I have a question, I am a little confused on how Fafsa works. So, Will all the schools listed offer the same amount? Or do financial aid packages vary depending on the school based on Fafsa information? Thanks.
It varies by school.
If you get a federal Pell grant based on EFC, you will get that at every school (as long as they participate in federal aid program, but if they have a FAFSA school code, they should).
If your state provides grants, and you qualify, these sonetimes vary depending on if the school is a community college, in instate private or public.
Then if the school gives need based institutional grants, they award them based on FAFSA EFC (and sometimes CSS profile, if they require it).
Each college has a net price calculator on their website. It can give you an idea about what kind of aid you might qualify for.
The FAFSA application generates an Expected Family Contribution (EFC), which tells you if you qualify for a federal Pell grant. If your EFC is $5,000, you may qualify for a few hundred dollars/year. An EFC of $0 would make you eligible for the max, ~$5k/year. By filing the FAFSA you can also take the federal student loan (~$5500/year). This money comes from the feds, not colleges.
Colleges may consider the FAFSA, but they’re not required to use the EFC. If you qualify for a Pell grant you’ll get it, and you can take the loan if you want, but those may be the only similarities in financial aid packages. All colleges have Net Price Calculators on their websites that can help you get an estimate of what they may charge. They aren’t always perfectly up-to-date and may not be accurate if parents are divorced, but they’re worth looking at.
How much can your parents pay per year? If they can’t afford much but you have great stats you can pursue merit aid. If your stats are good but not high enough to get enough merit then you may need to look closer to home.
From your other thread it looks like you’re a senior applying to private schools. What state are you from? Does your list have any financial safeties on it?