<p>The financial aid my daughter receives will allow her to graduate without a penny of debt for her or us. There is zero remorse. There isn’t even a hint of what might have been. We’re practical types though and maybe that makes the difference. Look at it as a game of musical chairs. There are only so many spots at meet full need without loans schools, and if you have straightforward finances, and you are given a chance to sit down before the music stops, why not take it? You can only attend one school anyway, and really they’re all great so pick one. I realize that thought strategy doesn’t work for everyone but that’s what worked for us.</p>
<p>I only agree that concern about finances would preclude an ED application if your concern is to pay the least amount of money out of pocket. If you know you can afford to pay x amount per year, the ED school will either be affordable or not. It doesn’t matter that perfectly acceptable LAC # 5 would’ve been $50k cheaper over 4 years. </p>
<p>And I think it’s interesting that a school would guarantee meeting need for ED students but not RD students. I’m not saying anything about my agreement on what that need is as that would be true for any 100% need school. But the fact that in this case, the FA packages are not handled the same, and that’s something to keep in mind.</p>
<p>I think eventually, colleges are going to either a) make sure they offer enough need based aid to ED students to make the college affordable or b) not accept students ED who have a lot of financial need. I think that option a is more likely to happen. But you will always have situations where the determining need is not understood at a basic level by the applicant and their family and conflating merit aid with need based aid. I think a lot of these shopping around situations involve shopping for more merit aid than need based aid.</p>
<p>reeinaz, just curious, which school is that meets full need for ED but not RD applicants?</p>
<p>“Carnegie Mellon will meet the full demonstrated need with a combination of grants, loans and work-study as calculated by the university for all students admitted under early decision. However, we do not guarantee to meet full need for students who are deferred or denied admission under Early Decision and later admitted under Regular Decision”</p>
<p>“I only agree that concern about finances would preclude an ED application if your concern is to pay the least amount of money out of pocket. If you know you can afford to pay x amount per year, the ED school will either be affordable or not.”</p>
<p>Precisely - - and this was our family’s circumstance. </p>
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<p>“It doesn’t matter that perfectly acceptable LAC # 5 would’ve been $50k cheaper over 4 years.”</p>
<p>A difference of $12.5K/yr ($50K over 4yrs) in COA based on need-based aid from schools that meet 100% of need is probably unusual, though I have seen it with schools that 'gap" and after merit scholarships were taken into account. And, as numerous posters have noted, ED is not for those who want or need to compare finaid offers.</p>
<p>reeinaz, that’s fascinating about CMU’s policy. The disclaimer about not guaranteeing meeting full need for those who are deferred from ED means that ED acceptance is in itself a type of preferential FA packaging. Of course, CMU including loans in their packages kinda takes away from the “hey, we meet full need!” boast.</p>
<p>A quick look at CMU’s average net cost per income band at the NCES navigator site reveals that to likely be a poor choice even if they meet full need for ED. Not a school I would sign off on ED for my kids. Likely to include a lot of loans. Or at least may include a lot of loans, thus putting it in the unacceptable pile for me.</p>
<p>Agreed, but CMU has made the info available, so families seeking aid w/o a huge loan debt know not to apply ED. Though, if the loans are capped at the fed max ($18k total for 4yrs for '11 grads), then CMU is no better/worse than most schools.</p>
<p>Again, ED is not for everyone and those seeking finaid really have to do their homework. But depending on the school and the family’s resources, ED may be a good choice, including for those seeking need-based aid.</p>
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<p>True, but the period from October to April is a time when some students grow a lot, develop new interests and priorities and shed old interests and priorities. Your daughter was fortunate that her interests and priorities stayed constant, and in her case it made sense because as you say, there was a “clear first choice” that emerged. </p>
<p>My daughter was deferred from her top choice college in the early (action) round only to be accepted in the regular round. In the end I think it worked out better that way. She found out exactly which other colleges were willing to admit her, she went to admitted student days for her top 3 choices, and ended up choosing her original top choice college anyway. Long process, and stressful, but it has given her a certain reassurance to know that she is indeed in the place that is best for her.</p>