Hey all! I read somewhere that if you apply to a college ED and you’re accepted, but aren’t given a financial package you can afford, you can back out. I was wondering - what determines the financial aid line? Is it based on what you want to spend/can comfortably afford, or is it something you can back out of, only if you absolutely can’t afford it?
For example, let’s say after aid, it costs me 45k/year to go to a college. Let’s say it’s possible to afford, but it would put a lot of strain on my parents. In this type of situation, would you be allowed to back out?
It is not legally binding. It is morally binding. People will have different opinions about what constitutes a good enough reason to back out of a commitment.
Personally, I think you should make a very strong effort to find out the estimated cost before you ED, and only ED if you are definitely comfortable with the cost.
You should not ED if you are counting on uncertain Merit aid to make it affordable.
If the actual cost comes back very different than the estimated cost, you should be able to go to the school’s financial aid office, and figure out if there is a solution.
But, in the end, if it is going to cause your family financial hardship, I don’t think you should go through with enrolling.
IMO applicants should run the school’s net price calculator (NPC) to determine affordability BEFORE making the choice to apply ED. Do not apply ED to a school that appears to be unaffordable per the NPC. If the actual financial award turns out to be well below the NPC amount, the applicant would have cause to back out of ED.
If an applicant wants the opportunity to compare financial offers between schools then ED should not be used.
if it is going to cause your family financial hardship, I don’t think you should go through with applying. Let’s not waste everyone’s time.
The college will expect you to have done your due diligence by running the NPC in advance. Assuming you don’t have one of the exclusions that impacts NPC accuracy, if you’re not comfortable with the NPC results, don’t apply.
Yes, the college won’t force you to attend. But breaking an ED agreement is not as simple as sending an email declining the acceptance. When the actual aid matches (or comes close( to the NPC, the student and parent will be expected to have a conversation with the FA office before being released
What I meant was if the financial offer was different than the estimate, and talking to the financial aid office didn’t change it, a person should not go through with enrolling, even if the cost was “feasible“ but would cause the family hardship.
Step 1…get a budget from your parents. Stick to it. Do you know if your family will qualify for need based aid?
Step 2…run the NPCs of each college on your list. If the estimated COA isn’t close to your budget, take the school off the list as others have said.
Financial aid is based on what the college determines your family can afford based on FAFSA and/or the CSS Profile. Colleges can distribute their money to whom they want and the way they want. Again, run the NPCs first.
Now, big disclaimer. Many, probably most NPCs aren’t yet set up for 2024-25 FAFSA changes (some significant changes coming this Fall that may or may not impact you), nor 2024-25 COA. What this means is that at schools that don’t meet full need, you should increase the NPC’s estimated COA by at least 4% to reflect the COA that will be in place for 2024-25 to more accurately reflect reality.
Lastly, you can back out of ED if the FA offer isn’t affordable, but you should have a sense of affordability before applying. NPCs may not be accurate if your parents are divorced, own a business, or own real estate in addition to a primary home…are any of those the case for you?
My kid’s HS guidance counselor requires anyone who is considering ED to have a family meeting with her. She explains the ED binding aspect and recommends checking the NPC of the ED school to make sure it is a financial fit for your family.
It might. Enter everything about the business that the NPC asks for. If the NPC doesn’t ask about business ownership, know that COA/aid estimate may be even less accurate.
If your situation is more complex than the NPC is intended for, and you’re considering an ED application, you can ask the financial aid office for a pre-read.
That is good to know! I’m just trying to make sure I don’t have to back out of an ED agreement and it reflect badly on me. A pre-read sounds like a great idea!
When a parent owns a small company, this is a well known situation in which the NPC might not be accurate, and financial aid is often not very good. Getting the financial aid office to give a financial pre-read is a very good idea in this situation. I would keep a paper copy of whatever the pre-read says, and make sure that if this is what you are offered, your parents are fine with paying for a full four years.
Some small companies can have relatively reliable and stable income, and some can have a fluctuating income which depends upon the state of the economy. Thus my “full four years” comment above.
Of my friends and colleagues who owned a small business in the US (or farm or rental property), of the cases I am aware of, I am only aware of one where the student was able to attend a private university in the US without merit aid. In this one case the small company had done very well and the student was an only child, with the result that the parents could easily afford any university at full pay (which is exactly what they did). Several other cases have required that the student either attend an in-state public university, or start at community college, or attend a university with good merit aid, or attend university in Canada.
I am not generally a fan of ED unless you are very sure what your first choice is and very confident that you and your parents can afford it.
The NPC tells me they are going to ask for $58k for people in my financial situation.
I can’t afford that, I can only do $35k.
But SCHOOL X has an advertised basket of PRESIDENTIAL SCHOLARSHIPS (more than 1 or 2…more like a dozen) for $25k.
The NPC has no way of knowing if my child is competitive for those, its asking what’s on the tax form only. Dropping $58k down to $33k suddenly makes it affordable.
Nobody knows what the applicant pool looks like from outside. Is my kid a top applicant? Can’t know from outside other than comparing published GPAs and SATs for already successful applicants. But this could be the year Wonder Woman applies, we just don’t know.
The kid can’t get the merit award without applying. Nobody will promise a merit award without applying. Private schools will always throw “we want you” money around if the kid is a desired candidate no matter what the NPC says.
Rolling the dice on a $75.00 bet (or a $0 bet for some schools) to win $100,000 in merit aid and make the impossible possible seems rational if the child is otherwise a strong applicant, what am I missing here?
That quote is specifically referring to applying ED, not applying in general. The hypothetical person you describe should not apply ED due to the uncertainty in finances.
Also the timing of backing out is tough for applying for regular round. So if you end up applying ED make sure you are getting your regular round applications ready for the next round. My daughter waited, was rejected in the early round, and it was unpleasant for all of us.
It will state on each college’s NPC, and will vary by college. Common items that impact accuracy of NPC include: being international, parents self-employed/own a business/have rental income
Add to this…having parents who are divorced (and remarried adds even more to the mess). Owning any real estate other than your primary residence (doesn’t have to be a rental thing…could be land, a vacation home, etc)