Okay, so is Early Decision actually worth it?

Applying to College
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<p>YGD, good points, but ED should be attempted ONLY at the one top choice above all others, the dream school, when there is no desire to compare financial aid offers, when the only question is: Can I afford it? In this proper usage of ED, there is little downside when FA is needed.</p>

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<p>This is how the FA package and award are calculated, but no, schools do not vett applicants and come chasing after them saying “yes, of course you can afford this! We say so! You MUST attend Or Else!” And how could they? Most schools do not guarantee to meet full need. And even for those who do, just take a look at the FA packages that one applicant can get from a handful of different schools that say they meet full need. The offers won’t be uniform. </p>

<p>ED is already enough of a benefit for the well-off. If ED schools were to say “you must come if you are accepted, we don’t care if you say you can’t afford it”, then only full-pay applicants would apply ED. There’d be tremendous backlash against the schools that tried this.</p>

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This is indeed how it works, and I don’t doubt that this happens, but not too often, or schools would stop offering ED.</p>

<p>As ST suggests, schools do not determine if families can afford the offers, which are calculated according to standard formulas that don’t reflect every family’s situation.</p>

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<p>The ED advantage is lost if your family can’t pay for you to attend it. So why ED in the first place?</p>

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<p>Schools like ED to lock in money from full-pay students, and also top applicants regardless of finances. Students like ED for the possible (and often real) admission boost, and to get the stress over early.</p>

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<p>^ and also to increase yield numbers and selectivity. There is no meaningful way to compare acceptance rates at ED schools with non-ED schools. When a school pulls in nearly half the freshman class through ED, they can admit far fewer students and have a vastly higher yield. Both of these factors push them up the USNWR rankings and bring in donations from the appreciative alumni.</p>

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<p>If you and your family (whoever is footing the college bill) knows how much they can pay yearly and do not care if other colleges have better offers, then ED is fine. You can either afford it and are willing to pay it or you can’t afford it at all. It’s important though to know as much as possible about how each school calculates need. Most people are surprised at the lack of need the schools determine them to have, not just ED applicants. I think having a realistic financial picture based on calulated need is essential before applying ED. But having a bottom line figure that you are willing to pay is equally essential.</p>