D’s applied ED2 to a small liberal arts college. Her mid-semester grades were recently sent to the school, and within a few hours I got an email asking for more forms to be filled out and additional taxes to be set, etc. This exchange happened 4 days before the decisions are released.
I took this as a sign to be cautiously optimistic - that her app was handed to the FA office for processing.
A friend thinks I am grasping at straws.
Thoughts?
In most cases…financial aid wants their ducks lined up just in case…
So just be patient…and wait and see.
Good luck!!
@thumper1 No worries, not breaking out the champagne yet! But the timing did seem odd. And it is crazy that they process all the apps when only a small fraction are needed - so much additional work for naught!
We’ll…they don’t process them all the way. But they need the necessary info so they can do so when the accepted students are known.
Were they asking for additional supportive documents?
They are separate from the admissions office.
The financial aid office has a similar deadline to admissions; they have to find the money for all possible candidates applying for financial aid so they on a limited budget with a stricter timeline. Everything has to be rushed because the money runs out. They have to prioritize who gets what according to which monies fit the candidates.
Yes. They were asking for business tax returns, CSS business farm supplements (we own 2 small businesses), and details on real estate value and debts. Some of this information is already in the CSS profile, but in less detail. This school does not use IDOC so I am not sure what info they get from the CSS profile.
If I had gotten these inquiries earlier in the process I would not have thought twice, it was just that they requested them so close to decision release time and right after her mid-term grades were submitted. I am under the impression that applicants files are reviewed and a general Y/N decision is rendered, pending confirmation of final grades. I inferred from the timing that she had been greenlighted and then the FA office was alerted.
It is likely just an automated process, that once all items are submitted by her HS the app gets shifted to the FA office for pre-processing. But it was different than the automated robot emails I have received from many RD schools stating that certain forms have not yet been received; it was a personally drafted email from someone in the FA department.
@auntbea I have not heard before about money running out! How can they give aid to RD students if its runs out during the ED rounds? This is a private college not a state school.
Well, the school gets everything that’s entered on Profile. The fact that the school doesn’t use IDOC is irrelevant.
Whether or not “the money runs out” will depend on the policies and FA structure that each school operates under. Schools that pledge to meet the full demonstrated need of all admitted students typically have deeper pockets and the resources available to not “run out of money” before the admissions process is concluded.
Phew. This is a need blind / full needs school.
Even though this is your first time through FA, they’ve been going through it for decades. They know how many ED/EA acceptances they can give out and how much FA should be attached to those to have enough for the RD group. Part of the promise of ED is that a FA package will be issued at the time/shortly after so they have to prepare all the packages. FA office doesn’t know who is being accepted and who isn’t. Sorry, but your friend is correct and it doesn’t mean an acceptance is on the way.
^^^^^^ this
@4junior Each school has its own financial budget. They receive monies from alumni, from the state, from the feds, and from private corporations, etc. it is a finite amount. Everything has to coordinate, to fit the students that are requesting aid, for four years. No, they don’t tap down to zero because that’s fiscally irresponsible. They run out of funding that they can dedicate to each requesting student for the year, and for upcoming years.
@twoinanddone Thank you for your frankness!
4junior, I have no actual knowledge, but I frankly think your reading of the tea leaves - whether accurate or not - entirely reasonable. The FA Office, four days before decisions are released and they will know definitively who they will have to process and who they won’t, invests time in gathering docs they will know in 96 hours whether they will actually need? Extremely inefficient if that’s the practice.
I’m just not sure a blanket statement like this “FA office doesn’t know who is being accepted and who isn’t,” holds true for every college and university under every circumstance, and how we could know it is true for every school under every circumstance.
But again, I don’t actually know, and twoonanddone is a great resource and far more knowledgeable than I am!
As others said at many selective schools admissions and financial aid operate as two separate entities. Due to the short time line for ED, the financial aid office does not have the luxury of waiting until a student is admitted to start packaging them. There is preliminary work that is done on every applicant that applies for financial aid.
Even though the school in question is need blind and meets 100% demonstrated need, they already know from years of enrollment management data, how many students they need to take in during ED1, ED2 and RD.
Remember you will initially file the CSS profile for consideration for financial aid. You will then use the IDOC or the school’s own verification process as “proof” that what you wrote on your profile forms is indeed correct. At many schools you will not receive any actual aid til the school has a IRS transcript or non-filers statement.
You will find out your results soon enough. Keeping fingers crossed for a good outcome. But in the mean time, you have to breathe.
Just get that financial aid office EVERYTHING they have asked for ASAP.
Some profile schools would request additional documents directly without using IDOC. I have seen both and I am dealing with those again this year too.
Thank you all! It’s just so hard to wait in these final hours and I guess I was looking for any sort of sign.
And thank you @JMS111 for seeing how I got to this thinking, I was beginning to think I was nuts for even considering it!
D was offered a spot at the school, so perhaps we read the tea leaves correctly @JMS111 !
Congratulations! And hoping you sent the requested financial aid application materials!!!