I have a strange situation that I'm not sure how to handle.
My daughter will not qualify for need-based aid. However, her stats make her a strong candidate for merit aid (35 ACT, 4.9 GPA, etc.). This fall when we visited schools, we researched which ones offer large enough merit awards to make them affordable for her. She found a school that was by far her first choice because of the atmosphere and everything she learned on our visit. They had two levels of merit scholarships that would make the school a financially viable option for her.
We contacted the school to make sure applying Early Decision wouldn't harm her chances for merit aid as we had read some schools do not award merit during Early Decision. We were told they definitely award merit aid during ED. We read the pros and cons of applying ED. Some articles said not to do it if you wanted merit aid. Others said it was wise as the pool of money isn't exhausted and it shows the student's interest/commitment in the school. She decided to go ahead with ED.
She included a letter with her resume and also sent a copy to her admission counselor explaining that while she was applying ED, she would need significant merit aid in order to afford the school.
She was accepted last week, but with hardly any merit aid. We were a bit stunned as she was offered significantly more merit aid by all of her Early Action schools. But we realize she is NOT entitled to any amount of merit aid, so I immediately contacted her admission rep to ask how to decline the offer as it is not a financially viable. No reply. Not even an acknowledgement of the email. I emailed another admissions rep who coordinated our visit while we were there, asking what the procedure is to decline if the offer is not enough for us to afford the school. No reply.
I called the school on Friday and again yesterday and was told I would get an email from one of the assistant deans. No email.
I am not exactly sure what to do if no one will tell her how to decline the offer. There is no way to do it through the admissions portal. "Yes" is the only option as she was accepted. I know that some high schools only send the mid-year report and end of the year transcript to the Early Decision school and want to avoid that happening, so I would like some acknowledgement to give her guidance counselor. Or do I not worry about it? If we don't send in the enrollment deposit, I guess they will understand she is declining. Any insight on the procedure for declining ED if the financial offer isn't enough?
Thanks for reading. Sorry this is so long!
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