So is it better to do EA or ED 2?
My first kid did EA because her first choice was her ED school. She ‘just wanted to see’ about Chicago and knew that it was one of her ‘top’ schools.
She was deferred, as mentioned above, the way many EA applicants are.
ED is best if it’s your clear #1 and you understand the finances.
EA doesn’t tell the school much about your likely yield, and since you’re likely waiting to compare finance packages, they can wait to decide about admitting you.
My second daughter is ED1 at Chicago because it was clear and we are pretty sure about the money.
EA and ED2 are two different application pools and two different types of applicant. Kids will switch because they tried their luck EA and didn’t get accepted, but if Uchicago is your #1 and you know that you will attend if accepted, it’s best to go ED1, not ED2. ED2 is for those kids who got deferred/rejected from their first choice elsewhere and UChciago is a clear 2nd choice, or for those who need senior year grades to help their decision. In the past, Uchicago has also allowed EA candidates to switch but that might be a year-by-year thing; I don’t think it’s listed in the application guidelines. Would welcome corrections on that.
@iwslontsat My son just finished up his fourth qtr (C/O 2021) and he has only met a single person that did not EDI or EA/EDII switch in his class.
C/O 2021 was brutal for EA but he tells me the majority was EDI when it was discussed.
This year may be be different, but I doubt it.
Subsequently, the EA/EDII switch who posted on this forum about doing usually repoorted being accepted. I do not recall anyone stating otherwise, but it is a personal statement, so you never know.
^ My daughter who is also Class of '21 tells me the same. Actually, her friends are all ED1. I think I met one kid who was admitted EA for Class of '21. Last year there appeared - anecdotally at least - to be more EA’s and RD’s than the prior year; however, ED1 was still the largest pool of accepteds.
[UPDATE] The UChicago portal checklist is no longer present and has been updated to say that decision announcements will be emailed to students on December 17th “in the late afternoon” which last year was around 5:30 CST.
anyone do the “destroy a question” prompt?
@Mahavidya Yes! I read them in middle school and loved them. 
I think they’re still even making new ones!
Best of luck to you as well!
We can’t afford for my daughter to apply ED anywhere. Even with an informed guess on financials, we can’t afford to make that gamble. So that makes me sad that so much of the class comes from that round.
@alliblues If your daughter applied to UChicago, or any school ED for that matter, and the financial aid package was not sufficient for you to afford, you are not bound and would be released from ED.
You do not even have to withdraw appplications from other schools until you reach a sufficient financial aid package.
@alliblues Can’t emphasize enough how true @fbsdreams statements are. The “Not Good Enough” is a simple piece of paper where you sign an attestation. Then you’re done. Thank U, Next.
ED1 scares off a lot of people because of the finance commitment. My experience is that the joy of being accepted puts a lot of pressure on everyone “to make it work”. That is, in my view, the bigger danger - agreeing to something that you know just can’t work.
We gave both our kids budgets for colleges. XYZ number AND NO HIGHER.
For Daughter1, we ended up $5000/year over budget, which was manageable. So, for Daughter2, her budget is XYZ+5000 AND, SERIOUSLY, NO HIGHER.
Best of luck.
There is no legal or financial obligation if they believe you can afford it? If not, what’s the point of ED?
It’s too late now.
I guess my real worry is between what they believe we can afford and what we actually can afford. Part of the issue is that the step-mom’s income (which I believe is higher than mine or her dad’s) could be used in the calculation, but it’s my impression she does not intend to contribute at all and I can’t count on what her dad might contribute. So there could be a significant difference between what they believe we can pay and how much is actually made available to my daughter for school.
@alliblues
I’m worried about that too. What my parents theoretically could pay and what they’re actually willing to help with are two very different things…
@alliblues step-parent’s income isn’t used in the UChicago FA calculation. And could be incorrect here, but was under the impression that they only look at the custodial parent(s) finances (?). That’s what someone said last year re: the UChicago Fin. Aid. worksheet. This is actually a bit different from other schools which require both parents (even if divorced) to provide financial information on the CSS.
