<p>@celesteroberts: There is no benefit to having the conversation with Cornell before he gets the fin aid letter rather than after. To anyone.</p>
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</p>
<p>That’s true. I guess I feel like a lot of people who post here about ED (students) seem to apply ED almost as a reflex without really thinking about money or whether the school is right for them. I’ve only been posting here for a couple of months and I’ve seen a lot of threads by people who miss the deadlines for FA, commit to schools they aren’t sure about, or commit to schools where they don’t think they can afford. I always thought that ED was a way of getting the best applicants for the colleges (in terms of managing yield and ability to pay, not necessarily the best students) but it sounds based on these anecdotes (I know, I know) that there are a significant percentage of ED applicants who may wish they could back out. </p>
<p>It’s called “buyer’s remorse”. Maybe not in this case, but often.</p>
<p>" I plan on making the most of my time at Cornell…"</p>
<p>I sincerely hope that’s the attitude you indeed take when you show up there,</p>
<p>Because when you get there, I guarantee that every single negative stereotype,
every single concern that you either raised or even ever heard about, will be represented there in some measure.
If someone is predisposed to be sensitized to points of dissatisfaction they will find them there, I guarantee it.</p>
<p>It is not a perfect place, and there are things that could be better. Like most places.</p>
<p>There are also things that are wonderful.And ways to make the most of what’s good, and the least of what’s bad. Look for those, and you should be fine.</p>
<p>Come in pouting and licking your wounds, you might not be fine.</p>
<p>When some students/parents game the ED process, it i can mpact the students that are applying to the ED schools in later years. But alas, some students/parents don’t care, since they no longer have a dog in the fight. </p>
<p>However, if OP matriculates at his ED school as mentioned, then all is well that ends well.</p>
<p>@purpletitan, I defer to you. You actually know a lot more about it than I do. I’m just thinking out loud and trying to imagine the various scenarios that might ensue. But I don’t really know from any experience, so I shouldn’t comment here. It doesn’t add anything but confusion to the discussion. Sorry. </p>
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<p>OK. You think it is ‘dumb’. Mind sharing with us why, or are you just going to make that statement without any support?</p>
<p>I HAVE thought it through. Here you go:</p>
<p>a) OP applied to a school ED and another school EA (NOT SCEA). This is perfectly acceptable and within the rules. The presumption is that if the ED school declines/defers, the EA school is the backup.</p>
<p>b) Over the month, the backup EA school becomes the preferred school.</p>
<p>c) Now the OP WANTS to go to EA and not ED. At this point, NOTHING unethical or rule-breaking has occurred.</p>
<p>What should the OP do? In Post #168, @MidwestDad3 outlined the 4 options:</p>
<p>1) Discuss OP’s change of heart with a counselor at ED school. Possible outcomes:</p>
<ul>
<li> release of OP from his contract. He attends EA school</li>
<li> hold OP to his contract, and he will attend ED school.</li>
<li> No negative consequences.</li>
</ul>
<p>2) Decline ED offer outright. Possible outcome:</p>
<ul>
<li> ethical and contractual breach. Possible consequences to OP and/or OP’s high school.</li>
</ul>
<p>3) Find financing rationalization to release OP from contract. Possible outcome:</p>
<ul>
<li> ethical breach. No contractual breach. OP attends EA school while all involved suspend disbelief and rubber-stamp withdrawal of ED application and acceptance.</li>
</ul>
<p>4) OP honors contract and attends EA school against his will. Possible outcome:</p>
<ul>
<li> no ethical breach. OP does not follow his heart and potentially underperforms at ED school.</li>
</ul>
<p>So, only options 1 & 3 result in not breaching the contract + attending OPs desired school. Options 1 and 4 fully and transparently honor the contract (and in one case, try to have it modified). Only 1 has the possibility (and in my opinion the likelihood) of ethical and contractual resolution that allows OP to follow his change of heart to the new preferred school. Option 2 is unethical and, pragmatically, may have consequences. Option 3 is a possibility if you want to live your life in that kind of “what-if” world. Option 4 results in a dissatisfied OP, and is the lesser-preferred option out of Option 1. As a subset of option 1, and the worst-case scenario, why not choose option 1 instead of option 4, since it has a probability of working out in OPs best interest? Whether he does it before or after a FA determination is immaterial. After the FA determination, OP will be tempted to slip into 3, which could (or not) haunt him the rest of his life.</p>
<p>I do not understand at all what you are implying, @PurpleTitan, and I have thought it through. Have you? Please share what would be the optimal (non-choice-1) course of action, if you can. There is no way that Option 1 would harm the OP or his high school, and it may support his new-found preference.</p>
<p>BTW, Post #175 is more an attempt at a graceful exit from this thread than it is a <em>true</em> resolution of the actual real-world problem. I am really curious as to what the OP <em>actually</em> does, but of course, none of us will ever know.</p>
<p>@ItsJustSchool:</p>
<p>It’s dumb to approach the ED school about the change of heart before receiving the fin aid package because there is no harm to anyone to wait until the fin aid package is received, and there is a non-zero chance that the fin aid package provides a sufficient (and more compelling) reason for Cornell to release the student from his ED commitment.</p>
<p>“BTW, Post #175 is more an attempt at a graceful exit from this thread than it is a <em>true</em> resolution of the actual real-world problem. I am really curious as to what the OP <em>actually</em> does, but of course, none of us will ever know.”</p>
<p>Possible but you’re speculating here.</p>
<p>Way back, ecoachJen linked two very good articles. It does include an option to speak with the school, early.</p>
<p>ED doesn’t say, you applied binding, so you’re stuck with us, even if your family has to live on the streets. They allow for affordability. Right now, Chi has offered 50k and Cornell has offered zip. We know Cornell is because OP missed an FA deadline. But that’s what the picture is today. </p>
<p>We do not know when Cornell will make the prelim aid offer.</p>
<p>I hoped OP (who didn’t think this through, when he applied- nor when CC advised him to swap his ED app for RD,) would wake up and explore his options beyond CC. All the extra talk about weather, class size is and some pending bill in Congress is immaterial. He went ahead and did what he did and is in a situation now. </p>
<p>Can he afford Cornell? Today, no.<br>
I have more to say but will stop there, for now.</p>
I just read through most of this thread. If OP is still reading replies, just want to say that, yes, you made a mistake. Learn from it; reflect on it. Itsjustschool has laid out options in a very thoughtful way. Enough said about why OP did what he did; we’ve all made mistakes and he’s an 18 year old high school senior. OP: You’ll get past this and hopefully have wonderful college experience. Best of luck.