<p>This question may seem silly, but are there any benefits to completing the application (for example, with respect to qualifying for loans, merit scholarships, etc.) even if I know my daughter M will not qualify for any need-based financial aid? Even though we will fund most of her education, I would like M to contribute $5-$10k/yr depending on the price tag of the school and thus would be looking for some low cost loans. </p>
Financial aid application - any benefits to completing if you know you won't receive need-based aid?
<p>Fordham required that you file the FAFSA to get merit aid - don’t know if other schools do this also.</p>
<p>Many schools require that you complete it if you might want to be eligible for any kind of merit scholarship ever. I would be sure to check with your school for their policies.</p>
<p>Every student who is eligible to files the FAFSA (US citizen, legal permanent resident, certain other immigration categories) and does file it, is automatically eligible to borrow the federal student loans. These are the only loans you child is likely to qualify for without a co-signer, so if you want your child to be able to access this loan money, file the FAFSA.</p>
<p>Some colleges and universities do not award any institutional aid in future years if the student neglects to apply for it as a freshman - even if the family suffers a serious financial reversal. To find out whether or not any of the places on your child’s list follow that practice, ask the financial aid offices. It really, truly, is OK to ask them.</p>
<p>Is that a new Fordham reqt? My NMF son got Fordham’s full tuition award and we never filled out FAFSA.</p>
<p>As for the OP’s desire for her D to borrow some. She can borrow the following amounts:</p>
<p>frosh 5500
soph 6500
jr 7500
sr 7500</p>
<p>These are fed loans in her name. </p>
<p>If you want her to borrow more or from elsewhere, YOU will be the cosigner and ultimately responsible if she can’t afford to pay. Personally, I think having her borrow $40k for undergrad is too much and will be too much of a burden upon graduation…and you may get stuck with some/all of that.</p>
<p>In your other thread, you’re looking for merit. Is the merit to replace her need to borrow or in addition to her need to borrow? If you want $10k in merit…and up to $10k from M to borrow, why not just look for BIGGER merit so she’s not burdened with loans?</p>
<p>At my school, you were automatically considered for merit scholarships if (and only if) you filled out the FAFSA. I knew a couple of students who didn’t do it because they knew they wouldn’t get aid, but ended up wishing they had. In my opinion, it doesn’t hurt to fill it out.</p>
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<p>I’ve heard this a lot on CC, but I’ve never heard even one specific college mentioned that has this policy. Can you please name some colleges that adhere to this policy?</p>
<p>MiddKid86 -</p>
<p>Back in the last century, my undergrad college had that practice. That institution also practiced admit-deny, and students who chose to attend despite not receiving any institutional aid were ineligible for institutional aid in future years.</p>
<p>This is the type of thing that can change from one year to the next, so it behooves applicants and/or their parents who are on the fence about filing aid applications to contact the aid offices at the institutions they are interested in, and ask.</p>
<p>Fordham has a number of scholarships that not only have a merit but a need component (intact many of the listed scholarships now have a need component). this means that you will have to apply for financial aid in order to be considered:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.fordham.edu/tuition__financial_a/undergraduate_studen/scholarship_search/fordham_university_r/”>http://www.fordham.edu/tuition__financial_a/undergraduate_studen/scholarship_search/fordham_university_r/</a></p>
<p>@mom2collegekids, why would the OP be stuck if the student borrowed Stafford since they are in the student’s name? I have no intention of paying those loans. D is welcome to live with me rent free and work to pay them though. </p>
<p>I agree that it can change year-to-year, but the reason I ask for specific colleges that have this policy is because I’ve heard it so often said here on CC that “some” colleges do this. So, let’s talk real-world, real-time: what colleges will not consider an institutional need-based FA application after freshman year if the applicant has not submitted FA forms during the application process? If none can be named, then let’s stop saying that “some” colleges do this. If there are some, let’s get the names of the schools out there so that CC users have the specific information.</p>
<p>To be clear, I’m not saying that such a college does not exist, just that I haven’t seen anything beyond generalities here on CC. And as you say happymom, parents/students should always ask the FA offices to be clear on the school policy.</p>
