Can You Back Out of an ED Commitment?

The NY Times article by Ron Lieber, the financial journalist who published “The Price You Pay for College” is getting a lot of attention, mainly because it’s open to misinterpretation. Lieber does not state that everyone can renege on an ED offer if they don’t like the price. Here’s the truth. I’m paraphrasing from a learned colleague who is a financial aid specialist:

Applying (and qualified for) financial aid?

A financial aid applicant who applies ED should not withdraw any other applications until after receiving their financial aid offer to make sure it is affordable. If the financial aid offer does not meet full need and the family believes they cannot afford it, then the family must contact the college financial aid office prior to committing (or not) and prior to withdrawing any other applications.

Not sure what you can or can’t afford? Be very careful.

No one should build a college list without checking each college's Net Price Calculator at the beginning of the process. It’s the only way to see what the expected family contribution (EFC) will be. Here’s where the problem occurs:

Parents who submit the FAFSA and CSS Profile and “hope” for $30,000 in need-based grants may learn to their horror that the school grants only a total $15,000 even though the college meets full need. Panicked, they contact the financial aid office and learn that they must submit their appeal by Monday, December 20 because the college is closing for the holidays. In January, the college tells the family that the award will not be increased. How do these parents tell their child to turn down his acceptance before knowing whether he will be admitted to his other schools and how large their financial aid offers will be? Those offers may not come until April. The parents have put their child in an impossible situation.

Do not back out of an ED offer if you are not applying for financial aid.

Unless there are emergency or extenuating circumstances, the cost of attendance should never be a reason not to follow through with your signed commitment. Expectation of merit aid? There can never be an expectation of merit aid which, of course, many ED schools don’t even offer to non-need applicants. Not applying for financial aid? Reneging on an ED offer of admission is duplicitous at best.

It’s my job to help you understand this…please contact me with any questions about affordability.

My virtual IECA Conference, a month later

So much is happening, from students finishing last-minute essays for RD applications and others beginning to receive decisions (three happy acceptances in the past two weeks...fingers crossed for more). I'm finally getting to share some details from my Independent Education Consultants Fall Conference in November.

I’m still digesting everything I learned, from reconnecting with colleagues and college admissions reps, “visiting” NYU and Villanova, guiding students applying to grad school, advising families on how to get the most out of college visits, and helping set neurodiverse students up for college success. The best news: there will be two live conferences for me to attend this spring, including trips to the Philadelphia and Denver area colleges. Can’t wait to get back to campuses!

Show Leadership with Self-Driven Activities

This was a major topic during the pandemic when clubs/sports were canceled, but I’m revisiting it because many of my students have solid rigor, grades, and test scores but few extracurricular activities. Why do these matter? Extracurriculars are like “Why Us? Essays,” showing colleges how you will enhance their communities if admitted.

Whatever you are already doing can always be improved upon. Playing a sport or two is great, but if you are not planning to be a college athlete, what else can you offer? The answer is “plenty.”

If you’re athletic, think about self-driven options in addition to or instead of organized sports. Train for local 5ks on your own, or even longer distances like half-marathons (or, you could do both the organized and self-driven versions)! Combine sports and community service by organizing a charity run/walk. Offer and run free Zoom exercise classes for your classmates (several of my 2020/2021grads did this). Organize/run an afterschool or summer sports class/camp for children (again, a popular activity for my students during the pandemic when real camp options were canceled). More of an artist/reader/writer than an athlete? You could start a similar class/camp for arts/crafts, a YA book club, or journal/short story writing.

These self-motivated extracurriculars are especially valuable from a college admission standpoint, because they show leadership (initiative and independence) on your part. You’ll challenge yourself, build skills, and learn.

This is just a start! I’ve got many more ideas for extracurricular activities. Contact me at lesscollegestress@gmail.com