% of need means what THE SCHOOL has figured out to be your "need" based on your family's financial situation. After your parents fill out a FAFSA (and other paperwork that might be required), the school uses THAT info to determine what THEY think your family's EFC is and what your F/A is.</p>
<p>You can't just say, "my parents can't afford this school," or "my parents will only give me XX dollars," and they will give you the rest.</p>
<p>And the OP was wrong about applying ED and not being able to apply/qualify for F/A. You can still qualify for F/A, but you have to go that school (if accepted) even if your F/A package isn't as generous as you'd like it to be.</p>
<p>i know that.</p>
<p>Actually you can get out of ED if the financial aid is not sufficient. Others will debate how hard or easy that is, but it's important to be real clear on the difference between "can't afford to go" and "just don't want to spend that much." If the first is true, then there is an opt-out of ED. For the second... well, that may not turn out so well for you.</p>
<p>
[quote]
If you apply ED, and you are accepted, then you must go, regardless of the F/A they offer you
[/quote]
This is a common myth and is not true. Think about it. There's no way a school can or will try to force you to pay what you cannot afford. Schools understand, and will release you if the FA offered is insufficient.
[quote]
Those who apply ED don't have the luxury to wait and compare F/A offers in the spring from all the schools that they applied to and then make a decision as to where they will go.
[/quote]
This part is true. ED should be used only at your one true dream school, the one you will attend if there is any way at all to make it happen.</p>
<p>Most schools that accept you ED also require that you complete an estimated PROFILE or like form. With that info they will give you an estimated fin aid package. The actual aid package will not be given until spring because it has to be based on your family's 2008 whole year numbers. but it will be a estimate. That gives you the opportunity to discuss the package and request release from the commitment if you cannot come to a resolution and your family cannot pay.</p>
<p>However, there are a lot of problems associated with doing this. Even through you may be released from the commitment, you can still run into troubles with your GC, the circulated ED accepted list, etc. Or the school may refuse to release you. All fo these things can cause you problems with other schools as most colleges take a very dim view of those who enter into ED and then break the commitment unless some unforseen emergency comes up between the app and the accept. Bear in mind, that the definition of full need met is that of the school's,not of your family's. Also, some schools may include heavy loans in their aid packages. You have no idea what other schools also on your list may offer you since you only have the one offer.</p>
<p>For my own clarification, if you apply and are accepted ED, are you not supposed to rescind/not complete other applications? How would you then have offers in the spring?</p>
<p>Yes, maysixxmom, once you are accepted ED and the FA estimate is do-able, then you are supposed to withdraw all other applications and not submit any new ones. So there should be no other offers in the spring.</p>
<p>The OP, with her/his low family income, should be okay though if she/he gets accepted ED to Dartmouth. Assuming there are no significant family assets or a non-custodial parent with solid income, then Dartmouth will meet her/his full need without loans. It's not likely she/he would get a substantially better deal elsewhere, and so if ED gives her/him a little bit better odds of acceptance, it may well be wise to go for it.</p>
<p>if ur applying early, and get in...when will the financial packet arrive? alone with the decision letter?</p>
<p>so the answer to the OP's original question is "yes, u CAN ask for financial aid if ur applying early and that EDing will not hinder ur chances of getting financial aid"?</p>
<p>Yes..</p>
<p>You can apply for F/A when you apply ED. Applying ED at a "need blind" school should not hinder anything if you apply for F/A. </p>
<p>I don't know if applying ED at a school that is not "need blind" will matter much since (I may be wrong) you get your acceptance, rejection, waitlist, BEFORE filing for F/A. Is there a section on an ED app that you must state whether you will need a lot of F/A???</p>
<p>The OP's question was: "Is it true that if you apply ED, you can't ask for Financial Aid?" The answer to the question is "NO". You can ask for Financial Aid. In most cases, you will apply for financial aid at the same time as you apply. Schools have a procedure for that situation. For PROFILE schools, you will fill out an estimated PROFILE. They will usually give you an estimate of financial aid. You then have to come to a decision to live with that estimate, try to negotiate it if it is not doable or ask to get out of the ED contract if it is not doable and not negotiable. </p>
<p>It would be very foolish to lock into an ED contract without knowing what kind of aid the school will be giving you. I don't know of any school that does not give a sort of estimate. The problem is that you have no basis for comparison. Maybe Colgate will define aid more generously, for instance. However, Dartmouth is pretty good with fin aid and does not give loans, so the risk is not as great as it is with many schools. However, if you overlook some situation that makes your aid a lot lower than you had expected, you are in for a big headache. Things like a Dad in the picture somewhere or a retirement cache that is not qualified, as second home, a car collection......I have seen some surprises crop up that have made kids who thought they were qualified for lots of aid be eligible for far less because of some situation that they did not take into account.<br>
My advice for anyone who needs financial aid is to go RD where you have negotiating room, more offers to compare and a financial safety in the pocket in case things don't work out.</p>
<p>yournamehere, generally you will receive a tentative FA award either with your ED acceptance or shortly thereafter. I think my son's came in the mail about a week after his acceptance, but they informed the students in the body of the acceptance letter that the FA information would be coming shortly as a separate mailing so they wouldn't worry they weren't going to receive any aid or anything like that.</p>