IDOC - should I bother to do this if don't qualify for need-based aid?

Paying for College
1

<p>I don't think I've seen this question on the forum. My daughter applied to Cornell and they require the IDOC information. However, according to our SAR, our EFC is very high- higher than the cost for one year. Cornell only provides need-based financial aid so it's safe to say that we won't be getting any money from Cornell - merit or need based-wise. </p>

<p>Should I bother gathering and sending all this financial information to IDOC when we don't qualify for financial aid? If I don't send anything in, I think I should call Cornell and explain why.</p>

<p>On another point, do schools require you to file the FAFSA every year if you get merit aid? My daughter is very bright and we hope to get some merit aid from some of the schools. I think you also need to file if you want to qualify for student loans, right?</p>

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<p>The FAFSA SAR is for Federal FA, the documents you send to IDOC and the Profile will be used to see if you qualify for Cornell’s Institutional FA. If a college has generous FA, then you may qualify for Institutional funds even though you don’t qualify for Federal FA.</p>

<p>Merit awards vary, so you should contact the schools if they don’t state it on their website.</p>

3

<p>Yes, but Cornell is a needs only school so in our situation, we wouldn’t qualify for anything either. So, should I bother?</p>