Do you need to fill out FAFSA to receive merit aid?
Based on our income we will not receive need based aid. However, my S19 and D19 may qualify for merit aid at some schools. I have tried to look online at each school that they are applying to but many schools do not mention specifically whether you need to have FAFSA filled out for merit aid.
It depends on the college. If it’s not stated on their website, then I would email each college (so you have it in writing).
If you aren’t going to fill out the FAFSA, make sure the school knows that. Merit came from the admissions office, but they’d send the info to FA. FA would wait until all the awards were in to process it, so if one wasn’t filling out the FAFSA the award could be delayed.
I agree to ask each school specifically. For my DD’s LMU scholarship, we had to do one for freshman year only.