Do colleges award financial aid based only on GPA at end of the junior year? My daughter did well her fall
2016 semester and boosted her GPA. Which also put her into the Top 10% of her class. I know Top 10% makes a difference for some colleges for financial aid. I don’t know if the increased GPA makes any difference for financial aid. Or will they even consider the improvement?
As a preliminary matter – financial aid is tied solely to a family’s finances, and not to a student’s achievements, and can include loans, work study etc.
Merit aid is awarded, regardless of financial need, because of a student’s achievements and what they bring to campus. Schools award merit aid based on the student’s application which, depending on the timing of the application, may or may not include fall of senior grades. For instance, at our in state public flagship, Indiana University, students often apply in September because admission decisions are made on a rolling basis, so students apply in Sept and are admitted a few weeks later based on their record through junior year. However, the typical private school application is due in Jan of senior year, and most schools require an update with fall semester grades as part of the application package.
Long way of saying – it depends. Kudos to your daughter for being in the top 10%!
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/financial+aid
http://www.learnersdictionary.com/definition/financial%20aid
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Student_financial_aid_in_the_United_States
Define financial aid:
Financial Aid is any grant or scholarship, loan, or paid employment offered to help a student meet his/her college expenses. Such aid is usually provided by various sources such as federal and state agencies, colleges, high schools, foundations, and corporations.
So… is it only based on GPA through the junior year? Or do some colleges also look at the fall semester of their senior year (assuming you alert them to the change)?
For those schools that link merit aid to scores or gpa, some will only look at the one at the time of the award. Others will consider improved scores throughout senior year. depends on the school.
OK then…
Around here, most folks refer to financial aid as need-based aid. I think the poster was just trying to provide you with assistance.
Oh, OK. Sorry. I guess there is a “College Confidential definition” then!
HRSMom, that is good to hear. So it does depend on the college then. I’ve had two colleges tell me that they will only consider her grades at the end of her junior year. Without question, this results in a loss of a good amount of scholarship money. So I’ll call and check with the other colleges where she was accepted. Thank you.
Many are flexible with taking later ACT or SAT scores. You are right to call each one.