Does applying / not applying to financial aid make a huge difference?

<p>How much more likely is it to get in if one has not applied to FA?</p>

<p>My family's income was at 170k, so I didn't think they'd give it to us, but I applied for the heck of it. And now, people are saying not applying to FA increases your chances. Is this true?</p>

<p>Nope, it’s not true. I specifically asked this question to someone who is very familiar with the admissions process at NYU when I went on my athletic visit there.</p>

<p>Oh, good- I’m relieved, haha. Thanks justspice.</p>

<p>NYU claims to be need-blind so your finances are not taken into account when your application is being considered. :)</p>

<p>yay :slight_smile: good!</p>

<p>What if you’re international and they know you will be paying full price since you can’t ask for financial aid?</p>

<p>urbanman, I do genuinely believe when it comes to universities like NYU that are need-aware for internationals, it helps to pay full. Despite NYU never explicitly saying that, others universities have hinted that it is an advantage. </p>

<p>Some need-aware universities say that there are is an incredibly small amount of aid available to international students. Like Duke, “There are two applicant pools for foreign nationals: those not applying for financial aid who will be considered for admission along with US citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents, and those applying for financial aid who will be considered in a separate process for a limited number of places in the entering class.”</p>

<p>I’m assuming this is the case with NYU, you will be better off than not applying for aid, to what extent though, I don’t know. But I do know paying full won’t compensate for sub par grades.</p>

<p>It only is if you’re international.</p>

<p>okok thanks!</p>

<p>I wouldn’t count that as an advantage per se. Competition as an international student is just a lot higher so they’re more willing to give a spot to a person who doesn’t need FA.</p>

<p>Our EFC is above the cost of attendance at NYU. Older D is a junior and we were told we needed to file our FAFSA each year to collect her merit aid scholarships (non-need based).</p>

<p>So we intend to automatically continue to file the FAFSA when our younger D applies in a year.</p>

<p>It will not effect whether she gets accepted or not.</p>