<p>"Would it be selfish to still apply ED if I really think I wouldn’t be accepted RD?
If I were admitted (slim chances anyway), it would be financially difficult but I don’t know about impossible. I’m trying to learn as much as I can about loans right now, but I’m really confused and annoyed that my parents are telling me to just “go ahead an apply ED”</p>
<p>Yes, it would be selfish.</p>
<p>As I mentioned before, your parents are telling you to apply ED because it’s very hard for parents to shatter the academic dreams of their beloved students who’ve worked hard and achieved at a high level. Your parents moved to this country and worked hard here to give you options and an easier life than they had, and now your parents feel they have let you down. They feel ashamed and guilty even though the situation isn’t their fault.</p>
<p>This is your time to step up to the plate and to be unselfish by not applying ED anywhere, and by making sure that you apply to some financial safeties that are likely to give you even more than the need-based aid Wesleyan is likely to offer you if you’re admitted. Certainly, apply Rd to Wesleyan, too. Maybe your family’s financial crisis will be over by the spring, but if finances still are in bad shape in the spring, choose the college offering the best financial deal, and do it as cheerfully as possible so as not to cause your parents even more pain. </p>
<p>To get a large yearly loan for college, you’d need a co-signer, and given the economic market, it would be a bad idea for your parents to cosign and it would be a mistake for you to saddle yourself with large debt to have to repay after graduation. </p>
<p>It also would be a good idea for you to submit careful applications to all outside scholarships that you may qualify for. Your best chance would be for scholarships given to local students, so haunt your GC’s office to get such info, and make sure that your GC knows your family’s financial situation so that can be included in the GC’s recommendation. </p>
<p>Many such scholarships are small, but they can add up. Having financial need is an advantage in most scholarships – even those based mainly on “merit.” Your having strong stats also will help you. Saying this as someone who has served on local and national scholarship committees.</p>