<p>Submitted our S Ed1 this w/e and we are having a bit of "Buyers Remorse" I guess he stands a better then even chance- I am just worried about the finances-since Vassar doesnt give merit awards and he was a Merit Semifinalist. Of course this all originates from our being wiped out in the stock market. My son has loved Vassar since his sophomore year and with his interest in theater it seems like a great choice. The only schools that came close were Amherst and Brown, but they tend towards taking Athletes from our school.</p>
<p>Has anyone else experienced some anxiety after hitting the ED option? If he gets in we will find away to send him, but it all feels a bit scary all of a sudden.</p>
<p>I think what you need to do is get some reassurances from a financial professional about the money aspects of the decision that are worrying you. When you say you were "wiped out" in the market, I assume you mean that your college savings took a significant hit, not that your savings totally disappeared. If you still had college savings in the market less than a year before your son's enrollment in college, surely they were at least diversified across the market. That would mean that at most, based on yesterday's DOW close just above 9000, you would hopefully be down no more than 35 - 38% from the peak, and that would be without considering any savings accumulated since the market peaked. Hopefully you did not sell out of the market at a low point and lock in your losses. A lot can happen between now and next fall. The market may make a decent dent in recovering against the recent losses if the banks start loosening up credit and the fear factor eases. I would say to talk to someone who you trust who could give you some financial advice. Also, have you assessed your chances for financial aid? I read that Vassar is noted as one of the most generous in this area for a school with an endowment of less than $1 Billion. Worst case scenario: if he gets in and you truly cannot afford to send him to Vassar and can show that to the school, then you may be able to get out of the ED agreement due to financial reasons...there are other threads in the past about that I am sure.</p>
<p>Thanks for your well thought out and informative answer.,Casey. We have a year put away for him which has been diversified. Its our savings in the stock market which lost close to40% and recent calc.on predicted aid shows us not getting any aid ,although we thought we were borderline income wise.Additionally my husband had a recent serious health scare, so we are feeling vulnerable. But lets hope you are right, the stock market can rebound, and perhaps Vassar will take in to consideration our special circumstances. Also, He's not in yet!</p>
<p>Hi again -- another thought would be to call Vassar's financial aid office and talk to them about specifics. You could wait until you get an admissions decision, or you could call them now and express your concerns. Vassar is need-blind, so no discussion of your financial situation would be shared with the admissions folks, if that would be a concern for you. If, by the time you get an admittance decision (hopefully a positive one) your financial picture has changed for the worse since you filed your Profile forms, you can give that update to the school for reconsideration in their financial aid decision. As far as looking at financial aid calculators, the result may be accurate for Vassar or it may not be. Some schools do their own adjustments which may work in your favor. That is also something you may be able to discuss with Vassar. I'm sure they are hearing from other concerned parents.</p>