Is it worth it to ED Cornell for me?

Hello,
It’s getting pretty close to the end of the available ED window, so I’m not sure what to do. I have a father that attended Cornell, but he doesn’t exactly want me to apply early because

  1. We’re not sure about the aid we’d receive
  2. There is a chance I will be rejected completely from the school (ie. not deferred)

My tests scores and grades are excellent (4.6+, 1570 SAT, all 5s on 6 APs). However, my ECs are mediocre and I am not the greatest writer. I love Cornell and thought that it would make sense to apply ED, but after talking with my parents, I guess we’ve decided not to. I’ve just started working for a very prestigious lab (this would most likely be my most impressive EC), so I suppose that would be an advantage of applying RD. However, by applying RD, I lose the legacy boost that one gets ED.

My father is also scared that there is the possibility that I would get outright rejected, and lose the chance to apply RD. I honestly don’t think this is the case, but he seems very set in stone currently. Would it make more sense to apply ED or just wait to apply RD?

Seems to me that if you’d be rejected ED, you would’ve been rejected RD anyway, so might as well find out sooner and move on. The question is more whether you want to make the financial commitment to pay what Cornell will cost you if accepted. Does the NPC show a net cost that your family can afford? Would it be better to see what merit offers you can get from schools that give merit scholarships?

If you run the NPC and are comfortable with the projected net cost, save screenshots and apply ED; if your actual aid doesn’t measure up to the projection, then you can opt out of the otherwise-binding offer. But if you need to compare merit offers, then stick with RD at Cornell, and EA where available.

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I don’t think the window has closed timewise - Nov 1st - but the first thing he needs to do is to run the Net Price Calculator.

Assuming you don’t qualify for aid, does he want to pay $80K a year - or a bit less if you’re in-state and applying to one of the endowed colleges.

What are you planning to study? If you’re full pay and not in-state and money is an issue, apply RD. Or not at all. They do not give merit aid - and there are great alternatives that give merit aid.

As for your writing, get a few folks to provide feedback and spend a lot of time wordsmithing. Often an English or other teacher will give you some feedback.

As for your dad’s reasoning for not applying ED, if you don’t get in during ED you’re definitely not getting in RD so he’s misguided there. it’s the opposite - if you’re looking for your best odds, it’s typically ED.

We did not qualify for aid - so I did not even let my daughter apply. Nor did I let either kid apply ED anywhere and that was a financial decision. That’s what your family needs to decide.

You already said your dad is out - so that’s the answer - although the reason to be out is financial, not chance of admittance. If you happen to be rejected ED, then you still have your other applications and in many cases can still file other applications later.

Good luck.

Good luck.

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Run the NPC for your schools. If they’re not affordable move on. There are plenty of good STEM schools out there that will be affordable. No sense going into debt for your undergrad degree.

If Cornell is affordable and you like it you should apply. You never know unless you try. It’s a long shot for all applicants.

What are your other schools?

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I agree with others that the big issue here is money.

IMHO you should only apply ED if two things are both true: (i) You are sure that the school is your first choice; (ii) You can afford to attend.

“You can afford to attend” means that either you can afford to be full pay for a full four years without taking on any debt, or the NPC on the school’s own web site shows the school to be affordable.

I would not be concerned about losing your chance to apply RD. If they think that you have a chance to get in RD, then you would be either accepted ED or deferred. If you are rejected when you apply ED (which is a very real possibility) then you would have been rejected if you had applied RD.

Also, if Cornell is for sure your #1 choice, then I do not see the point of applying anywhere else ED.

I might also note that when I went back to graduate school Cornell was my “dream school”. It was the only school that I visited and was my very strong #1 choice. I was rejected at Cornell, but was accepted at my #2 choice. I LOVED it. From the date that I got my acceptance to my #2 choice (which was after the rejection from Cornell), I completely forgot about any other school. While Cornell is indeed a great university, there are many great universities.

Are your parents divorced or separated, or do then own a small business, rental property, or a farm? If so then the NPC is likely to be not accurate and too optimistic. Otherwise the NPC is likely to be accurate.

While Cornell is a great university, I would not take on debt to go there if you can avoid debt at a different university.

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Last year, my DS almost applied ED to Cornell. He’s also a legacy, and we knew about the ED boost. We were a little unsure about how the financial aid worked, and had questions about whether he could withdraw if we didn’t receive enough money. I tried to get ahold of the financial aid department in October, and it was next to impossible to talk to them. Seriously - hours long holds on the phone, and weeks and weeks delay in their responding to my emails. That was enough to put us off of him applying ED - the thought of trying to get questions answered in that time crunch if he were to get in but the financial aid didn’t line up. Ugh.
He applied RD and did get in, but ultimately decided to go somewhere else. It turned out that we needed the entire year to investigate other schools, do some deep thinking, and process the whole application and college decision. I am SO glad he didn’t apply ED. The school he ended up at is perfect for him in every way, and $30,000 per year cheaper than Cornell. Unless your one million percent sure you want to go to a school and it is completely affordable for you, I would just apply RD and take advantage of the extra time to think things through.

Also - go browse Cornell’s Reddit page - lots of problems still with the financial aid department(some kids literally still haven’t gotten their financial aid for THIS year yet!), the club/project team application process, and COVID management. Not to say that it isn’t a great school, but nowhere is perfect.

Last note - when we got the actual Cost of Attendance info after DS got in, the bottom line was actually OVER $80,000. Per year.

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I haven’t been able to run the NPC yet as my father is very . . . secretive (?) about my family’s finances. However, from the estimates I’ve been able to make using the limited info I have (as well as the amount my brother is paying at a similar level university), I am relatively sure that I would receive a pretty decent amount of aid.

Again, I’m not sure why my father is so unwilling to talk about the cost of college, but it is relatively safe to say that I will definitely not be paying the full price tag. From the estimates I’ve run for myself, I’d be paying anywhere from $25,000 (high) to $12,000 (low).

In the end, you need to do what your parents say.

But you need to remind them that your best odds of entry are ED so wanting to avoid rejection is not a reason to wait.

The reason to wait is all about $$ - and the NPC can help determine if are ok to committing now.

When it doubt, don’t ED. Will it maybe mean you can’t go there - sure. But there’s a zillion fantastic colleges out there and one will work for you just fine.

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Is your high school offering a financial aid info night? That can ease this sometimes for parents. Money is one of the hardest things for people to talk about. Or see if Cornell or another school you are interested in has a financial aid zoom meeting coming up.

FAFSA opens this week and if you are looking at ED at Cornell or EA at other schools, that will need to be done this next month. You log in and do your part and he can login and do his. It will give you a number for an estimated family contribution.

Cornell may actually come in lower than that on their net price calculator, so have him do that after the FAFSA when he may be more comfortable. You will need to do the CSS for Cornell and some others as well.