Wise to apply ED if qualify for all need-based financial aid?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I've been searching and reading these forums regarding applying ED and I've been getting a lot of mixed opinions on whether or not it is wise to apply ED if you qualify for ALL need-based financial aid (and would not be able to pay otherwise). So, I've made this thread to sort of clear things up and to get an answer to my question.</p>

<p>I'm really interested in this private school which is supposedly very generous with fin aid. Let's say I'm considering to apply ED. Is this a wise decision even though I would need a lot of financial aid (and qualify for all of it)? <--- also granted that I have a high chance of being accepted. I wouldn't want to apply ED, not be able to pay then nullify my place in the school forever. </p>

<p>So, all what do all of you CC'rs think?</p>

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<p>Maybe at a school that meets 100% of need. But even at those, the ratio of grants to loans should be carefully considered. </p>

<p>So if the schools are no loan, 100% meet need schools, yes, it’s fine. If not, probably it’s not a good idea.</p>

<p>Also, make sure you’ve run the school calculator when determining need, not just FAFSA which counts fewer assets.</p>

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<p>Agreed with hmom–make sure to run your institutional EFC, and choose a full-need no-loans (or capped loans) school.</p>

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<p>I’m really tempted to do this with George Washington. They have a fantastic financial aid program and I love the school. I’m anxious about getting in. But I don’t think I can apply ED - what if they don’t come through on financial aid?</p>

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<p>hmom5 gave very good advice. You need to do a lot of research,
but you have nothing to lose by applying to no loan schools if you’re
sure your EFC is under $2000. The way things stand now, if you
need a lot of aid and your stats are not super, you’ll have difficulty
getting in most places RD.</p>

<p>also applicannot, my D was tempted to do the same thing at GW,
it’s so much easier to get in ED, but we were unsure about their
aid. She chose to apply RD and got rejected. GW’s recently
revamped their aid policies towards need based recipients but
this year it was a little too early to tell just how serious they were.
If you visit you might want to go into this in detail with the interviewer
and the finaid office, but if your stats are below 2000 sat’s and
3.5 gpa, it might be worth the chance.</p>

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<p>I’m lucky enough that my stats are generally above the 75th percentile for GW. I really believe I have an good chance of getting in. My aid would be almost entirely need based - our EFC will be between 0 and 1000 (depending on my income this year) and our PROFILE will be between 0 and 2000. I was reading about their new aid program, as well. I want to apply ED because the applications process this year seemed so… random. There were many kids with similar and better stats than I have who were rejected. I visited and just fell in love. At least I have a couple of months to think about all of this!</p>

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<p>You should also check to see if the school is need blind for admissions. Some, maybe even most, of the schools that meet 100% need are not! You can easily check by looking under Freshman Admission Criteria on this site:</p>

<p>[Student</a> Aid on the Web](<a href=“http://www.studentaid2.ed.gov/gotocollege/campustour/]Student”>http://www.studentaid2.ed.gov/gotocollege/campustour/)</p>