<p>I think I understand why you might want to do this if you want to have some competition in offers, but why would a college be suggesting that strategy? In this case it's Emory/Oxford at Emory. Their ED is binding, but not if finances don't work out. FA would definitely be important (need based and/or merit). I have read stories of schools having less FA to offer as the year goes on, which would make me think it might be best to apply EA/ED. </p>
<p>How about…they don’t want to waste time with students who don’t intend to matriculate…because of insufficient financial aid in the ED round. They want ED applicants who plan to,attend if accepted…period.</p>
<p>You mentioned merit aid - that is not decided until after the Finalists’ Weekend in March, so no word on that would be available prior to ED1 and ED2 decision dates.</p>
<p>I would not apply ED anywhere that the NPC prediction is not well within your comfort zone, and not anywhere that merit aid is hoped for since it usually won’t be awarded before the decision date.</p>
<p>If you are accepted ED and the aid is affordable, you are required to withdraw your applications to all other colleges. That means that you cannot compare financial aid packages from any other schools. If you apply RD to several schools you can compare costs and may well discover that you would be better off attending one of the other schools. For people who need significant aid, that is usually the better way to go, unless the ED school offers to meet full need and it does indeed come close to what you think you can afford to pay.</p>
<p>If they say wait for RD, it could be because your tax year will end 12/31 and you will have accurate $ info (and tax returns) they can process for aid. No guesstimates or assumptions that lead to an incorrect offer. They need the 2015-16 Fafsa and 2014 tax returns for the final offer. But, where do they make this delay recommendation?</p>
<p>If the college/university does occasionally sweeten its original aid packages to better match packages offered by competitors, then pushing those candidates into the RD round makes sense. Such a candidate would probably have a very cheap in-state or other rolling admit option with serious guaranteed merit-based aid, and would ditch Oxford-Emory’s ED offer for that other rolling offer. However in the RD round when the in-state and guaranteed merit admits are lined up against O-E’s aid package and the aid packages from X, Y, and Z, O-E might be able to “adjust” the aid package upward a bit and thus capture a student who would have been lost at ED time.</p>
<p>Different colleges have different philosophies on this subject. Some colleges like UPENN do not want low income people disadvantaged so they encourage applying ED if it is your first choice. They claim to meet full need and are well endowed so they can offer you a package with your ED acceptance. 95% of people who are admitted ED matriculate. </p>
<p>Other colleges, (Brown was one I think), discourage people who need financial aid from applying ED. We know people who have been told by Dartmouth adcoms that ED is really intended for recruited athletes only. </p>
<p>So there is no hard and fast rule. If Emory actually discouraged you from applying ED then you should probably listen. </p>
<p>I suggest you ask the Admissions Director the specific question. We can come up with guesses all over the place, but that’s all they are. At CMU, ED is encouraged, in that the school guarantees to meet need as they define it for ED, something they do not do for RD applicants. So you get your best shot at the best aid package if you apply ED there along with a boost in admissions odds. </p>
<p>If merit awards are in the picture and they do not get offered until the spring, someone applying ED is going to be in that quandry of possibly being eligible for more money but no guarantee, So if the ED aid package is insufficient, it can mean a very good candidate might qualify for that merit money but there is no way to tell by the commit date So such an accepted student might have to decline the ED offer due to insufficient aid. Had that student applied RD, the merit money would have also been in the picture and possibly made it financially feasible to go there. That’s just one scenario that can occur. </p>
<p>I am also getting a feeling, this is all my opinion only, that schools are getting more and more people requesting out from ED. It used to be ED was nearly 100% yield. When a school finds that percentage diminishing, some of the advantages to this program start to diminish. The allowed reason for getting out of the commitment is the financial aid package. It’s a tough deal to look at a package in a vacuum, especially your very first one. It could well be your best offer, or sadly lacking. You have no idea. </p>
<p>Shoboemom when we visited Emory we were also told that if you need merit or FA, do not apply ED. Students that I know who were Emory Scholars found out about this in December/January. They did not know the exact amount until after the interview, which I believe was in March (?). </p>
<p>Schools have their own ways of dealing with in house merit awards. It’s problematic when the financial aid package comes out first with no idea what the merit awards will be if any, since some integration is required if federal funds are involved.</p>
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<p>This is my guess as well.</p>
<p>And it’s funny that @ClassicRockerDad says Penn has a 95% matriculation rate for its ED acceptances. I’m sure it’s true but the only two students I know who’ve ever withdrawn from ED were admitted ED to Penn (I’m in the Philadelphia area and Penn is often the first choice of top students so I think my sample is heavily skewed). Much to their families’ shock, the students discovered Penn considered them full pay. One kid took a full tuition scholarship to Drexel (now a junior) and the other went to the Honors College at Penn State (now a senior). </p>
<p>I was just guessing when I said that, as I’ve seen backing out of ED commitments more and more. However, in the case of Emory, it makes sense with the merit awards that could really make an impact on financial feasibility of the school not being announced until after the ED season, to make that recommendation not to apply ED there.</p>
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<p>Perhaps that could be the rising cost of college, so that more students need financial aid or scholarships to afford college than before.</p>