Financial Aid Question

Paying for College
1

<p>hey guys,</p>

<p>i have a question about financial aid. I do not need any financial aid. If you do not apply for aid, do colleges still check your background. My parents are retired so they do not work anymore... we are pretty well of so i do not need aid. But are they going to view this as like my parents not working and deny my admission. I am just wondering if one does not ask for aid, do colleges do any kind of background checks or do they only do that if you apply for aid. I ask this becuse i do not want them to see me as a student who did not ask for aid, got admission, and then cannot pay. Can someone explain how it works? </p>

<p>Thanks</p>

2

<p>If you apply to "Need-blind" schools, they do not consider your ability to pay or whether you applied for financial aid in their admission decisions. If you apply to "Need-aware" schools, they will take your request for financial aid into consideration. If you are not applying for financial aid, they will not look into your background to see if you can pay, you simply will not be offered any aid.</p>

<p>If your parents are retired, it might be a good idea to apply for aid. Their income probably "looks" low, and if their assets are not too high, you might actually qualify for significant aid. Many, if not most, selective schools pride themselves on being accessable to all socioeconomic levels and are "need-blind," so don't let that worry stop you from applying for the aid you may qualify for.</p>

3

<p>thx . anyone else know anything different?</p>

4

<p>Some other opinions:
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/549115-financial-background.html?highlight=financial+aid%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/549115-financial-background.html?highlight=financial+aid&lt;/a>
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/469331-do-colleges-actually-prefer-admit-wealthy-students.html?highlight=financial+aid%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/469331-do-colleges-actually-prefer-admit-wealthy-students.html?highlight=financial+aid&lt;/a>
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/456039-applying-fin-aid-hurt-chances.html?highlight=admissions+decisions%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/456039-applying-fin-aid-hurt-chances.html?highlight=admissions+decisions&lt;/a>
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/423463-all-my-schools-need-blind-ivies-ucb-ut-other-tops.html?highlight=admissions+decisions%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/423463-all-my-schools-need-blind-ivies-ucb-ut-other-tops.html?highlight=admissions+decisions&lt;/a>
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/422470-what-does-need-blind-mean.html?highlight=admissions+decisions%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/422470-what-does-need-blind-mean.html?highlight=admissions+decisions&lt;/a>
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/519697-applying-financial-aid-hurts-admission-chances.html?highlight=will+applying+for+financial+aid+hurt+my+chances%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/519697-applying-financial-aid-hurts-admission-chances.html?highlight=will+applying+for+financial+aid+hurt+my+chances&lt;/a>
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/431222-could-not-applying-financial-aid-hurt-your-chances.html?highlight=will+applying+for+financial+aid+hurt+my+chances%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/431222-could-not-applying-financial-aid-hurt-your-chances.html?highlight=will+applying+for+financial+aid+hurt+my+chances&lt;/a>
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/405896-does-applying-financial-aid-hurts-your-chances.html?highlight=will+applying+for+financial+aid+hurt+my+chances%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/405896-does-applying-financial-aid-hurts-your-chances.html?highlight=will+applying+for+financial+aid+hurt+my+chances&lt;/a>
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/269213-does-applying-financial-aid-hurt-chances-ivys.html?highlight=will+applying+for+financial+aid+hurt+my+chances%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/269213-does-applying-financial-aid-hurt-chances-ivys.html?highlight=will+applying+for+financial+aid+hurt+my+chances&lt;/a>
(all available through your cc "search" tool)</p>

5

<p>In certain colleges, in order to be awarded merit scholarships you must apply for financial aid. While you may not "need" financial aid, you shouldn't have anything against getting it, and thus reducing the college expense, if you qualify for it (usually on the basis or GPA and/or test scores).</p>

6

<p>No institution, aside from maybe military academies, would hunt down your past financial history and that of your family members without good reason. Apply for financial aid even if you end up declining the award (you absolutely do not have to accept your award). You may receive work-study hours allowing you to get different (potentially better) campus jobs like research assistants, project assistants, grader etc.</p>