<p>I am trying to get a sense of when the 1st tuition payment is due to a college. I am speaking generally right now. </p>
<p>Does it depend on the application done? Assume no ED.</p>
<p>But we might opt for </p>
<p>a December EA</p>
<p>and a</p>
<p>Feb/Mar RD</p>
<p>THanks.</p>
<p>The ones I could lay my hands on readily were due July 23 for fall semester, and November 22 for spring semester. I suppose it varies by school. What won't vary is that they seem to come REALLY OFTEN. LOL</p>
<p>once your child has made a final decision, you will be asked to put down a deposit to hold their spot, usually several hundred dollars. Some places use the date they receive the deposit as seniority for who gets first choice in housing. So at some schools, EA or ED would provide your child with a good bet of getting her first preference of housing, although you don't need to make that choice when you send in the deposit.</p>
<p>I have chosen to make tuition payments on a monthly plan - I'm sure most schools offer something. I think they usually split the expected fees (including R&B, fees, etc.) into 10 payments, so I'm usually getting the bill for the first installment around June. I get a monthly bill either from the university or their designated biller.</p>
<p>These are just my experiences and similar experiences of my kids' friends.</p>
<p>Some schools participate in programs like this one. We pay monthly. It can be in 10 or 12 payments. There isn't an interest charge. There is a charge to set up an account, and a charge to pay online. There might be other fees. We find this to be wonderful.</p>
<p>Perhaps you can see which schools participate here:
<a href="https://www.afford.com/SchoolSearch/SchoolSearch.aspx?di=30gho02551kpujiuqirsly55%5B/url%5D">https://www.afford.com/SchoolSearch/SchoolSearch.aspx?di=30gho02551kpujiuqirsly55</a></p>
<p>I just cross posted with teriwtt.</p>
<p>Just to add, besides the several hundred dollar deposit, the tuition plan payment began May 1 for us, even though our son did not start until the end of August. I believe this is how they can run this program.</p>
<p>Weenie, I assume that you are aware of tuition management. I see that both your sons' schools participate.</p>
<p>yep northeastmom - that's the program we use.</p>
<p>Basically whenever they tell you to pay.... You'll put the deposit when your kid chooses which school he wants to goto (and the school will tell him how and when to do it by). And then when he goes to school, the school should tell him instructions on paying his tuition.... Like my school have a date we have to pay by and we just do it online. :) My school starts on August ~20 ish and the tuition was due by ~24th or so...</p>
<p>A-s-k Y-o-u-r S-c-h-o-o-l!!</p>
<p>kenshi. that is obviously the gospel. I was looking less for gospel and more for a sense or feel in terms of big picture order.</p>
<p>Is this the rough correct order for most colleges? Is this the correct order for an EA and for a RD application?</p>
<p>APPLICATION
COLLEGE ANSWER
FA
STUDENT ANSWER
PAYMENT</p>
<p>We have about *60 * colleges on our chart right now.</p>
<p>No, joecollegedad, that's not the right order. This is:</p>
<p>Application
Financial Aid Application
College Response, including tentative Financial Aid award
Income verification documentation, if required (i.e., April tax returns)
Student Response with deposit/College FA changes based on income verification - these can cross
Payment for 1st semester, usually due in August or so.</p>
<p>Thanks, chedva, for the clarification. Is that order you sketched the same for EA or RD?</p>
<p>What I find interesting in that sequence is the FA step is done prior to the College Response. To what extent is FA (the need for FA or the lack of need for FA) used in a college's response?</p>
<p>Related question: is the college's response, then, include a YES ($ figure), or a NO? When I said college answer originally, I was thinking simply YES/NO.</p>
<p>Yes, the order is the same, except for EA, you have to wait to file the FAFSA; it's not available until January 1.</p>
<p>The FA application must be done before the college response. For RD, colleges respond by April 1, and the student must reply by May 1. There isn't enough time between April 1 and May 1 to get the forms in, review them, and make the FA award, and the student needs to know what FA he or she is getting in order to decide where to attend. So unfortunately, the student must send the FA application to all the schools he or she is applying to.</p>
<p>There are three types of schools: "need-blind", in which the schools do not consider the request or need for FA at all in the admissions decision-making process (these tend to be the top schools); "need-aware", in which the need for FA may tip the balance between two students who are borderline for admission (neither definite "yes" or definite "no"); and those that consider FA needs for everyone when making their decision. Then, even among those, there are schools that promise to meet 100% of demonstrated need for accepted students, as they define "need" (again, these tend to be top schools), and those that don't. You need to check the schools' websites, and contact them to answer any questions that you still have.</p>
<p>When the colleges reply, they will say YES and either state the FA award at the same time, say Yes and send the FA award in a separate mailing that will come shortly after the acceptance, or they'll say No.</p>
<p>Nothing about this process is simple.</p>
<p>you need to go to college to understand it.</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>thanks again for the clarification.</p>
<p>Do you think there might be a difference between theory and practice of a need blind school? I once talked to a former admissions dean of a school (that says that it is need blind), and he told me that whether an applicant is a 'full pay' or not is a factor that his team considered.</p>
<p>His point in that conversation was that there are so many applicants that admissions are looking for ANYthing to distinguish the applicants, to help with the accept/deny decision.</p>
<p>This was a 50 something USN LAC, btw.</p>
<p>Northeastmom - Yeah, I think I know about tuition management - but thanks for mentioning it. I don't handle our money (can you tell? LOL) and husband seems to have it all figured out. If there's any sort of fee or small interest - he won't pay it. Plus so far it's all coming out of college savings...</p>
<p>joecd: "Do you think there might be a difference between theory and practice of a need blind school?" That is a hotly disputed topic on here. Some insist that there is simply no such thing as a "need blind" school. I don't really know if there is or not.</p>
<p>a true need blind school, by definition, will not even look at FA while adjudicating and application+. Further, there should not be any indication of an applicant's financial worthiness/unworthiness on the app. I believe the common app has a little pair of check boxes, </p>
<p>I will apply for FA</p>
<p>I will not apply for FA</p>
<p>Those check boxes are contradictory to 'need blind'.</p>
<p>+
I think a truly need blind school would have the order of event to be more like my original characterization</p>
<p>APPLICATION
COLLEGE ANSWER
FA
STUDENT ANSWER
PAYMENT</p>