Many schools say they have no merit aid, only need based FA. However, could I apply to schools and see if they would give me a generous financial aid package even when my financial situation shows that I wouldn’t qualify for that much aid? (as in too poor for full pay but too rich for good financial aid)
Don’t some schools want to entice you with good FA if they really want you so that there’s a better chance you’ll matriculate there? I’m thinking of private universities like mid tier LACs
Also, what if my FAFSA doesn’t accurately represent my family’s entire financial situation? How could I clarify? I’m not really willing to share exactly how, but maybe through PM.
I’ve been hesitating to submit my FAFSA because as I mentioned in the title, EFC is estimated to be a large percentage… I don’t know if there’s a way I could maximize my FA? Is it starting to get too late to submit the FAFSA? Why is it so important to submit it early, even before schools receive your application?
Thanks everyone! All thoughts are appreciated
Given that each college and university sets its own aid policy, knowing only your FAFSA EFC is pretty useless. You need to run the Net Price Calculator at each college and university website. Those will give you a more accurate notion of what your aid packages might look like. Some do include estimates of merit-based aid.
Many of the more generous private institutions use the CSS Profile in addition to the FAFSA. So read the financial aid information carefully for each place on your list. Once you have filed the FAFSA (and the Profile if it is needed), you can discuss an additional special issues with the financial aid offices.
@happymomof1
I’ve run a few net calculators and I’m getting similar and large EFCs across the board 
but I also know that sometimes, there are large donors who will endow a certain number of generous scholarships that are a mix of merit and FA based, do they look for specific attributes? how can I maximize my chance of receiving one?
I didn’t know merit aid estimates could be included, good to know!
What does the CSS profile cover more in depth? Do private institutions look more closely at some parts of it when determining aid?
Each college and university chooses the parts of the CSS Profile data that it wants to use. You need to ask each place on your list about their specific formula. They will tell you.
Likewise, each institution sets its own policy about the mix of need-based and merit-based aid. You have to address that directly with them separately.
Most importantly though, you and your family need to determine what is affordable, and then you need to identify places where you are likely to be admitted and that you know will fit your budget. Build your list upward from those financial and academic safeties. Provided you have at least one place where you are guaranteed admission, that you know for certain you can afford, and that you know you could be happy attending, everything else is gravy.
So, you said your ran NPCs for a bunch of colleges. The resulting figure is your net price. EFC is a Fafsa term and does not tell you how much aid you might get at any particular college. Fafsa (your EFC) only tells you if you’d be eligible for federal aid.
If you ran NPCs and you entered accurate numbers, you should take the resulting net price seriously. Don’t engage in magical thinking.
This is called merit aid. It’s not related to your financial need. You need to research the merit aid policy of each college.
There’s no downside to submitting it. Why would you hesitate?
And as someone else said above, you need to check to see if any of these colleges also require a form called CSS Profile. Schools that require it are the most generous with financial aid.
I agree with @brantly . If you entered your figures correctly in the net price calculators correctly, then consider the results.
In terms of “other”…colleges will not consider consumer debt or high cost of living. They don’t consider supporting relatives other than your family in most cases. They aren’t going to forget about your assets if you don’t have them in retirement accounts. They aren’t going to consider the high cost of your mortgage.
They MIGHT (note,.MIGHT) consider unreimbursed and essential medical care costs, or something like that.
Please PM me any details that might get you special consideration.
You mention mid-tier LACs…don’t they give merit?
How much WILL your family contribute each year?
What are your stats? What is your major and career goal?
What schools are you applying to that FOR SURE will give you huge merit so that you’ll have a back up?
Most of the schools that have no merit, only need based aid, do so because all the students it wants have the stats to get in and would most likely get merit awards at other schools. They aren’t going to entice you to come by offering aid when you don’t fit into the profile for deserving aid. That said, the Ivies do match aid from other Ivies, so they do want you if the other Ivies want you.
Schools also have to consider their standards for FA. If they say no merit but then give need based aid without regard to need, well that could cause a problem. If they do it with athletes, the NCAA can sanction them (it happens with hockey players).
If you want merit aid, apply to schools with merit aid. If you want need based aid, be prepared to show you have need within the formula the school sets up.
If you would like to, you can PM me also what your special financial circumstances are…and I’ll give you my opinion.
You can do a PM to a group of us…