<p>We probably won't qualify for FinAid at most places, except for the unsub loan ($5,500). We might need that loan but, I am told, the chance to get in at very selective schools is a bit better if we don't need any aid -- in particular the high end Ivy schools, Stanford etc. One, is this true? Two, could D, for example, apply to X school with no finaid and Y school with it? How do we do it since CommonApp has only one checkbox for all schools? Can we not check the box on Common App but will fill out the FAFSA/CSS Profile for certain schools? Thanks!</p>
<p>At those tippy top schools it MIGHT help if you are a full pay…but really if you are not a competitive candidate for admissions, being a full pay will not make you one. And at those schools, 90% or so of the applicants do NOT get accepted. I’m quite sure there are well qualified full pay students in the mix. If you want the Stafford loan, apply for the aid. Re::other need based aid…if you don’t qualify for it you won’t get it.</p>
<p>We don’t have personal experience yet, but I was told</p>
<p>a) you can check the box for some schools and not others on the common app – that the checkbox ends up being in a section you fill out separately for each school you are applying to
(if this is not the case, there is a way to do alternative versions of the app, but that’s a bit more of a pain)</p>
<p>b) you can decline to check the box and still fill out the FAFSA if all you need are the unsubsidized loans </p>
<p>Check if the school is need blind or not – if it’s blind, no worries :)</p>
<p>I would say the only time you should not check the box is if you definitely don’t need/qualify for aid from the school and it’s not need blind and it’s a reach. Otherwise go ahead and check it.</p>
<p>It would be an advantage if appling to a school that does not offer need-blind admission. ([Need-blind</a> admission - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Need-blind_admission]Need-blind”>Need-blind admission - Wikipedia)). </p>
<p>It’s possible to make different “versions” of the common app to send to different schools.</p>