How Financial Need Affects Admission

Paying for College
1

<p>My parents are divorced, my mother being the custodial parent; my father has a high income, while my mother has a very low one. My father will be the one paying for college, but he is telling me that FAFSA only requires the information of the custodial parent, which means we could only put down my mother's financial information and thus I would be eligible for financial aid.</p>

<p>My question is - if a school is not need-blind, is it possible that they would reject me upon seeing that I need financial aid, if they are unable to provide it? I basically am just wondering whether applying for financial aid could hurt my chance of admission. Obviously I don't want this to happen, since my dad is able to pay full tuition if necessary.</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

2

<p>Schools that use FAFSA only are usually “need blind” so I don’t think you have to worry about that.</p>

<p>However, if you’re looking at top schools, many require CSS Profile and many require the financial info of the non custodial parent (your dad).</p>

<p>Which schools are you considering?</p>

3

<p>Ah, okay, thanks so much for clearing that up. I have been extremely fortunate to not have to think about financial aid and as a result, do not understand how it works at all.</p>

<p>My list right now is Penn State, Clemson, Georgia, Florida, Florida State, Auburn, Alabama, and Texas. I qualify for scholarships at Alabama and Auburn and will most likely be applying as in-state at the Florida schools, so it’s the other four that are really the issues at this point.</p>

4

<p>I think all of those schools are “need blind,” so you don’t have to worry about that.</p>

<p>What are your stats?</p>

<p>Edited to add…</p>

<p>Congrats, you have a 1410 M+CR SAT…so you’d get free tuition at Bama. :)<br>
You’d get 2/3 tuition scholarship from Auburn.</p>

5

<p>That’s great news - thank you!!</p>

<p>Yeah, I’m really excited that I was finally able to get my SAT up high enough. :slight_smile: And I do have to credit some of my interest in Alabama to all of your posts about it. I just came back from a trip to visit schools and loved both Alabama and Auburn.</p>

6

<p>Glad you have some good merit aid options. I don’t think you have a shot at Texas (and I doubt they would give you any $), and I think Penn State and UGA would also not offer any $. Clemson might.</p>

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<p>Those schools may be need blind for admission, but it does not mean they will give an OOS student need based aid. And I’m not sure state schools that are need blind for in state students are for OOS applicants. They usually want them for the money.</p>

8

<p>I think they’re FAFSA-only too, so that should help for your plans.</p>

9

<p>I don’t think you have a shot at Texas (and I doubt they would give you any $), and I think Penn State and UGA would also not offer any $.</p>

<p>Those schools may be need blind for admission, but it does not mean they will give an OOS student need based aid.</p>

<p>As I said, my family is able to pay full tuition if necessary; my dad simply wants to apply for aid because, well, there’s no harm in trying. Personally I am not concerned at all about not receiving aid, only about how applying for it would affect my chances of admission, but thanks anyway for the input.</p>