ED is a good-faith affirmation that you will attend if accepted. And it’s true that about 99% of those who are accepted do, indeed, attend. Parents and guidance counselor have to sign the ED agreement as well as the student so the presumption is that some serious discussions about affordability have taken place. However, let’s say a parent agrees, signs the agreement, then gets laid off. That one’s a no brainer - the school will release you 100% of the time. Let’s say the parent was fine with ED until he/she actually sees the award and then balks. In that case, uni’s tend to have the view that the STUDENT should not be held responsible for the PARENT’s change of mind. That’s why it’s possible to get out of the agreement if the FA doesn’t “work out”. But you are correct that this scenario isn’t a 100% guarantee and some schools have - and currently might - share lists. DOJ is looking into that practice, by the way, because it might violate anti-trust law. None of this really matters if you believe ED isn’t for your family. Or if you believe it is. If the student and family are working in good faith with the school, there shouldn’t be any issues.
The point of ED is that other schools might give you even more through merit aid. ED isn’t going to result in those awards. FA is year-to-year and can change due to circumstances. It’s even possible to get cut off. It’s really for those who are not price-sensitive (conditioned on ability to pay) to the admission decision - the school, not the student, gets to set the price. Many - if not most - families ARE price sensitive, even if some can pay 100%, simply because it’s optimal for their financial situation if they find the best deal for a quality education. Nothing wrong with that. On the other hand, some kids and families are so keen on a special school that they are willing to forego the bargaining power if it helps their kid stand out. Nothing wrong with that either. UChicago allows both types of pools for both early and regular decision. It admits most through ED1 because, simply put, it tends to be first choice for a ton of early applicants. That was true even before they introduced binding decision a couple years ago.
Binding decision is a new thing? Man I keep hearing about changes that disadvantage the kids more and more.
We had to fill out the CSS profile for University of Chicago. We filled it out for eight total schools, so it definitely wasn’t obvious which school required which pieces of information. Or maybe you fill out the whole thing no matter the school and the school only pulls down what they require. I just know the step-mom and dad entered all their financial information and Univ of Chicago was one of the schools that would potentially use that for FA calculation.
Oh the step-parent pain. I hear you.
We are the reverse of your situation. Not to go into details, but the policy is clear - CUSTODIAL parents are the only source of expected family contribution. Chicago does not ask for CSS from steps. This is possibly a unique “No Barriers” approach to Fin Aid among the extremely competitive schools. At least, I have not heard of another one doing it, and we looked A LOT for them.
Because divorce can lead to stressed finance discussions (really?!? hahahahahahahaha) Chicago’s decision to only ask students to give CUSTODIAL info is another step towards that.
“Binding decision is a new thing? Man I keep hearing about changes that disadvantage the kids more and more.”
- It started two years ago and UChicago is a no-barriers school so theoretically, at least, it shouldn't disadvantage the kids.
“We had to fill out the CSS profile for University of Chicago.”
- No you didn't HAVE to fill out the CSS profile for University of Chicago. Uchicago has its own free proprietary FA form but ACCEPTS the CSS if you would prefer to fill that out instead (that what we do because we always have a handful of other schools actually requiring the CSS). UChicago doesn't participate in IDOC either - you need to send them your tax returns and W2's via fax or regular mail.
“We filled it out for eight total schools, so it definitely wasn’t obvious which school required which pieces of information.”
- It's very obvious. Each school requesting additional or special information over and above the main portion makes a point to request it. You know exactly who is asking for what. And all schools are very very clear on their FA websites about what you need to submit and by when.
Small correction - Chicago doesn’t participate in IDOC, instead recommends direct upload. I can’t fathom putting my tax returns in the mail or faxing them.
So ED is a lie? We just tell the school sorry, can’t afford it (even though we can) and onward to a better offer?
Good to know direct upload available as well . We choose to send returns via regular mail because it works easiest for us. Given tracking and signature, we’ve had no problem. I’m sure people do all three options.
Sorry @Lanyla - not quite as easy as that! You must continue to work with the school, file an appeal to the Aid decision, etc. and the university holds the cards including the implied threat of notifying other schools. Just because UChicago has been kind and gentle doesn’t mean a family can exhibit bad faith without consequence. Who wants to mess with trashing your chances elsewhere and pissing off the guidance counselor in the process? Sure, there are probably some bad eggs in that 1% or so who do walk. Some of them might even get away with it. Not a smart way to proceed through senior year, however.