Is early decision worth it for financial aid if you are not full-pay? That was the biggest thing I got stuck on, and the most useful tip I got was to treat ED like a numbers decision first and an emotions decision second.
What helped me was making a super basic sheet with 3 columns: the school's net price calculator estimate, whether they say they meet full need, and how consistent their aid looked when I compared student stories. If the net price calculator already looked unrealistic for my family, I stopped romanticizing the ED boost and moved that school out of my ED spot.
A few things I wish I had checked earlier:
- Run the net price calculator twice if your family finances are even a little complicated.
- Read the ED financial aid policy carefully because some schools are more clear than others about what happens if the package is not affordable.
- Ask your counselor whether past students actually got workable aid there, not just whether the school is "generous" in general.
- Compare ED vs EA/RD strategy instead of assuming ED is always the smartest move.
My personal rule became: only use ED on a school I would be thrilled to attend and where the calculator result was close enough that I would not be panicking in December.
So I guess my tip is: if you are asking "early decision worth it financial aid," do the price check before you do the dream school speech. It saved me from applying ED somewhere that probably would have been impossible to afford.