If you were accepted to, but can’t afford, your Early Decision school, you’re not obligated to attend. It’s one of the few reasons why colleges and universities release accepted students from the “binding” agreement. Below, we review everything you need to know about Early Decision applications and what your options are if you don’t receive enough need-based financial aid.
Is Early Decision Binding?
While Early Decision isn’t legally binding, it is an agreement and there can be other consequences if you don’t adhere to the agreement.
When you apply to a school through this early application option, you’re stating, “If I’m accepted, I will attend the college the following fall and will withdraw all applications from other schools.” As a result, you’re really only allowed to apply to one school under Early Decision. If you apply to more than one and you’re accepted to both, you run the risk of losing out on both acceptance offers – colleges can and do share applicant lists and information!
Can You Back Out of Early Decision?
It’s possible to break the Early Decision agreement and schools understand in certain situations:
- You didn’t receive enough financial aid.
- Your financial situation has changed.
- You’re dealing with a family emergency or crisis.
In some cases, such as a family emergency, you might be able to defer and simply attend the following year.
If you don’t have a valid reason for backing out, the college could come after you for the tuition anyway, even if you don’t attend. Most don’t, but always read the school policy’s fine print before applying under Early Decision or backing out.
Not attending an Early Decision school could also lead to other colleges’ withdrawing acceptance offers or your high school refusing to send transcripts to other colleges.
What Happens If You Can’t Afford Your Early Decision School?
Flickr user Clemens Koppensteiner
If you simply can’t afford to attend your Early Decision school, you don’t have to go. It’s one of the main reasons students back out of the agreement – and colleges completely understand.
Many Early Decision letters and merit scholarship offers are sent out in December. While you may have completed your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) in October, schools don’t usually send need-based financial aid offer letters to students until February or March. As a result, even if you accepted the schools’ offer, you might discover that spring that you simply can’t afford it.
If this is the case, determine how much you’ve been offered and how much you need. Then, reach out to the school’s financial aid and admission departments. Explain the situation and state your interest in the college again. Some schools will negotiate aid packages!
However, if the college doesn’t offer you enough, even after negotiations, you generally have a few options:
Other Options if You Can’t Afford Your Early Decision School
- Take out student loans. You might be able to take out more federal student loans as well as private student loans to cover the gap.
- Get a part time job. While first year students could find it hard to balance school and work, a part time job paired with a solid budget could just fill in those funding needs.
- Apply for grants and scholarships. Many states offer need based grants and there are thousands of scholarships that students can apply for. The best part is, they don’t need to be paid back*.
- Defer enrollment for a year and take a gap year. If the college offers this option, you can work during this time to try to off-set costs, but keep in mind that your financial aid offer next year may differ from the previous offer.
- Back out. You can choose to end the agreement and attend another school.
Should You Apply Early Decision if You Need Financial Aid?
There’s no hard and fast rule about whether you should apply under Early Decision if you need financial aid. There are a few considerations and factors that come into play.
Always Submit the FAFSA
If you need need-based financial aid to attend college, you need to complete the FAFSA. The Department of Education uses it to determine loan and Pell Grant eligibility, but colleges also use it for their own institutional grants and scholarships. If you don’t complete the application, you won’t be considered for that money.
Be Sure You Want To Attend the School
First, you should only apply to Early Decision if you’re positive you want to attend. You should have thoroughly researched the college, visited the campus at least once, and talked to alumni. If you are on the fence, apply under Early Action or Regular Decision instead. You don’t want to apply under Early Decision and find out it’s not the college for you.
Consider Early Decision II
Some schools offer later Early Decision deadlines, often called Early Decision II. With deadlines in January, students can apply to other colleges under Regular Decision and Early Action. They’ll also often receive financial aid offer letters with their acceptance letters, so there’s no waiting around to see if you can attend.
Apply for Scholarships
Whether you can afford college or not, always apply for scholarships. It’s free money*! And many smaller awards have few applicants. If you win a few, the cash adds up. This money usually goes towards tuition, but some scholarships can also cover costs for books, room and board, supplies, and more.
Contact the Financial Aid Office
If you’ll need financial aid in order to attend a college, it never hurts to reach out to the school. You can ask the financial aid department about potential offers, when you’ll hear about them if you’re accepted, and options should you not be able to attend.
Use College Match
College Raptor’s College Match isn’t just for finding the perfect school for you. If you enter in some or all of your financial information, we show you estimated costs based on your financial situation. This gives you insight into how much the school may offer you based on previous offers to other students and how much you’ll likely need to pay out of pocket. The estimated net price can help you determine which schools to apply to and which to skip – and whether your dream school will offer you enough if you apply under Early Decision.
Early Decision applications, while generally considered “binding” by students and colleges alike, aren’t legally binding. Colleges understand if you need to back out due to your financial situation. But if you can’t afford your early decision school, reach out to their financial aid office to see if you qualify for more money before you decline acceptance.
College Match can help you find the right school for you and understand your estimated net price. It’s completely free! Start here.
*While a scholarship does not have to be repaid, there may be other obligations associated with the scholarship.
