Hello,
when filling commonapp, I had chosen that I wanted to apply for financial aid at Princeton. However, after discussing with my parents on the topic a bit we decided that we did not need and wouldn’t be given financial aid probably. So what should I do right now? How can I let the uni know this?
There is no need to let the university know - the admissions and financial aid departments run separately and being eligible for FA does not affect your probability of admission. The reason they ask up front is so that an FA offer can come with an offer of admission, if you are admitted.
There is no correlation between being asked by the FA office close to the decision date about wanting to apply for FA and being admitted (this hypothesis has been circulating for years…look back at some threads from years ago if you are unsure what I mean) so changing this option won’t give any early hints about your status. And most importantly, you might be surprised by being given some financial aid after all! Princeton has the most generous FA policy of any university I know of so it’s worth an ask.
@Cantiger Thanks for the info! Well, I am an international and won’t be able to provide enough financial data by the deadline. Also my counsellor in the school said they won’t give FA if I can pay. So if I’m not gonna apply for FA I don’t need to do anything right? Do I need to contact the office?
Your counselor is wrong. Our family had the ability to pay in full but Princeton still provided significant aid. Also, @Cantiger is absolutely correct about applying after the application deadline. Princeton will consider financial aid applications even if submitted after the student has paid their tuition!