Hey everyone! I just have a quick question and I was wondering if I could get your input.
I am currently a high school senior and I am applying to a lot of top-tier colleges as well as a few instate public schools. Both of my parents work full-time and I am pretty sure that no school will give me need-based financial aid. I’ve tried entering my family’s information into the net price calculators of a few different universities and all of these calculators are saying that I will not receive any money in terms of need-based aid.
So my question is… is it even worth it for me to fill out the FAFSA and the CSS Profile if I know that I will not get any money. I have tried asking around and I am getting all sorts of different answers, so I was wondering if any of you lovely people would be able to help me. Thanks in advance!
Yes it is. I was projected to get about 10,000 less than I was actually given for the college I currently attend. The calculators are not always accurate. Also, if your family is projected to not receive any aid, the money for the CSS profile likely will not hurt you. You can also receive unsubsidized and work study. Go for it.
Filling out the FAFSA will allow you to get a student loan. Many people who are full pay do that. You don’t have to notify the schools in advance about that though. You can do that after you’ve already made your school choice.
Not to mention that some universities give out grants (money which is “free” and you don’t have to pay back) based on your FAFSA. My son has received over $6,000 grant money per semester from his college. He did not apply to any CSS schools, so I don’t have knowledge of that.
I believe my daughter received an extra $1000 in merit just for doing FAFSA at a couple of her schools. So we filed and she got the money. We didn’t qualify for any need based aid.
@calicash a student cannot receive a work study award unless they have financial need. This is true for both federal work study and work study funded by the colleges directly.
To the OP…you will qualify for a $5500 Direct Loan your freshman year simply by completing the FAFSA.
Will your parents fund the full cost of attendance at these schools? If so, you are never required to file a financial aid application. But you might want to…you could receive some aid.
Also check the policies of your schools. Some do require these forms for merit awards.
Work study is need based aid. You don’t get it unless you have financial need. Yes, the colleges decide who to give this award to…but it is not given to students with no financial need.
The OP says they would not be eligible for any need based aid, which implies that they have no financial need.
Yes, but one year when we had a bad year financially, we applied for need based aid for D1 when we hadn’t in the past. They offered her loans and work study, no grants at all. Just saying… it can happen.
Yes @intparent, but that’s still getting financial aid. I think you are making a distinction between institutional grants vs federal loans and workstudy. In that year, you qualified for need based aid. But @thumper1 is saying it’s all still financial aid, and if the OP doesn’t qualify for any need based aid they won’t get it (including workstudy).
Yes, but colleges have some discretion with work study funds and what they consider “qualified” for them. She got no other aid besides the offer of federal loans. Just saying, you can get work study and no grants from the college. Not saying it happens often, but it does happen.
Some schools still want the FAFSA even the merit aid has no need component. It is for the statistics. Schools report what percentage of students without need received merit aid.
My sons college required the FAFSA and the Profile. We got no need based aid at all. Our family contribution was in excess of th cost of attendance.
But my kid got a music performance merit award. He was required to complete th FAFSA and Profile…or,he would not have gotten his scholarship.
I asked a financial aid officer why…and she was clear. They want to be sure that students who qualify for federally funded grant money apply for, and get that first.
I can’t imagine why this would get a school “in trouble”. When schools are giving out their money, they can ask for any of these forms to be completed.
Of course, if a student is not applying for any kind of financial aid (merit or need based), the school cannot require completion of a financial aid application form.
@intparent, were the loans just unsubsidized or were they subsidized as well?
The schools usually give work study first to low EFC students from what I understand.