I doubt my son will get any financial aid (did all the calculations). I know some schools say you still need to apply for FA to be considered for merit scholarship, but others don’t. Will it hurt his chances of getting in when the Common App says, “YES”, on applying for aid? Even though though there are many need blind schools, how do they ignore this answer on the Common App? Can you change your answer depending on the school;s policy for being considered for merit? I don’t want to hurt my son’s chances of getting in. I hope that makes sense…sorry, new to this crazy college app scene!
I am wondering the same thing…Can he apply for aid if he checks “NO” on the CA? He’ll complete the FAFSA , but we are relatively certain he won’t get any money - although some top schools have said they still give out money even if you don’t meet criteria on FAFSA. I just don’t want it to hurt his chances at schools if he says he is applying for Need Based Aid.
Aid would be greatly appreciated, but we will pay whatever we need to if he gets into his dream school.
We are also first-timers, and really don’t know what we are doing.
Most colleges are need blind, so checking the box that you are applying for financial aid will not hurt a student’s chances and many schools require the FASFA to be filed for merit aid. Even though your student may not be eligible for FA, they can still take out a Stafford loan each year if needed and it requires the FASFA. I feel there is no harm in checking the box for FA unless you know the school is need aware.
Even if you do check the Yes box, in your situation it won’t matter if need enters into admissions decisions. The college/university will determine that you don’t need any aid, and your kid’s application will be assessed with the rest of the students who don’t need aid.
happymomof1, So do they assess need prior to accepting/declining a student? I thought if they were need blind, the admissions and the financial aid office act as two separate entities? It just seems like it’s impossible to be truly need blind when they SEE what you put on you common app. about whether or not you are applying for financial aid. Ugh, this is so confusing.
Both of my kids checked no, and both received merit offers. My son is actually attending Oberlin on a merit scholarship (not a full ride, though) even though we did not apply for aid.
“Most colleges are need blind”. Not true.
If there is any chance you will qualify for FA, then check it. If there is zero chance, don’t check it. Many many colleges are need aware so checking needs FA puts you in a different bucket.
Merit is completely separate from FA - so not checking the box has zero effect on that.
Most colleges and universities in the country are need blind for admissions. Most of them also don’t have much aid to throw around. The admissions office decides who gets in. The aid office awards federal aid, and then divvies up whatever tiny bit of institutional aid happens to be available. If a student can afford the place, fine. If the student can’t, oh well.
Institutions that are need-aware take a look at the aid applications of at least some of the students as part of the admissions process. If the institution determines that you don’t qualify for any aid, having checked that box is not going to be a mark against you - they know it is a step that’s necessary for the federal loans, and they also know that you don’t want to leave any money on the table.
Atleast one school he is applying to says we must submit FAPSA for consideration of merit. I need to check the others.
Yup. They want to be sure your kid gets any federal money that they are qualified for.
By definition, schools target merit aid to kids who wouldn’t qualify for need aid. So if you are looking for merit aid, checking yes (logically) would seem to only hurt your chances for merit aid.
My kids all checked no when they applied. We targeted merit money schools and all attended schools on big merit awards. Who knows if there was any causation there. I still could have applied for fin aid later if there was any reason to do so, but never did…
But it only seemed helpful to us to signal to the merit money schools that we were the kind of applicant that their merit money program was looking for. Why wouldn’t you want to show that profile to the school?
As in “if you accept my above average (for your school) kid and give him a $30k merit discount, I will then actually pay you the other $30k without asking for need aid.” If that school (as many do) operates on an average revenue per student of (say) $25k, then the $30k pay family is the customer they are hunting for.
Although I’m sure that the schools have lots of other data available to them (beyond the application box) to tell them who the potential payors are.
Last, being need blind for admission is utterly and completely worthless unless the school (as only a small number do) meet full need. “Admit-deny” means the exact same thing as “deny” – your kid will not be going to school there.
“Most of them also don’t have much aid to throw around.”
Actually, private colleges have lots of aid they throw around. The model is high sticker price, high discount.
The average discount rate for first-time, full-time freshmen at private, nonprofit colleges was 48.6 percent for the 2015-2016 school year. 88 percent of all full-time freshmen at these private colleges receive some form of institutional grant, and the average size of that award covers about 56 percent of the average tuition price.
I wouldn’t check yes if you are going to be eligible. Not needing aid is a hook. I am a bit cynical on this need blind business. It is always interesting to me that my kids’ school has been able to offer FA to the same percentage of students.
Sorry, I meant to say “I wouldn’t check yes if you are NOT going to be eligible.”
From Collegewise: The foremost expert in all things financial aid and scholarships, Mark Kantrowitz, certainly wasn’t vague in this New York Times piece, “Answers to Readers’ Questions About Scholarships”:
“Never check off a box that says that you are not applying for financial aid. You can turn down the specific types of aid later. Some colleges will not consider your child for merit-based aid if you indicate that you do not need financial aid. Most colleges practice need-blind admissions, so checking the [“No”] box will not increase your chances of getting in.”
I’ll go even further than Kantrowitz does. Every admissions and financial aid officer, every knowledgeable counselor, and every qualified financial aid advisor I’ve ever heard, read, or actually spoken with about this topic advises against families assuming they will not qualify for need-based aid. The formulas are complex, they can vary by school, and they can be impacted by the strength of the student relative to the rest of the applicant pool at each college. You have nothing to lose but the time spent completing the forms.
“schools target merit aid to kids who wouldn’t qualify for need aid”
Depends on the institutional and donor specifications. The Joe Schmo scholarship may be phrased as merit based and intended to replace other school funds for kids with need.
[QUOTE=""]
By definition, schools target merit aid to kids who wouldn't qualify for need aid. So if you are looking for merit aid, checking yes (logically) would seem to only hurt your chances for merit aid.<<
[/QUOTE]
Both of my kids got merit aid that was based on gpa and scores. Any kid who has the stats gets the aid, whether they are rich or poor. One is at a public, one at a private. There really isn’t ‘one size fits all’ or in this case ‘one rule fits all.’ Schools do all kinds of things with merit and need based aid.
My kids also get need based aid. And athletic/talent aid. Some schools don’t allow stacking, but luckily the schools my kids attend do.