<p>Can you respect that people may not want to name the schools with which they have personal experience for confidentiality reasons? People aren’t checking other schools constantly. We’re not going to be able to compile a complete list here and as said things change year to year. The best advice is to say some do and have people check their particular school(s).</p>
<p>If someone has a confidentiality concern, then of course they shouldn’t feel pressured to name a school. I never suggested otherwise. I have a hard time believing, however, that everyone who has knowledge of a school that has this policy would not want to name it for reasons of confidentially. And schools get named in CC posts every day that have one policy or another that may change from year to year; so I don’t buy that argument.</p>
<p>I’m not asking that a list be compiled. I’m just seeking confirmation that there’s even one college out there that has this policy. If saying some do when none do, that’s not dispensing good advice.</p>
<p>I agree with what Midd is saying. Because I’ve been on CC for more years than I’d like to acknowledge, and I’ve heard that assertion many times, but it never seems to be connected to a specific example.</p>
<p>From our point of view, I’ll say that S’s school did award aid when our circumstances changed even though we hadn’t initially applied. In fact, when I raised this concern, the FA officer I spoke to was perplexed–why WOULDN’T they give aid if the circumstances had changed and we needed it??</p>
<p>Fast forward some years later–after dropping out and reapplying after a six year gap out of school, S returned, and again, the school looked at his, and our, present circumstances and awarded very reasonable aid.</p>
<p>So that’s one I know doesn’t require initial application. (school is Columbia, btw, if you want to compile a list.)</p>
<p>@cmgrayson
I’m not sure if you actually read what I wrote. I copied below. I wrote that if the student borrowed MORE than the below amounts (STAFFORD LOANS), then the student would need parent cosigners and then obviously the parent could get stuck with them if the student didn’t pay.</p>
<p>As for the OP’s desire for her D to borrow some. She can borrow the following amounts:</p>
<p>frosh 5500
soph 6500
jr 7500
sr 7500</p>
<p>These are fed loans in her name.</p>
<p>If you want her to borrow more or from elsewhere, YOU will be the cosigner and ultimately responsible if she can’t afford to pay. Personally, I think having her borrow $40k for undergrad is too much and will be too much of a burden upon graduation…and you may get stuck with some/all of that.</p>
<p>I would also really like a list of schools that requires parents to file for aid freshman year if you are to ever receive it and also a list of schools that require filing FAFSA for merit aid. </p>
<p>In case somebody wants to start a list - Penn State is another school that doesn’t require parents to file freshman year to be eligible for aid in subsequent years. </p>
<p>Also, Fordham definitely has some scholarships that are completely independent of financial aid. Fordham’s a huge draw school here and I know lots of kids who’ve gotten merit only money.</p>
<p>ok @mom2collegekids thanks. I did read it. Missed the ‘more or elsewhere’ part.</p>
<p>There is a thread where there is discussion about benefits to completing fafsa, and applying for financial aid. It involves schools that require FAFSA for merit money. But there is an actual link to the Skidmore financial aid FAQs. You don’t apply for aid freshman year, you can sit out till junior year before you get it if your circumstances change. Take a look, and see it in writing. Poorly written and I don’t know how they actually enforce it but it’s there in black and white. I saw some others in the past, but when I went back to the school website, could not find it again. The clarity is truly missing in giving fin aid info on a lot of college sites.</p>
<p>As for Fordham and needing the FAFSA for merit money, you don’t have to submit a completed FAFSA to get notification of the pure merit scholarships, but you may need to fill it out to get the money, even thought the award is not income/asset based at all. The same if you want your student to have access to the 3. something percent Direct loans, and if you, the parent want to take out a PLUS during the year sometime. You can fill out FAFSA without sending the info to any schools, by the way, and that doesn 't mean you are applying for aid at the schools when you fill one out. You can send it to schools or to get loans later according to program deadlines. You cannot get school funds without the financial aid process, and each school has their own rules about what you need to do and what deadlines you need to meet (and that can mean applying freshman year to get ANY future fin aid from the school) to get that school’s own funds which are separate from federal money that are entitlements at nearly any school.</p>
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<p>Not quite. If you don’t get aid freshman year - whether you apply or not - Skidmore’s policy is that you won’t be considered for institutional need-based aid until junior year.</p>
<p>Not applying guarantees you won’t get aid. CPT’s quote is correct for the situation of not applying.</p>