Showing too much interest in a school lowers scholarship $ ? Forum

[ku546]

I've read that if you apply Early Decision, schools have no incentive to give you scholarship money since you are guaranteed to attend if accepted.

In essence, that means many--if not all--schools are using the money to get you to accept their offers as opposed to pure merit/other factors.

I wrote in one of my personal statements that a particular school was "my absolute top pick". I wonder if this is going to hurt how much I get?

[PB&J.D.]

That is strong language to use, but personal statements aren't binding. Regardless, the $$$ is to entice high-performing applicants and help maintain/boost school stats. If you have the right numbers, just use other school offers to negotiate; they won't be offended that you're trying to be wise in making a significant financial investment.

[pylon]

It is an interesting question though. If you show too much interest in a school, they might think you would attend without needing too much $$ incentive. On the other hand, showing not enough interest could lead them to believe you wouldn't attend regardless. A fine line.

[Ron Don Volante]

I've read that if you apply Early Decision, schools have no incentive to give you scholarship money since you are guaranteed to attend if accepted.

Right. If you're a generic applicant who is not fabulously wealthy you should never consider applying ED, unless it's to somewhere like Northwestern which gives you a ton of money to ED.

In essence, that means many--if not all--schools are using the money to get you to accept their offers as opposed to pure merit/other factors.

Correct. They will essentially only give you money insofar as they think they'll induce you to matriculate. For example, UT often declines to match big T14 scholarships that Texans receive, as they (rightly) assume the average applicant wants to be in texas over moving to like Duke.

I wrote in one of my personal statements that a particular school was "my absolute top pick". I wonder if this is going to hurt how much I get?

Nah. Not advisable, but shouldn't hurt too badly.

[Clearly]

This isn't going to effect your offer, many people say this in every app, and most apps they see likely say the same thing.

[ilikebaseball]

Showing interest in a school doesn't mean they'll offer less. At the end of the day, schools will understand that you have many applications out there and that it has to make sense. However, ED is definitely a way to lose your leverage. Some schools offer some sort of automatic stipend or something, but ED is more for people who probably have less than stellar numbers for the school but can take on the $$$.

I definitely don't think stating your interest in your PS makes you LOSE leverage. I think it shows that you have taken the time to personalize your PS, and depending on how you word it, may actually entice schools if you show that you want to work in their general region.