do you apply for financial aid along with or after the actual application?

Paying for College
1

<p>do you apply for financial aid along with or after the actual entrance application for the university?</p>

2

<p>You apply for merit scholarships (if nec.) when you apply. </p>

<p>For RD, you apply for need-based aid slightly after you apply; FAFSA is usually due a bit later (usually sometime in Jan), and tax returns are usually due in March. For ED/EA, you have to do fin aid when you apply and then again in Jan.</p>

3

<p>what is FAFSA?
and when i asked places like cornell and caltech if i could apply for fin aid as an ea/ed, they said internationals aren't allowed to. i'm a bit confused here... does this mean americans can while we can't?
do you know any schools that allow international students to apply for the school as well as a scholarship?</p>

4

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<p>DD is applying EA at two schools. The FAFSA for the 2006-07 school year isn't even available for filing until January 1, 2006. That is the earliest you can submit it.</p>

<p>You need to check the finaid application requirements at each college to which you apply. The deadlines vary wildly from school to school. Some schools require the submission of the FAFSA for even merit aid. Some schools have merit aid based on the application only. Some schools have their own finaid application. Some schools require the FAFSA and the Profile. Deadlines vary from place to place.</p>

5

<p>I applied to U Chicago and UNC EA...you do have to do financial aid paperwork in November, although FAFSA is not yet available. Most schools require the CSS Profile and the previous year's tax returns. If you are admitted, you get a tentative FA offer, and you have to submit the updated info when it's available. </p>

<p>About international students and EA financial aid, here's a bit from U Chicago's website:
If you are applying for need-based financial aid as in international student, you must wait until the Regular Notification competition (deadline: January 1st) to submit your application. International applicants seeking financial aid who apply Early Action will be automatically deferred to the Regular Notification cycle.</p>

<p>If Chicago, Caltech, and Cornell don't offer financial aid to international EA/ED applicants, then chances are many colleges probably don't. Unfortunately, funding is sometimes very limited for international students (Stanford and Columbia come to mind). </p>

<p>However, U Chicago generally offers financial aid for your full need to international students, and international students are allowed to apply for merit scholarships.</p>

6

<p>Also...An international student applying for financial aid is often at a disadvantage in the applicant pool because international admissions is usually not need-blind. For example, Duke usually admits 20-25 international students with financial aid. </p>

<p>If you are admitted as an international student, though, several colleges/universities will meet your full need. Furthermore, most schools (Rice, WUStL, U Chicago, etc.) allow international students to apply for merit scholarships. I'd check the policies of the schools you're considering.</p>