<p>We have been saving diligently for college since our child was born. With bonuses, our household income for the last few years has been close to 290K. Right now we have about 160K saved for college for our older child, somewhat less for our younger. I don't think we should apply for FA for our older child at all because #1) We have the money--or at least enough for three years at a private school--and I seriously doubt anyone would give us aid, and #2) I feel our child would have an edge in admissions if it were known that we were full pay. True???? I'd really love some opinions on this. Thank you!!!!!</p>
<p>You should file a FAFSA regardless. Your child might qualify for merit aid and many schools require it for this as well as need-based. As for an edge in admissions, you might be right about that. I remember reading somewhere that adcoms at large university in the south had orders to admit anyone who met the minimum requirements and could pay full price.</p>
<p>The vast majority of schools are need blind for admission. It won’t matter for those. You can have your child state “no” for applying for aid and still file the FAFSA later for access to Direct loans (and merit aid if required) if you wish.</p>
<p>We are in the same boat, less income, but saved from birth and had the money saved to send 2 kids to college. We chose not to apply for FA even though we probably would have received something. We applied to schools where we knew decent merit aid would be given so we wouldn’t have to pay full sticker price. It just didn’t seem right taking aid when we didn’t need it(and we considered merit aid something earned)…when you preach self reliance, you have to put your money where your mouth is.</p>
<p>Thank you all so far for your responses. I didn’t know that if you check “no” to applying for aid, you can still file the FAFSA. NewJersey17, I have tried to respond to private messages but so far do not have enough posts to qualify!!!</p>
<p>Same situation, didn’t bother to fill out FAFSA until one year my son needed it for something… can’t remember, on campus job? But never qualified for any aid. I think they offered us a loan… LOL…</p>
<p>btw, if you do fill out the FAFSA, or even apply for aid, don’t let anyone shame you for gaming the system or stealing money from those who genuinely need it. I guarantee you will hear it.</p>
<p>[‘Need-Blind</a>’ Admissions: Fact or Fiction? - The College Admissions Insider (usnews.com)](<a href=“http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/the-college-admissions-insider/2011/07/18/need-blind-admissions-fact-or-fiction]'Need-Blind”>http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/the-college-admissions-insider/2011/07/18/need-blind-admissions-fact-or-fiction)</p>
<p>We were in a similar situation. For DD1, we had no intention of filing the FAFSA. Then, we got a telephone phone call from NYU (her 1st choice school), “advising us” to file the FAFSA. So we did and she wound up getting a nice merit scholarship there. For DD2, we did not file the FAFSA and she wound up getting several merit scholarship offers. I think it just depends on the school whether a FAFSA is needed.</p>
<p>I also recommend filing the FAFSA. Even though we did not qualify for Fin Aid, we required both kids to take Stafford the first couple of years. Both kids have said anytime they wanted to skip a class they didn’t because they knew they were paying of it via loans. We may be in a position to pay off their loans at the end but I think it is important for kids have skin in the game regardless on how successful they were in HS. College is a whole new game and I have seen some high achieving kids go off track during freshman year.</p>
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Well said, Geeps20, especially when there are so many wealthy families looking to game the system … and I’m not talking about you, NJres!</p>
<p>It is possible for a full-pay student to qualify for merit aid and then stack scholarships. Add an RA position and you may end up with a student making money off scholarships. At the sort of school usually discussed on this board all students are fairly meritorious. Schools give merit only awards to buy students from more competitive schools. There are different ways to game the system.</p>
<p>File the FAFSA even if you don’t apply for institutional financial aid. We had our D take out a small Stafford to help her establish a credit rating. </p>
<p>The other advantage of filing FAFSA is that your financial circumstances might change. It will be easier for you to apply for financial aid in the future, if your child ends up going to a college that guarantees to meet full need of any matriculated student. There are not many colleges that do this, but some do. FA is generally based on current income, not assets. You may have a lot of savings, but if your income drops dramatically, you may be eligible to apply for aid when your child is a soph or junior, depending on the college he/she attends.</p>
<p>When/if your income drops then fill out forms to apply for FA. I don’t think it is advantageous to share your financial information if you are not going to get anything for it. Less is more sometimes. In today’s climate, schools want to admit students who can afford to pay or have some hooks which they need to pay up for.</p>
<p>OK, so just to clarify…filing the FAFSA is NOT the same as applying for financial aid directly from a college? Sorry to sound ignorant, but we’re new to this.</p>
<p>“especially when there are so many wealthy families looking to game the system”</p>
<p>Uncalled for anti-affluent nonsense. I’m in the same position as the OP. What people don’t understand is we regularly pay more for a lot of things and rarely get to “game” any system.</p>
<p>I have a summer home in East Hampton Village and joke all the time with friends that our car tires make a “thump-thump” sound as they go over the Peconic inlet bridge, while the tires of people working on our homes go “cha-ching!” like a cash register.</p>
<p>I pay more for my son to attend college. I pay more for my car to be repaired. I pay more… more… more… almost always. </p>
<p>An employee was telling me about a 15KW solar array he’s having installed on his roof. I thought “Hey, I’m interested in that!” He gave me the name of the company. They went out to my house and returned an estimate 2.5 times the number they gave my employee!!! For the same 15KW system!!!</p>
<p>So who’s gaming who?</p>
<p>As for financial aid… it seems you really need to be in dire need before you qualify for any need based aid. Which is the way it should be, IMHO. Although, in the same breath I’ll say that college tuitions have gotten completely out of hand.</p>
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<p>No one says that you have to buy an additional house. Nor do you have to choose a kind of car that repair shops charge more for maintenance and repair.</p>
<p>Also, your son probably eliminated fewer or no colleges from consideration for cost reasons than students from non-wealthy families have to. So even though you pay more for his college, he had more choices (although he could also have made the choice to seek large merit scholarships to reduce the cost).</p>
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<p>However, the real “gamers” in this case would be the super-super-wealthy, who can individually influence politicians to a much greater degree than there mere wealthy can (although that is more like influencing changing the rules of the game to their advantage). This is particularly the case with the income tax system.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t fill out FAFSA in OP’s case, because they will not be eligible for subsidized loans. I am sure OP could get better or just as good of terms from other source.</p>
<p>Oldfort, other than taking the time to fill out the FAFSA, is there a possible negative consequence for filling it out?</p>
<p>OP, you can call each school on your child’s list to find out if they need FAFSA to award merit aid. None of D1’s schools required it, but some of D2’s will. </p>
<p>I also suggest that you call each school’s FA office to find out if you need to apply for need-based institutional aid for freshman year in order to be eligible for need-based institutional aid in other years if your financial circumstances changed dramatically (e.g. job loss). I haven’t found any schools that would fit in this category…yet. Can’t hurt to confirm. </p>
<p>Most schools have need-blind admissions but there are a few that are need-aware. Offhand, I know that Tufts, Wesleyan and Brandeis have need blind admissions until they’ve used up their FA budget. For the last sliver of admits, preference goes to students with no financial need. There are certainly other schools on this list, so check carefully. </p>
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<p>Simple solution: earn less! Then you’ll pay less for a lot of things. :D</p>
<p>I would also add that filing the FAFSA if you qualify for a sub loan is not a bad idea. It helps build credit for your kids…even if you pay it back before the interest kicks in. Same with putting your kid down as a joint owner if you are buying a used car for them.</p>