<p>Let's say that I was thinking about applying early to Dartmouth in the future. My mom makes $60,000 a year and plans on contributing $20,000 for 4 years of schooling...she has to also put my two sisters through college after me. My parents are divorced, and my dad is in a REALLY, really bad situation and wouldn't be able to contribute any money at all. Based on my financial circumstances, would it be wise to apply ED? According to Dartmouth's website... </p>
<p>"No student admitted to Dartmouth through Early Decision is locked in and unable to receive the best financial aid package. If a student and family cannot manage the financial arrangements, we routinely release them from the early commitment so they can apply to other colleges in a timely fashion. In recent years only a tiny handful of Early Decision students have been unable to attend for financial reasons."</p>
<p>What do you guys recommend?</p>
<p>Your finanical aid package will based on the income and the assets of both your parents, which means both your mom and your dad will have to submit their financial information. </p>
<p>Unless your sisters are in college at the time you apply and will still be in college when you enroll, they are not part of the FA equation. </p>
<p>remember when you apply ED you loose the ability to compare packages and sometimes this can be beneficial (I know in our house my D was able to present a package from a direct competitior and Dartmouth met the other school's package increasing the grant aid by $4000 and reducing our loan aid). </p>
<p>As I stated in my previous post, when you apply ED you are basically saying that you are pretty much willing to live by what ever they give you in FA (unless you have some really extenuating circumstances; medical expenses not covered by insurance, taking care of elderly parents, loss of income, etc your package is not going to change much.</p>
<p>Thanks sybbie...I am kinda bummed out about my financial situation...I really love Dartmouth and it is my first choice. So I shouldn't apply ED then? The quote said that if I wasn't satisfied with my financial aid, I would be released from ED.</p>
<p>You would not want to resort to that. It will get your school blacklisted, and your counselor would not be likely to want to help you with your RD applications</p>
<p>Yes, while you would be released from ED, you would also be withdrawing your admissions from Dartmouth.</p>
<p>The Joint Statement for Candidates on Common Ivy Group Admission Procedure
states:</p>
<p>
[quote]
Under December Notification, an applicant may be notified that he or she has been granted or denied admission or that a final decision has been deferred until the early April notification date. Two plans are offered according to individual institutional policy:</p>
<p>a. The College Board-approved Early Decision Plan, which is offered by Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, the University of Pennsylvania and Princeton, requires a prior commitment to matriculate; thus a student may not file more than one Early Decision application among these or any other institutions. </p>
<p>Financial aid awards for those qualifying for financial assistance will normally be announced in full detail at the same time as the admission decisions. An applicant receiving admission and an adequate financial award under the Early Decision Plan will be required to accept that offer of admission and withdraw all applications to other colleges or
universities.</p>
<p>** All Ivy institutions will honor any required commitment to matriculate which has been made to another college under this plan.**
[/quote]
</p>
<p><a href="http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/utilities/faq/Common_Ivy_Statement.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/utilities/faq/Common_Ivy_Statement.pdf</a></p>
<p>Chocolatelover,</p>
<p>I would strongly suggest that you run your numbers through Dartmouth financial aid calculators as the calculators are pretty accurate (sit with your parents) so that you have a fairly accurate reflection of your financial situation. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.dartmouth.edu/apply/financialaid/calculator/index.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.dartmouth.edu/apply/financialaid/calculator/index.html</a></p>
<p>then have a serious sit down talk with your parent to find out how much they realistically can and are willing to pay/ borrow for your education. Then think about what you can do to be an active participant in the finaning your education (this may mean getting a job and saving $$, and applying for outside scholarships).</p>
<p>good luck</p>
<p>Thanks so much sybbie and dionysus.</p>