<p>I have a question on the value of applying for financial aid - My parents have a relatively high income (well, high income that I would not qualify under "financial need") is there any point in filling out a fafsa form and applying for financial aid?
For example, I am applying to Rutgers which gives out many merit-based scholarships based on SAT scores/ gpa/ etc., so i will definitely apply for financial aid there because I could possibly get a full ride. But I am also applying ED to UPenn, and currently I checked "no" for financial aid, but should i apply? Will it hinder my application/ is there even a point? Thank you.</p>
<p>Are your parents saying that they’ll pay full freight for UPenn? If so, then it’s your family’s decision.</p>
<p>Do you have to apply for aid to qualify for merit at Rutgers? </p>
<p>Natasha, sit down with a parent that has a good idea of what the family finances are and fill out the NPCs fro the schools and see if you have any chance of getting financial aid from the schools you are considering. For most schools, admissions is need blind, so no harm done applying for financial aid, and if it looks like you are close to qualifying, give it a go. </p>
<p>Many times merit awards are just that, based on merit and fin need do not come into the picture. But, yes, there some awards, some schools that require a FAFSA to get those awards, so even if you are not going for fin aid at those places but for merit money, a FAFSA might be required. Run an EFC estimator to see what your EFC is, by the way. EFC is the minimum you have to pay before you get federal subsidized loans, work studies and grants, but you can beat that by finding schools priced lower than EFC in some cases or getting scholarships that are large enough to cover it through merit, not need.</p>
<p>Also find out what your parents are willing to pay. </p>
<p>UPenn is need blind in admissions, so you might as well fill out the estimated PROFILE and say yes to the fin aid. They’ll give you an estimate as to what you would get there, and if you can’t afford it, you can be released from the ED commitment. THey offer no merit money, so you might want to do the PROFILE for them and see what they will give you for need. If your family can’t afford it, looking at the NPCs and what your parents are willing to pay, you might want to reconsider ED. </p>
<p>Natasha, I don’t get the feeling you understand how financial aid works. For most all financial aid a FAFSA is needed. Schools require that, for the most part, to give out financial aid. The FAFSA EFC (Expected Family Contribution) is what determines what a family has to pay before getting any federal aid. A FAFSA also has to be completed in order for the parent and student direct loans (PLUS, Stafford, as they are often called) that families can tape even if they do NOT qualify for financial aid. Most school require only the FAFSA, and Rutgers would fall under that category. Hardly any if any school meets need as defined by the FAFSA EFC. The FAFSA cannot be completed for the school year starting in Fall of 2015 until January first and is based on your family income for 2014 and assets as of the day the form is completed and/or filed.</p>
<p>The PROFILE is an additional form that a number of other schools, mostly private require, in order for you to get access to the school funds. UPenn, and a number of school require this, in addition to the FAFSA, but you can’t complete the FAFSA until 1/1/2015. So if you are applying ED, as you are considering doing to Penn, and you want to see what aid you would get, since you would have to back out of ED acceptance if you cannot afford the school, you fill out an estimated PROFILE so that they can give you an estimated aid package to accompany your ED acceptance. You have to commit to ED shortly after the acceptance and withdraw all of your other applications, so you cannot compare aid packages for the most part with ED, but at least you can see what Penn or whatever your ED school is, will expect you to pay if you fill out that PROFILE and apply for fin aid with your ED app, and get a release from the ED commitment if your family can’t pay the cost. </p>