<p>Ok, now I think I misunderstood you. Schools determine what they offer, but families determine if they can afford it. Families can thus decline ED FA offers (at least from common app schools) without consequence, and don’t have to document why.</p>
<p>So if a needy student has that one dream school, her stats are within reach, and the school’s online calculator gives a reasonable number, I think applying ED is reasonable. </p>
<p>So I disagree with you and Consolation (we can politely disagree 
); I think it’s fine to apply ED with the mind set that if the money is not right, she can decline the ED FA offer and apply RD to other schools. I see no backfire consequence; perhaps you can elaborate on what that might be. The common app indicates that there is none.</p>