<p>I hear financial aid being a factor, but if Vandy meets 100% of needs, why didn't you apply for Early Decision...? And they replace loans with grants...</p>
<p>My mom makes $22000... I applied.</p>
<p>I don't know about the financial aid situation, but applying ED to any school is a HUGE decision for any 17-18 year old kid. In our situation, it was a difficult decision, for us, as parents. We tried to talk our S out of ED to Vandy only because we believe pretty strongly in having options. He was in love with the school from the get-go and never waivered on his choice for ED. Perhaps, that is why some kids don't do it. </p>
<p>I think most schools get about the same number of ED applicants every year and the ED1 pool to Vandy this year was slighter larger than last year. I imagine the same is true of the EDII pool but I don't know.</p>
<p>VP:</p>
<p>Good luck to you. </p>
<p>To answer your question, the common wisdom on cc is to NOT apply ED if you need finaid or want to compare finaid packages. Remember, even if a college meets 100% of full need, 'need' is how THEY define it, not you; of course, this is true for a bunch of 100% need colleges, including Vandy. And, Vandy's no-loan package is still unknown, i.e., full need of what efc? Second, I have no doubt that there are a lot of high stat applicants from upper-middle income familes ($75-$150k) who are hoping to compare merit scholarships from schools like Vandy, Emory and Wake (and others) so they need to go RD, particularly given this economy where a parent was sure of his/her job last August but it became tenuous by October 1. Those same students also have the stats for Ivy-level colleges, so they want to wait until April 1 to compare all of their options. Lastly, some kids need the January test date or first semester grades to bolster their apps.</p>
<p>Your EFC might be a lot higher than you think. Like, if someone's parents can actually afford 5,000 a year for schooling but their EFC says 15,000. It's hard to make up that 10,000 dollars a year.</p>
<p>...because I'm not 100% sure that I want to go to Vandy haha.</p>
<p>I applied to HYPS too, so I would probably prefer one of those.</p>
<p>Blue Bayou:</p>
<p>Beginning in the fall of 2009, need-based financial aid packages for all undergraduate students will not include need-based loans. This latest initiative will not involve the use of income bands or "cut-offs" to pre-determine levels of eligibility and will apply to all undergraduate students with demonstrated financial need who are U.S. citizens or eligible non-citizens. The end result is that, in addition to a realistic academic year earnings expectation, all need-based aid packages will include scholarships and/or grants (gift) assistance in place of need-based loans that would have previously been offered to meet demonstrated need. In addition, all seniors set to graduate in May 2009 will have their need-based loans for the spring 2009 semester replaced with Vanderbilt grant and/or scholarship assistance.</p>
<p>^ Dude, what they consider your "demonstrated need" or "Expected Family Contribution" is not what you and your family might expect.</p>
<p>anyone know how accurate this is:
FinAid</a> | Calculators | QuickEFC</p>
<p>VandyPrayer:</p>
<p>Umm, what part of this sentence is unclear?</p>
<p>
[quote]
Vandy's no-loan package is still unknown, i.e., full need of what efc?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>The point being that no-loans are better than great, but an ED candidate would HAVE to know with certainty how Vandy (and any other college) calculates its EFC. Yes, the calculators may give an estimate, but it just that, an estimate. Every FinAid admisinstrator has the authority to make professional judgements on all sorts of family items, such as capping home equity, excess medical bills, siblings in private schools, farm-small business, divorce, and the like.</p>
<p>I'm sorry about this whole topic. I misread.</p>
<p>what a college thinks that a student could afford is not what the student truly could afford.</p>
<p>^Well said.</p>
<p>Things would be a lot better if college was free for those that are smart enough to be admitted.</p>
<p>But no, our government is lame [but then again, starting tomorrow things will be different]. We spend bazillions on some meaningless war when we should have allocated funds to areas that actually need the money and support. /liberal rant =]</p>