<p>Talk with your school counselor about whether you are eligible for any College Board or NACAC fee waivers for applications. Many schools also waive fees automatically for certain things, like applying before a certain date, or online, and some will give automatic fee waivers to students from certain income levels. </p>
<p>But, don’t forget there are other costs to applying to college, such as having to submit test scores (some fee waivers for those as well if you used a fee waiver to take the SAT), retake SAT/ACT, some types of financial aid applications (i.e., the CSS Profile, taken at about 250 colleges), phone calls, stamps, visits, etc. It can add up. I work with low income students and advise them to max out on fee waivers, but to also be realistic about how many schools they can afford to apply to – a good, solid, well-planned list can help keep application costs under control. If you’re coming from a low income family, spending $500 or $1000 to apply to 15 or 20 schools may not make sense (or be possible). So, you will have to plan carefully.</p>
<p>That said, it is incorrect to say that your best chance of financial aid is going to come from a reach school. Match and safety schools can have nice endowments and good financial aid too. 
In fact, in many cases, just the opposite of the “reach is best” concept will be true. This is because many schools these days practice financial aid leveraging - in other words, they offer their best financial aid and merit scholarships to students that are the most desireable. Frequently, that means students who are towards the top of the admissions pile or have something else to offer that the individual college finds highly desireable. So, often, match schools and safeties can be a good bet for a good financial aid package – but the key is figuring out which schools (whether match, safety or reach) are going to most want what you have to offer.</p>
<p>It is true that some highly selective schools have recently revamped their financial aid policies, but don’t assume that all of the policies are the same. A website called Projectonstudentdebt.org had an interesting comparison of how the “revised” policies of various schools will pan out for students from different family income levels. If you have the stats for some of the top schools that have revamped their financial aid policies in your family’s favor, by all means, apply to them! But, since competition for a spot at many of these schools is tough, make sure you have a back up plan as well, i.e., schools where you have a more realistic shot at being admitted.</p>
<p>It’s also important to understand some basic terminology: Need Aware, Need Blind, financial aid gapping, and Guarantees to Meet 100% of Need.</p>
<p>Need Aware schools are ones that consider student need for a small percentage of applicants. Typically, those applicants fall into the bottom half of the applicant pool. Most openly need aware schools, however, guarantee to meet the full need of everyone admitted. </p>
<p>Need Blind schools are schools which <em>technically</em> don’t consider the financial need of students. The vast majority of schools will say they are need blind. Sounds good, right? Well, just that they don’t consider need in admitting you doesn’t mean they’ll give you the money you need to attend. In fact, quite a few “need blind” schools “gap” students – in other words, they don’t meet full demonstrated need for a certain percentage. Or, they may offer a financial aid package to some students that is so heavy on loans that it isn’t realistic. Again, many schools that say they are “need blind” practice financial aid leveraging – so, your chances of being gapped at many schools will be lower if you’re towards the top of the applicant pile, in other words, at match and safety schools.</p>
<p>Finally, there are about 50 or so schools that guarantee to meet 100% of need for all students. They’re not all the most selective schools in the country, either. For any student needing financial aid, it’s a good idea to include as many of these schools as possible on your list (if you PM me, I have a list of these schools). But, remember: your definition of meeting your need and the schools can be different (not to mention that your full need can sometimes be met with a large amount of loans!)</p>
<p>Which brings us to the most important thing you should do before you even begin to consider which schools to apply to. And, that is, do your research on what your family’s EFC (Estimated Family Contribution, the amount schools will expect your family to pay) is, and also do your research on the in’s and out’s of financial aid at various schools. The first step for the EFC is to complete the FAFSA4caster.ed.gov – while that will only tell you your EFC as determined by Federal methodology, it will give you a start on figuring out what types of money you’ll likely be offered if you choose your list carefully. (About 250 schools also use their own methodology, institutional methodology, which includes more data on family income and assets – it is a good idea to learn about the differences between the two now as well).</p>
<p>Again, PM if you want the list of 100% need guarantee schools, and also for a list of references to help you and your parents get started understanding the financial aid process.</p>