<p>Not applying for financial aid is only helpful if you can actually pay the bills. Some people scramble and take out huge loans. The “hook” for being being full pay is more likely a tie breaker than a real hook. many if these generous schools are need blind…so admissions really doesn’t KNOW if you are applying for aid, or if you need aid. And even if you check NO on the common application, you can still apply for financial aid. It’s a phone call to financial aid saying you intend to apply…plus submission of the forms. Admissions at need blind schools won’t even know that happened.</p>
<p>There ARE schools that do preferential institutional need based packaging…and include the Direct Loan first…and everything else on top of that…for some students.</p>
<p>I don’t think any of us can really know all of the ins and outs of what happens in those offices.</p>
<p>My suggestion to everyone is that they read very carefully the policies of each school. There is huge variation. Someone here posted about one school (can’t remember which one…maybe Skidmore?) where if you didn’t apply as an incoming freshman, you were not eligible to receive institutional aid until two years later…or something like that.</p>
<p>What schools? And by “denied,” do you mean they were told that they could not apply for institutional FA, or they applied and did not receive aid?</p>
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<p>At a need-aware school, maybe (depends on other application factors). At a truly need-blind school, no.</p>
<p>But back to the OPs question. Can you ask for a discount? No. You can apply for merit awards, or you can apply for need based aid. But asking for a discount…um…no.</p>
<p>I don’t know many schools that state this outright. I think only two, did see that at one time any ways. However, schools will also say that you have to meet certain deadlines to get their grants and have full need met, and then the statement is made that aid stays about the same unless there is a change in financial circumstance. So it is very much implied that if you got zero aid freshman year, you get the same unless that change is shown. Also schools that guarantee to meet full aid or meet most of it will say outright that this guarantee does not hold for those students that did not apply for aid the first year.</p>
<p>There are a lot of hidden thins in the fin aid process that the web site does not show but further examination does Hopkins, for example, uses 30% of student assets, not the FAFSA 20% and some schools like U of CH will keep the student assets from freshman year on file and use them through all 4 years of fin aid. None of this was up front when I discovered these little gems and more.</p>
<p>I don’t think COrnell or other need blind school would have that policy, but those schools that are need aware tend to watch every little thing. It’s tough to be a fin aid student at some of these schools. </p>
<p>Yes, Skidmore, along with Colby and Smith, has this policy (in some cases, exceptions may be made for a change in financial circumstances). I haven’t heard of any others. Bryn Mawr, as far as I know, is the only school that goes even further: “Only students who applied for financial aid from the College as freshmen will be considered for grant assistance from the College in subsequent years of enrollment.”</p>
<p>As far as need blind admission…It is interesting to me that a school like Cornell consistently has 50% of students on FA, not 40% one year and 60% another year.</p>
<p>There really aren’t that many schools that are need blind in admissions and guarantee to meet full need. those are the ones where it can make a difference if they have a policy of asking for freshman year financials along with current years’ if fin aid is requesting in later years when freshman year the student did not apply for aid. A school that makes no guarantees for meeting full need simply does not for some of the students, But even such schools tend to make some attempt to give similar packages each year after freshman year if the financials remain about the same, and they usually make some statement about that. They simply do not address the issue of those who apply for aid for latter years that did not as a freshman. What one gets is always up in the air anyways in the first go around of applying for aid, as such schools do not guarantee nor meet full need. </p>
<p>It is not interesting to me at all that a school like Cornell consistently has a certain % of students on FA. Most such schools do give low income students a break in admissions. Those with challenges in backgrounds, those who would not get acceptance on stats alone, and those type of exceptions are often made on a budgetary basis, as many of them do tend to need fin aid. We did this in our community music program all of the time There were certain standards for admissions,…but in order to have diversity and also in our outreach, we would give exception to a certain number of students as our budgets could afford so. </p>
<p>No school is need blind in admissions in that there are exceptions made for those who are economically challenged. Those are given some quarter in admissions, and the number of those given such exception are determined by budget. </p>
<p>I get the impression that ‘discount’ is not used by or considered a dirty word by colleges, so if you are inquiring about anything I would never use this term. I have only seen it used with regard to sibling discount. I would use aid, scholarship, merit, assistance or whatever if you are going to ask anything. And yes I have heard parents mention colleges that take the full payment upfront and allow you to avoid annual increases.</p>
<p>Back in the day, at least (about 20 years ago), JHU gave their few big merit awards for academic acheivement (cynically, to up their test scores), not for diversity of any kind. One guy I knew who got one was Indian-American male but had a perfect SAT. Another was white American male and also did very well academically (maybe a perfect SAT score as well). I would assume their policy is still the same.</p>
<p>Also, Illinois has the same rate all years depending on when you enter as well.</p>
<p>Concerning the OP: remember that like any negotiation, you have the most leverage and can get the most money when you have the power to accept or reject and you have a strong 2nd option. Also when the other side needs you more and does not have as big a supply of high achieving students.
So you’ll have little leverage with a top 20 after you’ve already enrolled, but you’d have significant leverage with LACs just outside the top tier (and even some that many consider to be top LACs like Oberlin and Kenyon) when you hold other offers, some with significant merit aid, and your student is desirable to the school.</p>