<p>If you apply early decision and your family has low income, will you still get financial aid, or will you have to loan all the money?</p>
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<p>I don’t think anyone is going ask a low income family for a loan. Oh, you must mean: will you have to BORROW all the money. ;)</p>
<p>If the school is known to give good aid, then you would likely get good aid. </p>
<p>I didn’t get financial aid, but my understanding was that it’s not affected by when you apply. Scholarships are, but not need-based aid. But I’m not completely sure.</p>
<p>For MOST schools, when you apply ED and you want/need financial aid, you fill out an application for that aid, usually a PROFILE using estimated income for 2014. If you are accepted ED, along with the acceptance comes an estimated financial aid package. You have so much time to accept the package or to request to get out of the ED commitment If you and parents can’t swing the cost of the school even with the financial aid offered, you can get out of the commitment, and start looking for more affordable RD schools. If the package is acceptable, you are all set.</p>
<p>Many schools already have loans, work study as well as grants in the aid package offered. As a freshman, all you can borrow without parental involvement is $5500 in Direct Loans. If they are not in the aid package, you can borrow that amount towards what you and family have to pay but often they are already part of the package. Your parents can borrow from PLUS at about 7% interest if they qualify. </p>
<p>I don’t understand your answers. Is it a yes or a no? Why do people say ED is for the financially confident if you still get aid?</p>
<p>The answer is YES, you will get an early financial aid package from most schools if you are accepted IF you filled out the estimated PROFILE or other financial aid application with your early application.</p>
<p>The problem is whether it’s enough aid. You have to decide early without other offers on the table to take it or leave it. If you apply RD, you get to sit there in April with ALL the financial aid packages,merit awards, discounts, special programs, and make the decision as to which one is best. When you apply ED you are looking at one package, and you either take it or leave with no idea of what else you can get. If it works, great. If not, you can get a release. But you can’t compare and you can’t negotiate by showing that School A over here, a peer school is offering more, YOu only have that one offer. </p>
<p>So it’s a great thing for those whose families are willing to do what it takes to pay for that one ED school and are not interested in seeing if there are better prices, better deals. It can hurt a parent who sees the dream school acceptance but that aid package is short, and looking at those puppy dog eyes, and with no other offer to compare, go with the flow when the family really should not have done so. It’s a whole other story when College Choice A is going to cost $20K even with financial aid and you are looking at some other choices that might bring the cost down to $5, 6, 7 K with their packages. Can’t do that with ED. You are looking at the package in a vacuum.</p>
<p>Hmm…so would you recommend a family income of 30,000 to apply ED? 100,00? How about 150,000?
I’m sorry for so many questions! </p>
<p>It’s not the amount the family makes, so much as how realistic the parents are. If your parents make $30K, the discussion would be how much could you and your family realistically pay for your college. Your dad or mom might tell you they could somehow squeeze out, say $2K. You figure you can come up with $2K from summer work, savings. Run the NPC for the school, and say it come up with $3K. That looks very doable. The discussion then is whether you will take this school up to that $4K cost, or would your parents prefer that you look at some full ride options because if you get one of those, it would be such a relief for the family since even coming up with any money is going to be terribly difficult. And, say you know you might have a shot at such awards. Should you be applying ED? It’s something you should answer. IF you are willing to say that you will decline the offer if it should be over what your parents can manage or whatever that line is, and they can come up with the money, then go for it. If every penny counts that much, you should consider that too.</p>
<p>For familes making $100K or so, stick a zero to the numbers I gave and again, the issue comes up as to whether the parents can come up the NPC or close to it or not. Would the parent put family in trouble just to go along with ED? </p>
<p>Thanks a lot for your input!!! This helped me a ton. You’re awesome.</p>