D decided on ED school, but I'm afraid to apply for financial aid. I need advice...

It depends which school. If it’s a school where 90% of kids get huge grant money, where 50% of the kids get Pell grants, and your child will be one of a handful who is full-pay, then maybe it will be a bump. But if this is a typical college with a typical spread of students who have financial need, I do not think that having an EFC of $55k will ding her. Indeed, if they do not meet full need there’s no obligation on their part ot give her anything. They they can just admit her with no aid, and she’d be obligated to come.

I don’t understand Brantly’s post saying that only CSS profile schools have money to give. My daughter was offered around $25,000 merit from quite a few private schools that only use FAFSA. I know that most meets-full-needs schools require CSS profile, but $100K across 4 years is substantial for most families.

Bobo44, this thread is talking about need-based aid. Your example is merit.

The CSS schools have the most need-based aid to give and can give to a wider income range.

Yes this school requires the CSS. I don’t think many kids receive Pell. It has a reputation for being full of rich kids, but who knows if that’s true. It looks like a sizeable amount get something.

But OP also said they could stretch and pay. It’s not just “applying” for aid that has some + or - effect, but the details behind it. Some families with much higher need might see the school hesitate. But without knowing the college, we don’t know what sort of need aware they are. Many offer aid to the first kids they accept, the ones they want most, then as funds dwindle, they get more severe about whom to accept. Some cut and paste the class from the get-go. Some are just plain arbitrary.

The idea is to choose wisely, schools where not only do they match what you want, but you well match their wants. Depending on the college, that can be more than stats.

I think it’s safe to apply for aid with a 55k EFC per the NPC.

It seems this college does offer merit? Just be careful you don’t rely on loans more than you can truly afford.

@bobo44 you are mixing FA and merit aid

@citymama9 I have no idea what size the bump is (if any) and if it would matter anyway. Also, in response to your post above the question to me, I am going to be a little blunt. I am saying this because you are a parent with over 2k posts on this site. You are WAY to much in love with this school. Is the NPC for this school saying that you will get a $15k grant? I bet if I put $60k in cash in front of you from your accounts and said to give it to me and your DD MAY have a better chance of getting in, you would tell me to go fly a kite. Submit the FA application. If she doens’t get in, “blame” it on some teachers “low” grade and move on. With 3k colleges, there are others.

FYI. This is why casinos play with chips. People are a lot more freewheeling with chips than they are with cash.

@Eeyore123 Thank you. I’m not actually in love with this school, but for a variety of reasons it makes the most sense for D’s early decision school. Picking your ED school isn’t just about “love” although my D loves it. She also loves other schools, but this is one of her top two. For my family it was about finding the school that meets her needs on many levels (academically, size, social life, location, campus, opportunities, name recognition, career services and whether she can actually get in).I just don’t want anything we do as parents to stand in the way. She has some great schools on her list that she’ll be applying to EA and RD. She probably will apply ED II to another school so she’ll survive if she doesn’t get in, but it would be nice to be finished with the process by Dec.

Oh, and I would probably give you the 60k if I knew she was in:))

I am not a FA guru…but if OP is able to be full pay, wouldn’t that mean they have money some where (savings, 529, etc)? If so, wouldn’t they be not eligible for FA? Schools take savings, current income, home equity into consideration when giving out aids.
With need aware schools, not applying for FA can be a hook. My kids’ private school told the parents not to apply for FA if they didn’t have to.

“Oh, and I would probably give you the 60k if I knew she was in:))”

This sounds like your answer then.

I don’t think it will matter. Ask for it and see what happens. Just asking isn’t going to make a difference. If she had high need, it could.

If OP asks then they will need to fill out FA application. Is it better to show they could barely afford it or comfortably afford it (for a need aware school)?

Seems to me that if it is not a full-need-met school, they don’t have to reject her to avoid incurring the cost of financial aid. They can just accept her with a bad financial aid offer and put the ball right back in your court. Even if that happens, there are probably benefits to having applied for aid, like eligibility for work-study jobs. I think it probably makes sense to go ahead and do the aid application, but of course this is more of a regret-abatement decision than a fully pragmatic one.

^^Yes, this. I already said this upthread. If it’s a school that does not promise to meet full need, they can and will do anything they want. Including not giving you anything if they don’t want to.

They may reject her because they want to protect their yield. Schools also want their students to be successful and be able to graduate in 4 years (graduate rate is also important for ranking). I am sure that’s why schools provide 4 yr FA instead of just for the first few years.

If you have any doubts I would not have her apply ED. You have to really look at the outcome as do the students really have a better outcome as other schools which cost far less. Down the road would your child rather have or you have an extra 100k or so in the bank. I am not sure if any school is worth that kind of money no matter how much you like it but that is just me.

OP, are you 100% sure the school is not need blind for your DD (assuming she’s a domestic applicant)? I’m guessing based on previous threads and the statistics you posted above that the school is Bucknell and I found this on their site, that implies that they ** are ** need blind for domestic students–

It may or may not be Bucknell. lol

I checked their website and it looks like %52 get something from the school whether it be merit, FA etc. I orignally wrote 62%.

Bottom line: When applying ED without hooks does it help to be full pay? At a need aware school?

Answer: Probably, but how much it helps is unknowable. It certainly can’t hurt.

Given your circumstances I’d recommend holding off on applying for financial aid until sophomore year.

There are schools that will not give you financial aid after first year if your circumstances have not changed. If you plan on not applying this year but hope to get aid next year, verify you will be able to apply for it. Someone bought up a good point. Verify the admit rate for ED is higher for non hooked students than the regular admission rate. I was able to find that info for my D’s school, the student newspaper published it.