Mom0012 Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 My dd will be starting the application process this summer. I understand that early decision applications are binding. Does this mean that you can only apply ED to a school that you can afford to pay full freight to? What if it is a school that fully meets need and based on their online calculator, we can afford it? Is it still risky? Is there any way to get a better grasp on the actual costs prior to applying? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cuckoomamma Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 Yes, it’s not recommended that you apply ED if you need aid. You can call the school and speak with their financial aid office to try to get a more accurate idea of a possible financial aid package. HTH! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 I do think plenty of people apply when the npc looks reasonable. If you are not prepared to pay the npc or need to price compare ED is not for you. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alewife Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 16 hours ago, Mom0012 said: My dd will be starting the application process this summer. I understand that early decision applications are binding. Does this mean that you can only apply ED to a school that you can afford to pay full freight to? What if it is a school that fully meets need and based on their online calculator, we can afford it? Is it still risky? Is there any way to get a better grasp on the actual costs prior to applying? No, ED is not only for the families that can pay full freight. If the school is your child's top choice, and if the school's online calculator provides a number that you are comfortable paying, then applying ED may give your child a boost with admissions. If your child is accepted, but the cost of attendance turns out to be different than what the school's online calculator indicated, you would be able to get out of the ED contract. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linders Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 (edited) You get accepted ED, you are generally stuck. And a lot of the cost calculators presume you can pay more than perhaps you would like to, so be careful in doing the inputs. Edited January 25, 2019 by linders 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 My son didn't do ED anywhere largely because we wanted to be able to compare financial aid offers. If he had had a really clear favorite amongst needs-met schools we would have considered letting him, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom0012 Posted January 25, 2019 Author Share Posted January 25, 2019 We’re not done visiting schools yet, but I think she will wind up with two or three schools she is very interested in. I was thinking it might be wise to pick one of those and apply ED since those applications have substantially higher admission rates. However, I have wondered if that is simply because they take a lot of full-pay students during that period. It would be interesting to know how many ED applicants get financial aid at the schools she is interested in. I will have to see if that info is somewhere on the common data set website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom0012 Posted January 25, 2019 Author Share Posted January 25, 2019 I would definitely contact any school we were considering applying this way and discuss finances with them first, but it is interesting to hear what others think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arch at Home Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 I suggest that you check and see what the admissions rates for ED as opposed to regular decision. At least one of DD’s colleges had less than a percent difference between the two while others ED was twice a likely to get in. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted January 26, 2019 Share Posted January 26, 2019 (edited) One thing I was going to add is to do the NPC right before you apply. I had an unpleasant surprise doing an NPC recently that was more favorable for us in the early fall. I have seen some data that shows ED bump for the average unhooked applicant (not athletic recruit, not a development admit, etc) at most schools is not super significant (even in some cases where the raw data looks significant) but if the money works and there's a clear favorite, why not. I think ED favors schools much more than students and families myself, but it serves some people well. Edited January 26, 2019 by FuzzyCatz 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoodGrief Posted January 26, 2019 Share Posted January 26, 2019 At some schools, the ED stats include recruited athletes and legacies, and the bump is not so much more for an unhooked student. So keep that in mind when making your decision. That said, if the financial offer turns out to be very different from the NPC, you can generally back out of the agreement. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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