<p>Based on experience with DD, our EFC will be very high, even with 2 kids in college. Should DS apply for need based aid at need aware colleges even though unlikely to receive , or are his chances increased if no financial aid applied for? Finally, is there any value in filing the CSS to give the admissions folks a clue about what the EFC is likely to be- i.e. maybe able to pay tuition due to what looks like a high income (Self employed, lucky last year-- but all that could change this year. . .).</p>
<p>If your son doesn’t get into a school that you couldn’t afford anyway, what is the loss? And I have read that at some schools, you have to apply for FA in the first year to be considered in future years. So if your income goes down in future years to where you would get some assistance, you have to be in the system already to be considered.</p>
<p>I would apply and have the FAFSA on file. If it shows that you are not eligible for aid, and that is an advantage for a particular school, no harm is done.</p>
<p>However, some schools require you to file a FAFSA to recieve merit aid (non-need based.) Plus, as the above poster said, if your status changes in the future, it is important to be in the financial aid office’s system.</p>
<p>D received the merit aid we had reasonably hoped for despite having a CSS profile on file at a school that requested it. It showed a high EFC, but D still did got the merit aid.</p>
<p>At need aware schools, applying for aid will clearly decrease his chances. Many have told us it does at need blind schools too despite what they say. But as others have said, if you can’t afford to pay, apply.</p>
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<p>Are you in the retail business? If not, can you closely estimate now? If your income fluctuates widely, you probably should apply if future aid is contingent on applying freshman year. Applying with a high EFC just means you have little (or no) need and shouldn’t have as much significance in admissions decisions as someone who is applying with a low EFC/high need. Filing FAFSA will allow your S to borrow Stafford loans if you’d like him to have some skin in the game.</p>
<p>I don’t believe in disclosing any financial information unless you’ll be something back. In this case, unless the school says without FAFSA then there wouldn’t be merit aid, I don’t see any advantage in filing. Our kids’ school college counselor told all parents in the last 3 years - not needing FA is a hook. Take it for what it is worth.</p>
<p>As someone mentioned, if you need FA in order to afford a school, then there is no choice but to file. But if your EFC is >45K then I would rather suck it up and pay the full amount.</p>
<p>D. has never applied to need based FA, she would not have any based on our financial situation. However, her UG school as well as Graduate schools that she is in a process of choosing all recommend to file FASFA to receive full range of Merit scholarships. We have followed this advice religiously with very positive results that were beyond our expectations. Based on our experience (D. is college senior), it was very clear that her UG have used FASFA to award MERIT scholarships. D’s UG tution has been covered by Merit scholarships along with some portion of R&B. I want to be very clear that we are very far from being considered for any need based, not only because of income but also because of absence of any debt (no mortgage) and other dependents. We are planning to file FASFA this year. D. will be in Grad. school next year and one of potential Grad. Schools already indicated to her that she has been selected to receive Merit Schoalrship.</p>
<p>My understanding is MiamiDAP´s daughter has outstanding stats, so schools that give out merit scholarship would find someone like her to be very well qualified.</p>
<p>My daughter was given a full tuition scholarship without us filing any FASFA at a lower tier school. It wasn´t a requirement to file FASFA at that particular school.</p>
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<p>This is not necessarily trueIf your child has good stats, it would be a non-issue. If your child is accepted, then it is up to you to determine whether you are going to work it out based on the amount of financial aid that you receive fromt he school (if you receive 0, then you will determine if you can swig bein full freight payers).</p>
<p>The need aware/need sensitive policies ususally kicks in toward the end of the application cycle. Basically what happens is if the school has pretty much exhauseted their FA budget, if they are choosing between to similarly qualified students, the nod will go to the student who needs less of the schools resources.</p>
<p>Like others mentioned, the two big reasons for filing the FAFSA and/or PROFILE are if the school needs those for merit aid, or if they will only award institutional need-based aid in subsequent years if you applied for freshman year. The answer to the merit aid question you can generally find on the school’s website. The “what about future years?” question is a phone call to the FA office. </p>
<p>That said, knowledgeable posters on the financial aid forum have noted that if some sort of financial disaster strikes, e.g. a job loss, you’ll need to submit the FAFSA/PROFILE right away, at a time when you really don’t feel like pulling all of the paperwork together. Filing it now is a type of insurance against that possible rainy day.</p>
