Is there any reason my student must file the FAFSA if we know that we would not qualify for financial aid? It’s not required by colleges, correct?
We don’t qualify for FA, but fill it out because they do take the federal loans, we are one income so if my husband suffers a job loss it’s done, and 3 of my kids did get Covid relief checks which required fafsa to have been filed.
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Some schools require the FAFSA even for merit aid but no, you don’t have to fill it out.
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We do not qualify and did not fill it out. I was able to confirm on the websites that every school d20 applied to did NOT require the fafsa if they had merit aid. She would not have received covid aid at her school unless receiving financial aid.
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Depends on the school, it appears. At Texas A&M, it’s definitely best to submit FAFSA (even if you don’t qualify), it’s required for most scholarships, that includes merit based.
Student will be automatically overlooked, if FAFSA isn’t on file.
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If your kid isn’t applying to a school that requires it for merit (some do, but not many higher ranked schools), you don’t need to bother unless you want the federal loans. We did not file any year except the first when one college required it for a few merit scholarships.
We knew we didn’t qualify for aid and weren’t planning on taking federal loans, so didn’t file FAFSA or CSS. Many people told us these were needed for merit aid too, so we wrote to the merit granting schools that my daughter applied to just to make sure, and they all confirmed the forms weren’t needed. They are only required for merit awards that also consider need. If unsure, you can ask the schools like we did.
(And my D received good merit $$ from these schools, so the guidance proved to be correct).
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As per their website, only the main application and SRAR are required to be considered for academic scholarships.
Application
Apply using the ApplyTexas Application or the Common App. You must complete the admission and scholarship portions to be considered. Students must also submit a Self-Reported Academic Record (SRAR) in order to be considered for freshman scholarships.
@DadOfJerseyGirl I’ve got a current student, who has several A&M scholarships (big and small, 1 year and 4 year). I’ve printed off the emails my student has received, and several state at the bottom that FAFSA must be on file for consideration.
I’m just stating what I know-first hand-about Texas A&M.
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I’m referring specifically to the academic scholarship (I know TAMU has several other types). We were told FAFSA wouldn’t be required for that one. If that has changed I stand corrected.
My Aggie has Presidents Endowed, has received an Opportunity Award, Association of Former Students, major/college specific and study abroad scholarships. Most 1 year, two are 4 year. Several have listed under requirements, at the bottom of the notification email, that FAFSA must be filed.
I’m not home right now, so I can’t check my files to see which have it noted.
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Thanks for all the replies! My son will be applying to UC and CSU schools because he hopes to stay close to home in California. He also applied and has been accepted to ASU and U of Arizona (he did get a small merit award from UofA even though we haven’t filed fafsa).
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U of A awards based on a published table. Hence you get merit regardless as you know b4 you apply what the award will be.
Nice to have that one in the bag. Good luck to your son.
Ps my kid got covid aid from his school with no fafsa.
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It looks like it’s possible to receive Covid relief funds if fafsa isn’t filed, the schools needed to report what criteria was used in the distribution. My 4 kids received checks ranging from $300 - $1200, some once, some twice. https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/heerfstudentfaqs.pdf
My first year we did the Fafsa. My oldest we only did his first year but not after.
After my daughter (first year) got a check without request from the first school, my wife asked the second if my son was eligible. She filled out a form. We got less but we got a refund.
I think she said the school has funds and divvy up as they see fit.
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Some of the colleges that want FAFSA for merit scholarships may want it because they may offer full ride scholarships, and want to avoid the full ride scholarship plus a Pell grant that the college did not know about beforehand would add up to more than the cost of attendance.
I would suppose Pell grant eligible applicants are seeking financial aid and would therefore submit FAFSA and CSS anyway.
(Plus FAFSA is a requirement for getting a Pell grant)
Yes, but the college may want to make sure that there is no potential Pell grant that it does not know about when awarding the full ride scholarship (and the low income student awarded a full ride scholarship may initially think that they do not need to send a FAFSA to that college because they already have a full ride).
Will it hurt (to get merit-based scholarships) to submit the FAFSA to colleges that don’t need it in the case you don’t qualify for aid?
For example, if the EFC is higher than the college COA (cost of attendance), and if the FAFSA is submitted, will colleges view that as - hey, this kid can pay the full cost, so why should I award them a merit based scholarship?
I’ve never thought of that - I highly doubt it.
Merit aid is - for lack of a better term - an incentive for you to choose college A over college B.
Short of elite schools, colleges know certain students don’t need to pay full price.
So if you’re an over achiever for that school or likely to bring up its profile, they’re going to reach for you.
Many students do FAFSA - just in case - we did and I have a 6 figure EFC with two kids in college - and both have big merit (One is auto merit).
You also need to do it to get the $5500 everyone can get student loan.
Some schools, btw, as odd as it seems, require FAFSA in order to get merit aid. They seem to be a small percentage but they do exist.
Others require it if they offer a free app fee - I think Chicago did that.
Good luck to you.
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