<p>D is a senior, and applying to a variety of LACs. We have saved enough to pay for roughly a year of an expensive college, and have a middle class income. However, I am considering not applying for financial aid for her freshman year for two reason. First, I have read that admission is more likely for kids not applying for aid, and D could use all the help she can get (validictorian, great grades and EC's but very mediocre test scores). Secondly, if we were to pay for the first year, we would use up the college savings we have, and would be more needy on paper, and hopefully qualify for better aid at that time.</p>
<p>Any thoughts from people who have been through the process already?</p>
<p>At the vast, vast majority of colleges, they are need blind. They don’t care whether or not you can afford their school.</p>
<p>At some of the need-aware colleges, you cannot apply for FA in subsequent years if you didn’t apply the first year unless there’s a drastic change in circumstances. They know how people can play the system and they want to reduce that. </p>
<p>If you need FA, apply for FA. Really, it’s that simple IMO.</p>
<p>I understand this, but on the very first page of the common app, it asks if the student will be applying for aid. Wouldn’t the people reading the applications see this?</p>
<p>Not necessarily. They need to know if you’re applying for aid so they can send your information to the financial aid department; there’s no reason to believe that the admissions committee always considers it. (At the vast majority of schools, there’s not much incentive to be need-aware, because the vast majority of schools don’t meet financial need.)</p>
<p>Some schools are need-aware for admissions, but the vast majority aren’t. If none of the schools on your D’s list are need-aware, there’s no point in suppressing your FA application. What schools is she considering?</p>
<p>In general, your plan is probably going to hurt you more than help you. Over on the parents forum, a bunch of parents of this year’s college sophomores have found that the FA awards for this year are less generous than last year’s–sometimes by a lot. Many colleges will be more generous with the freshman year award than with subsequent years, because they’ve already snagged your kid as a student. Hard to transfer so suddenly, or contemplate a gap year. </p>
<p>Your plan also assumes that your daughter is going to be admitted to a school that meets full need. Those schools are generally the most selective. Even if your D is admitted, you might find that the school’s definition of meeting your full need isn’t what you can afford. Most schools won’t guarantee to meet full need. They very well might, especially if they really want your D…or they might leave you with a big fat gap. If your D ends up attending a school like that, you might find come sophomore year that the school isn’t going to give you any money at all, even if you look more needy on paper. Then you’re either going to have to take out big loans (ugh ugh ugh) or have your D take a year off from school while you figure out what affordable school she can transfer to. And aid for transfers isn’t always as generous as it is for freshman.</p>
<p>Since your D has so many strengths and just one weakness, there will be schools that will want her. Have you considered any test-optional schools?</p>
<p>Thanks for the input. I appreciate the thoughts about finances and how to consider various options. The original thought came from a friend of D’s who is not applying for FA for a similar reason, although her family is better off and they will likely only qualify for a couple of thousand in aid.</p>
<p>Frankly, I think it’s a bit deceitful to imply that you won’t be applying for FA when you really only have the funds for ONE year. </p>
<p>There are some schools that won’t give aid for subsequent years when people do this UNLESS there has been a major family change…death of a breadwinner, etc.</p>