<p>^keep in mind that deadline for FASFA is Feb. 15. If desaster strikes, it might be too late. Actually some D’s Grad Schools mentioned as soon as possible after Jan. 2, so it looks like early Jan., 2011 for us.</p>
<p>MiamiDAP, if a family’s financial circumstances change suddenly, many schools will reassess at that point. They’ll want to see an amended FAFSA with the new numbers. My understanding is that the Feb 15 deadline then doesn’t matter, since the old FAFSA wouldn’t really reflect the family’s current finances. It’s the kind of policy that’s going to vary school by school. The decision about what to do (file or not) is going to vary by family, too.</p>
<p>^We never had t0 amend, so I do not know about that. However, FASFA reflects last year financial situation, so I am not sure how currect sudden change can affect your last year financials. For example, in January of 2011 we will file FASFA based on our 2010 W-2’s and other questions will be answered in connection to 2010. If something happens after we file, it will affect our situation for filing in January of 2012, it will have no effect on FASFA filed in January of 2011.</p>
<p>The schools are assuming that your financial picture isn’t going to change dramatically from year to year. They’re using last year’s numbers as a proxy for the coming year. If (heaven forbid) a parent suddenly becomes seriously ill, can’t work, and has big hospital bills, then clearly the assumption doesn’t work. Some schools will work with the family if something like this happens. Some schools won’t.</p>
<p>We are close to full pay with one kid in school, and wondered how it would play out with two in school, esp. need-aware colleges. </p>
<p>It was clear from the FAFSA and PROFILE that we would only have significant financial need the two years the kids overlap. We were pleasantly surprised with S2’s FA award. And as other posters have mentioned, one must file FAFSA so the student can apply for Stafford loans.</p>
<p>We have always sent in the FA forms regardless of whether we thought we’d get anything (and frankly, we assumed we wouldn’t, so anything we did get was an extra blessing!). Because I have an ongoing medical condition that kept me out of work for five years immediately prior to S1 starting college (and I am working PT despite my doc’s protests), my income, which goes 100% to EFC, is precarious. We disclose this, and our related heavy medical expenses, to the schools on the PROFILE.</p>
<p>I have asked this question a few times because I just don´t get it…¨People are saying that it is beneficial to submit FASFA just in case if there is a family financial down turn in the future. Just because a students submits FASFA first year, doesn´t mean a student is qualified to get FA, and there would be no reason for a school to hold some money aside for that student “just in case.” When and if there is a change in a student´s financial situation, the school would re-evaluate the student´s eligibility at that time AND if school has money to award the student. </p>
<p>What is the point of applying for FA before it is needed?</p>
<p>Some schools explicitly state that if you don’t apply for FA freshman year, they can’t do anything (or can do less) for you down the road. Personally, I don’t mind applying if it means that if we <em>do</em> have an emergency down the road, the FA office at least has something in their records and there is context for our request. </p>
<p>In addition, in our family, the likely scenario that would trigger this is a downturn in my health. I’m the one that does all the FA stuff. Having the info on hand at the FA office would make my husband’s job easier in a time of crisis.</p>
<p>Not everyone would pursue that path, and for good reasons, but I’m figuring the aggravation I go through in filing FA is the one way to make sure I’ll never have to use that emergency option. 
Same reason I always take embroidery or an important project to work on in the waiting room at the doctor’s office – it magically ensures I won’t have a long wait! :D</p>
<p>We also expected no FA thru my daughter’s private school. We did fill out the FAFSA, “just in case”. FA person called me to “verify” some data. In my short conversation with him, he seemed to imply that, because we would not be getting any need based aid, they were “adjusting” the merit aid.</p>
<p>I would always fill out the FAFSA no matter what. It really isn’t that much time to do so.</p>
<p>"What is the point of applying for FA before it is needed? "</p>
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<li>Some schools encourage to apply to get full range of MERIT $$. For example, D. has about 10 Merit scholarships. Would she got all 10 or maybe only 3 if we did not file FASFA, as school suggested? I tend to think that her school knows its own procedures better than me, so I follow what I am told. It might be different at other school. </li>
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<p>I agree with "I would always fill out the FAFSA no matter what. It really isn’t that much time to do so. ".</p>
<p>Preferential packaging also comes into play – Boston U specifically said they do it – the sweeter the FA deal you get, the more they want you.</p>