<p>My daughter is considering applying ED to Elon. She has a strong GPA and scored 2000 on her SAT's in April. She is a very well rounded student. Although my husband and I love Elon and feel that it would be a great fit for our daughter, we are wondering if she will miss out on being considered for any type of merit scholarship when applying Early Decision.</p>
<p>I don’t believe anyone can answer this question with complete accuracy. The prevailing wisdom is that ED applicants get less merit aid. I would recommend contacting your regional rep and discussing it with them. If your D is in the top 25% of applicants, she doesn’t need to apply ED.</p>
<p>ED has no bearing on it at Elon. There are limited merit scholarships. The $4500/year Presidential Scholarship is the main one, and it is awarded to top students based on GPA and test scores. There is also the Engagement Scholarship and the Fellows program. If you look at posts from last December and December 2011, you will see students posting that they were accepted with the Presidential scholarship or with the Engagement scholarship. The ED acceptance email on 12/1 will tell you if you received one. Fellows is a separate process in March.</p>
<p>The biggest problem with ED is it doesn’t give you a chance to compare aid offers from all schools. You’ll need to make a yes or no decision at Elon before you receive offers from other schools. If that’s important to you, then ED is not a good choice. If Elon is her choice regardless of what other schools offer, then go for it.</p>
<p>Just consider the college’s perspective on the difference between ED and RD kids. The main difference related to aid is that there is no need for preferential packaging (merit aid’s function is to persuade kids to attend).</p>
<p>a similar school that will give her tons of money is Miami U of Ohio</p>
<p>^^if you know anything about “fit”, Miami of Ohio could not be more different than Elon…but a good recommendation for a student who is looking for that type of school and merit $$</p>
<p>Another thing to realize is that Elon is not a school that throws tons of merit money at top students. And you will likely have to decide whether to accept the ED offer long before Fellows weekend, which is when merit money is awarded to those who compete for and qualify for the various Fellows programs, including Honors. </p>
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