If my daughter applies to a school for ED, but the FA is too low, is she locked in to that school, or is that a legit way to back out?
ED agreements typically allow backing out if the FA is insufficient (but read carefully just in case a particular school does not have that provision). However, it is best to run the college’s net price calculator before applying, so that you have a good idea whether the FA will be sufficient. It is a waste of effort to apply (especially ED) to a school that will be unaffordable.
She only gets one ED, so she should use it wisely. If the NPC says it is going to be $20k over your budget, believe it don’t think there will be magic money
Run the NPC. Keep a screen shot. Apply only if it looks affordable.
If the NPC wasn’t accurate and she doesn’t get the amount you thought she would, tell the ED school.
If after a review it’s unaffordable you’re let out of your ED agreement.
You can back out of an ED acceptance if the finances don’t work. But as noted above…don’t WISH for finances that work at an ED school. Be realistic in your financial aid expectations.
And remember…the NPCs give a good estimate of your aid at a school…but the only REAL financial aid award is the one the school sends you when your kiddo is admitted.
Also, run those NPCs again late summer early fall before you submit an ED application…or any other application…because right NOW they are set for students starting in 2018 fall. Your kiddo isn’t! Financial aid policies DO change, and the cost of attendance will as well.
previous posters are SO right. Yes, there is a legal way out. But remember, the student and family have made a promise to the college that they would attend if accepted. It is more than just sending in a standard app to “see what happens”. There is a moral duty to have already thoroughly checked out costs, distance, majors etc., anything that might affect family keeping the promise. The family owes its due diligence before they make the promise. Breaking the promise won’t get anyone thrown in jail, but it’s a poor life lesson to a student soon to embark on adulthood.
I would say it would be not good use of the system to turn down ED if the NPC was within a small percentage of COA after being accepted during the ED cycle. Don’t apply ED unless the NPC is in range of reality for your finances.
I agree with MusakParent–it would be an abuse of the system. ED by definition is binding. Our school’s college advisors make it clear to both students and parents that applying ED is committing to attend and warn that could be at full price. Both parties benefit from ED – the student with a better acceptance rate at their dream school, and the school with a guaranteed yield. For families unsure of finances, our counselors advise sticking with EA schools.
Yes and we were pleasantly surprised that my D got just a bit more than the calculator on the website showed at her college – enough to make it the clear choice, so if it is close I would try it.
These are the facts. If the financial aid doesn’t work for you, you can request and obtain a release from the ED commitment. Period and end of story.
It works out for most people. You cannot compare offers, but if they absolutely give you a number you can’t live with, EVEN IF IT’S THE SAME NUMBER AS THE NPC, you are not stuck. (Not sure why you’d do this but just so you know).
You have complete control to accept or reject the financial offer within the specified time frame. If you obtain the release and withdraw from the school, you can’t change your mind later.
Note that you should check the NPCs of other schools on the list before applying to the ED school if your decision will depend on financial aid. You would not have a chance to compare FA packages if you apply ED. In general, I would discourage from applying ED if you do depend on financial aid. My kids did not apply to any school ED for that reason.
Just curious and not meaning to push the moral boundary.
Assume a student applies ED to an University X and he/she is accepted but the FA is deemed insufficient. So he/she writes to University X and declines the ED offer due to insufficient FA.
Since the student officially declines the ED offer, the student in theory does not have to withdraw his/her application to the other schools. Now what if University Y (which I assume for argument’s sake is the school the student actually prefers over University X) offers the student a RD acceptance and with same or less FA than University X in the ED cycle. If the student accepts University Y’s offer, would that be construed as a breach of contract?
No. That’s why ED is a gamble: when you turn it down because it’s unaffordable, you can’t be sure you’ll have a better offer in RD.
Why in the world would a student ED to school X if they really prefer School Y? Why not ED or EA at school Y and apply RD (or EA) at X? I am not following your question. But if the student declines School X because she prefers School Y, regardless of the money, I would say it is a breach of the ED agreement, even though in practice she can decline school x for financial reasons.
For our school district, if one turns down an ED school for a financial reason, the high school would only proceed with other in state public school applications. So even a chance for merit aid from OOS would be abolished.
How can the school enforce that? Kids often apply to other schools prior to the ED decision, and then pull the other applications. While I agree that would stop those gaming the system, it would hurt kids who did not do this knowingly or if the NPC overestimates aid.
@mom2and How about if I modify the question a little bit: assume the student prefers University X slightly over University Y. The student decides to apply to University X ED. After he/she declines University X ED offer, can he/she accept University Y RD offer with same or less financial aid without a breach of the ED contract?
Again, I want to emphasize that I am not trying to see what I can get away with. I am just curious how much a commitment an ED offer is.
MODERATOR’S NOTE:
Alternatively, how about asking the question in the a new thread? OP asked a specific question regards to his/her kid. Let’s not get into all the permutations and combinations which do not apply to the OP, and only serve to hijack the thread.
Not enough FA is a way out, but you should do your due diligence before making a decision to apply ED by checking the NPC.
With that said, some families have complicated financial situations (such as a family business) which will not be accurately accounted for with the NPC. That was the case for our family, so due diligence for me meant contacting the school’s FA office over the summer BEFORE applications and requesting an Early Read on our financial aid projection. It required me filling out about seven pages of a mock CSS Profile form. They made no guarantees but gave me a solid estimate. Only then did I allow my daughter to apply ED, and it worked out to be the right decision. She’ll attend that ED school this fall. Best of luck with your decisions.
Note: please do be careful about going into ED while knowing you may have to back out. It’s not unusual for a college to mistrust your child’s HS after someone breaks the ED agreement and penalize them for future admissions. The reasoning is that the guidance counselors at the HS did not do enough to deter the student from applying ED if finances were a question. (ED requires a signed document confirming the rules and must be signed by student, parent, AND Guidance Counselor). Colleges do not take this lightly.
@mom2and The GC also signed the contract and hold accountable to the agreement. The school needs to send mid year and final report to the college.