I am pretty sure that I am not eligible for financial aid, but my college recommends filling out the FAFSA. Could the EFC on report lessen the amount of merit-based scholarships I receive?
Well, if you don’t file it they will assume that you need nothing. So how can filing it and showing your may be worse?
I think for high income families, filling out the FAFSA could make the merit award smaller, because the school assuming u need nothing is not the same as the school confirming u need nothing.
emisid, do a search, I think this question was asked very recently. You can see if people experienced with this had something to say. I suspect that this is very school dependent. But it is most likely in your best interest to file the FAFSA. And colleges that give merit money have it to give. They are using it to attract students who they want to accept their offers. So making a lesser offer to you is counterintuitive. If they want you they are going to give you the best package they can. that is why they are offering you merit.
A scholarship either has a need based element or it doesn’t. If the merit scholarship does, and you don’t file a FAFSA, you aren’t going to get that scholarship because you have no need. If it does and you do file FAFSA, you still aren’t going to get the scholarship if you have no need. If there is a need based qualification, don’t you think they are going to ask about that? Not filing FAFSA is not going to help.
Do some schools fool around with the numbers, so that if you are going to get merit that merit may also be reduced because the school can give you need based scholarships? I think so. Again, you only lose the merit based because you are getting need based aid. The total amount of aid isn’t going down. I think more often if you get merit and also have need, you’ll get both. At both my daughters’ schools, that’s how it works. Merit is earned and award based on gpa and scores. Then the school looks to see if you still have need. For one (big public school) she received a small merit. She only received a small amount of the stafford loan subsidized off filing the FAFSA. Then suddenly there was a ‘Alum grant’ awarded. If we hadn’t filled out the FAFSA, she wouldn’t have been eligible. Still don’t know why it was awards, but happy it was.
I don’t think you are hurt by filing FAFSA, especially for merit awards based solely on gpa/scores/class rank.
Does your school say that you must submit FAFSA to be considered for merit?
Does your school have any merit that requires FAFSA?
Does your school have a suggested deadline that it wants you to submit FAFSA? if you’re really concerned, why not wait awhile.
Many don’t submit FASFA this early, so AT THIS POINT, no school would assume that you’re not going to submit.
Have you run the schools’ NPCs and seen that you have no need? If not, do so. You may be wrong.
I asked this question once of a finaid officer I know. She said the reason they asked for a FAFSA to be completed is that if the student is Pell eligible, the school would reduce their scholarship by the Pell amount. At that college, this enabled them to spread their merit awards around to more students.
YMMV by school.
^^^^ That. The school doesn’t want you to miss out on any federal money you might be entitled to including both Pell and federal work study money.