Do colleges review your FAFSA and other fin aid docs only for admit pile?

<p>I was wondering if colleges only will review your financial aid documents FAFSA, CSS profile ect, only for the admit pile, or do they review for all applicants regardless? I received a letter from Bryn Mawr college today that said:</p>

<p>We are currently reviewing financial aid applications for all Class of 2015 admissions candidates. In reviewing your application we found that the federal processor rejected your original FAFSA or subsequent corrections you submitted… (I just corrected my fafsa so they will receive new version)</p>

<p>(then at the end it said)</p>

<p>We will not be able to enclose financial aid awards with admissions decisions for students who have not submitted all required forms by March 1st, 2011. </p>

<p>(Could they have sent me this letter, becuase I could possibly be in the “admitted” pile, even though they can’t officially release those decisions yet? Would they have sent this kind of letter to alll applicants if they had the same FAFSA problem once they reivewed it, or do they only look at the FAFSA once you’ve been in the admit pile? I would think personally, they would only look at financial aid documents if you are in the admit pile, becuase other wise, what would be the point?)</p>

<p>My understanding is that they have to process for everyone and when the admissions come through, we ready with packaging for admitted students. I’ve been in touch with almost all of my schools regarding fin aid (I’m an independent student), and I’m pretty sure there are some I’m not going to make it into. It would be nice, but I don’t think that’s the process.</p>

<p>I think that you have to take them at their word that they are preparing fin aid for “all applicants.” However, my D also got this type of letter and was subsequently admitted. Hopefully someone with actual knowledge of the process will reply. Good luck!</p>

<p>I got a rather “personalized” email from UChicago asking me for corrections to my FAFSA. That is, it was sent directly from a financial aid officer, listing specific information about my mistakes and my need to correct them. I would hazard a guess that an email like this is a good indication of your admission, as I later found out that I was admitted.</p>

<p>On the other hand, I recently got an email from Columbia saying that they didn’t receive my FAFSA. The way it was worded, it sounded like a “computer-print-here-fill-in-the-blanks-mass-email” thing. </p>

<p>So, I don’t think your Bryn Mawr or my Columbia emails mean anything significant. Do watch out for personalized responses, though!</p>

<p>Yes, they have to be pretty personalized to indicate anything.
I got one from an fin aid officer at Wesleyan asking to send specific tax returns and a week later I was accepted.
The more automated ones could be because places like Columbia are bigger schools and need automated emailing to even get out to all applicants. Also, I think it’s a policy at each school that all fin aid applicants will be reviewed.
However, I have not been contacted by all the schools that I have applied to about my missing tax returns (barely send IDOC)</p>