<p>Hi all, I'm a US citizen applying to colleges this fall. My family will not qualify for financial aid, but my parents and I agreed that i will pay for half my college tuition through work study, unsubsidized fed loans, and private loans. I will not be applying for fin aid to colleges because I know I will not receive any aid, and most of my schools are need-aware. To get a job on campus and a fed loan, would it be possible to file my FAFSA after my acceptance? I don't want to jeopardize my chances of getting into a good college that's need-aware by applying for fin aid. Any advice pls? Thanks</p>
<p>You won’t qualify for work-study. You have to have “need” to get that. That is subsidized by the fed gov’t so you have to have need to get it.</p>
<p>I think your parents’ plan isn’t wise. The prospect that you’re supposed to use private loans to pay towards half of you college costs would cause you to have about $100k in debt! </p>
<p>If they want you to contribute half, then they should be encouraging you to get your half thru merit scholarships from the schools that give them.</p>
<p>??? what are all these need aware schools? Why are you afraid…you don’t have need. </p>
<p>That said, this plan is not a good one. You’ll end up with tooooooo much debt.</p>
<p>@mom2collegekids Not work-study, but a job on campus that could help me pay off the fees? Or a way I could work in college part-time to earn money that could go towards my tuition.</p>
<p>Yeah, I’ll try to qualify for merit but my schools are Colgate, UVA, Occidental, and Macalester. Wouldn’t it put me at a disadvantage if I were to apply for aid (even if I dont have need?) </p>
<p>And wouldn’t I qualify for an unsubsidized loan?</p>
<p>You ran NPCs?
You can look st the colleges’ stated deadlines for aid applications and learn their policies and procedures for student loans.</p>
<p>Yeah, my parents have too many assets to qualify. So it would be possible to get loans afterwards getting accepted?</p>
<p>My family does not have need. If I apply for financial aid at a college, would this put me at a disadvantage?</p>
<p>C’mon. Colgate, Carleton, VA, Mac and Oxy are need blind.</p>
<p>@lookingforward they’re all need aware…</p>
<p>Oops I looked at meet full need. Sorry. Still, you need to look behind the NA label for how they apply this. Mac says 95% of decisions are made without need being a factor.</p>
<p>And you say you dont have need.<br>
If you need fed loans through the college, you need to know the college policy.</p>
<p>Yeah, so would it put me at a disadvantage or not? I’ll only be applying for the sake of acquiring loans.</p>
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<p>This is most likely not going to happen. your tuition and fees will need to be paid before you start school (or your parents will have set up a payment plan). Even with an on-campus job, it is highly unlikely that you will make enough money to pay part of your tuition, especially at some of the school that you have listed.</p>
<p>The most that you will receive in loans is $5500 as a freshman. If your parents are looking for you to take out private loans, they will have to cosign for them.</p>
<p>I think you’re looking at this the WRONG way. </p>
<p>You’re focusing on FAFSA and loans, as if those are your saving grace. After filling out FAFSA, you’re only going to be able to borrow $5500 in a Stafford unsub loans. How is THAT going to help you much???</p>
<p>if you have to come up with half the costs, which is about $30k for your half, how are you going to come up with that money? You might be able to earn about $5k per year. So, that’s about $10k total…so how would you come up with the rest? </p>
<p>Are your parents going to co-sign large private loans for you? Is that what they’re saying? </p>
<p>Even if they’ll agree to co-sign (which is a bad idea), that’s still too much debt.</p>
<p>Anyway, you can apply for student loans AFTER you’re accepted.</p>
<p>OP, you need to be able to look into this, look for how your colleges use “need aware.” Each may have its own ways. </p>
<p>If you do not have need, what are you worried about? That an application for aid will get a reject? If the school requires an app, for loan purposes, that is their policy. They don’t look simply at the check box “Applying for Financial Aid” and rubber stamp you. They will look at the paperwork itself, see what your situation is.</p>
<p>You can google plenty.
Typically, admissions officers at “need-aware” colleges read through applications and rank the students in terms of attractiveness to the college. They usually admit the top students without regard to incomes. As the officers move down their lists, they start to look at their financial aid budget to see whether they can afford to fully fund those applicants. Colleges such as Reed, Carleton, and Gettysburg say that they accept at least 90 percent of their students on merit and consider income only for the last few seats in each class.
[Colleges</a> Where Need for Aid Can Hurt Admission Odds - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://www.usnews.com/education/articles/2010/03/23/colleges-where-need-for-aid-can-hurt-admission-odds]Colleges”>http://www.usnews.com/education/articles/2010/03/23/colleges-where-need-for-aid-can-hurt-admission-odds)</p>
<p>I want to add this, from one college: Subsidized Direct Student Loan — “students must apply for federal financial aid and meet financial need guidelines in order to receive this type of loan. No interest is charged while a student is in school at least half-time and during deferment periods.”</p>
<p>But, for the unsub loan, " Interest is charged during all periods, even during the time a student is in school and during deferment periods."</p>
<p>You also need to look at how interest accrues, from day one, adds to your totals, whether it is at fed unsub rates or through some other lender. </p>
<p>This isn’t as simple as “splitting the costs” from the outset. For a 60k college, if your loans are roughly 25k/year, your “half” will be more than it seems, at first glance.</p>
<p>If you truly don’t have need, as determined by the colleges, then applying for aid won’t have ANY impact on your application. The act of applying for financial aid does not indicate need. If anything, your financial situation will slightly improve your chances at a school that is need aware, because you will be placed ahead of similar students who do need assistance.</p>
<p>That said, you might want to look into your parents’ plan. If you will not qualify for any aid, then you (and they) will be responsible for the full bill at the beginning of each semester. As already mentioned, you might qualify for federal loans, but you are not likely to qualify for any other loans on your own. Your parents will have to cosign those loans, so will legally still be responsible for them. </p>
<p>You’re likely to need spending money during the semester, and in most cases, that is what comes from your part time job, whether on campus or off (and most on-campus jobs are likely to be reserved for those in work study). It is unlikely you will make enough part time to have spending money AND be able to make the monthly payments on your loans. If you are able to do so, remember that each year you will be adding to those loans - what is affordable the first semester might not be affordable the 8th when you owe 8 times as much (if not more) in monthly payments.</p>
<p>You need to run the NPC and see exactly how much you will need to come up with. Then subtract out what your parents will pay and plug the rest into a good loan calculator to see how much you need to earn each month, and remember that will only be for the first year.</p>
<p>If you have NO need, and the school is need aware…their assumption will be that you can pay the full cost of attending. This might actually help you get accepted. </p>
<p>To answer your question, yes you can complete the FAFSA after your acceptance to get the Direct loan of $5500. But that is a drop on the bucket for the,schools you have listed which hover in the $50,000 a year range.</p>
<p>Your parents’ plan is a bit flawed…they will need to cosign any private loans, or they will need to secure loans themselves. YOU can’t borrow an additional $25,000 without their cosign.</p>
<p>But really, if you are a marginal applicant, simply NOT applying for financial aid won’t guarantee you an acceptance.</p>