<p>This may have been covered before, but I could find nothing about it using CC site search. If the admissions process is truly "need blind", why is there a check box asking if the student plans on applying for financial aid?</p>
<p>We thought about leaving it blank and revisiting the issue after acceptances were mailed out, but didn't. A family friend was told by a private college counselor that applicants are passed over if the box is checked and the remaining FA is tight. Every college tour we have been on makes a huge point of saying how the FA office is TOTALLY separate from Admissions and that Admissions is unaware of what, if any, financial aid is being sought by an applicant.</p>
<p>Anyone have thoughts or experiences dealing with this? Frankly, I find it disingenuous. I think that EVERY question on the Common App means something, including this one. Thoughts?</p>
<p>I’m rather pragmatic. My attitude is if you can come up with the money without finaid then don’t check the box. If you need finaid then check the box. On some level, clearly colleges have to know what they can afford in terms of finaid. It may not be at the admissions level (need blind) but it most likely happens somewhere down the line. If colleges are need aware, then who is kidding who if a student doesn’t check the box and then comes back and says, wait a minute I really need finaid (more than a Stafford loan.) Acceptances are meaningless if you can’t attend. So, yes, I’m pragmatic.</p>
<p>The answer is simple. Not all admissions processes are need-blind, but the Common App is used for many more schools than the need-blind schools. In fact, only a handful of admissions processes are need-blind. That’s why it’s there.</p>
<p>I agree with applicannot The Common App is used by a lot of schools, some are need blind, some aren’t. Hence the box. The need blind schools will just ignore it. </p>
<p>Still, I think the stories you’ve heard of applicants being automatically passed over for just stating that they are seeking financial aid are mostly apocryphal. After all, no two students applying for aid are alike. Just because you say you are seeking financial aid, that could mean anything from “needs heavy grant aid” to “needs some small loans and/or work study”. </p>
<p>I would take those schools where the FA office is separate from the admissions offices at their word. They’re not trying to be disingenuous, they’re probably just saying that they create a pool of qualified candidates that they want, then make sure they can afford them. They don’t do any of the FA calculations in the office, and they don’t consider the calculations for most of the admissions process.</p>
<p>I’m not sure that’s the answer. When I look at the Common App, the question about whether you are applying for need-based aid only exists for two of the four schools my son has selected. (When you click on the school, it has individual questions that come up which are only related to that school.) Not ever school asks on the Common App. What is also interesting is that one of the schools that does ask claims to have a need-blind admissions policy. So I’m also confused as to why they are asking.</p>
<p>Well, RTR, if that’s the case and it varies by school on the individual common apps, then so be it. If you need finaid, check the box. If you don’t, don’t check the box. If they are asking then it’s probably something they want to know to assemble a class. Seems pretty straightforward to me. That said, I would guess if all a potential student is going to do is take out a unsubsidized Stafford one could not check the box and come back later, file FAFSA and obtain an unsubsidized Stafford, but maybe my thinking is wrong, I’m not sure if unsubsidized Staffords are connected to the individual college budgets directly.</p>
<p>I’ve wondered about the implications of checking this box on Merit Aid? Any thoughts?
Are you less likely to get Merit Aid if the college thinks you are willing/able to pay full tuition?</p>
<p>Some schools have need-aware merit aid (notable GW and BU). This means that they award merit aid to the most needy, most qualified students. Some schools have straight up merit, and other schools have straight up need-based aid. Honestly, I wouldn’t get too hyped up about that applying for financial aid box on the Common Application. The Ivies, for example, have up to 40% of students who aren’t on financial aid, right? Well, financial aid can go up to $200,000 at those schools. So, it’s fair to say that a portion of that 40% wouldn’t have a shot at financial aid in hell. They can just check NO and then not even waste the FA office’s time.</p>
<p>Two years ago, D1 checked the box (that YES, we would apply for fin aid) on all her apps. Turns out we decided not to apply. She got in with merit aid everywhere.</p>
<p>BUT . . . all her apps were in early, and she did not apply to any super-selective schools.</p>
<p>This year, with D2, we have checked the box again and probably will go ahead with fin aid with two in college, though I doubt we will get anything over loans and already awarded merit aid.</p>
<p>Ely, I think that is an excellent question. I do not have the answer. I can only tell you that we did check the box and in our experience nearly all private match or safety schools offered my children merit money with the exception of 2 private schools. I do not feel that checking the boxes caused rejections, with the exception of one small reach private school that looks to accept a ton of very wealthy international students (top heavy with very wealthy international students, and it would have been a poor fit anyway).</p>
<p>I also would like to know the answer to this question. S does not qualify for need-based aid but we are required to fill the FAFSA for our city school based grant for which he does qualify. S will check “no” for need-based aid and hope they don’t think that we are trying to pull something funny when he fills out his FAFASA.</p>
<p>I’m in the camp with momofthreeboys. Doesn’t really matter why they are asking, I’m comfortable with letting the chips fall where they may. If aid is needed there’s no point in suggesting otherwise. Getting in and not being able to afford it benefits no one.</p>
<p>I think the reason some of us are questioning it is because we don’t think we will qualify for need-based aid, but there may be a miniscule chance that we will. In that case, we wonder if it’s best to check the box or not. For instance, one of the public schools my son applied to asked the question, and we checked “yes” because we will fill out the FAFSA…however, our EFC will definitely be above the school’s costs, so we really should have checked “no” and just not sent the FAFSA to that school (if you can even do that!)</p>
<p>Whether or not to indicate that D was applying for aid was not an issue for my family. D qualified for need-based aid and we werent’ even close to being able to pay full tuition at any of the private schools to which she applied - - so she checked “yes,” unhesitatingly. </p>
<p>That said, I think: </p>
<pre><code> - If you want to take advantage of even a miniscule chance you’ll be awarded need-based aid, then check “yes.”
If you’re worried that the likelihood of getting meaningful aid is so small that it is not worth taking any risk that asking for finaid will decrease your chances of admission, then check “no.”
For the public schools, maybe its worth a call to the finaid office.
</code></pre>
<p>My sister wonders if her son who applied ED to a school that does give merit aid, didn’t get any merit aid because he indicated that he wouldn’t be applying for FA. His stats were definitely in the range of merit recipients.</p>
<p>Since he indicated that they didn’t need FA, and he was applying ED, he was basically saying, I can pay full freight if you accept my ED app. The school knew that he couldn’t decline an ED acceptance that doesn’t require FA.</p>
<p>My son applied to a need blind school a couple years ago, and we did indicate we’d be applying for FA on the Common App. It was explained to us that while the school did not consider need in making admissions decisions, if an applicant did require aid to attend they needed to know that in order to prepare a FA offer that would then accompany an offer of admission. I have no reason to believe that’s not true, and of course it makes complete sense. If you don’t tell them you need FA, how would they know to work up an aid offer for you? And then how would you know whether or not you could attend if you need aid to make attending even possible?</p>
<p>This year admissions and “need blind” application strategies will change. I think I read somewhere that if you are smart and rich, times have never been better for getting into top private colleges.</p>