<p>We don't feel rich, but we did make over 200k last year. With 1 child going to college 2013, and one at middle school, do I have any chance to get any aid? The kid is a good student and is going to top tier school, usually no merit-based money. Any suggestions for scholarships? Thanks.</p>
<p>Yea i don’t know i mean you should apply you never know, but most likely you won’t recieve as much aid or any at all.</p>
<p>I believe that you have to file fafsa for the Stafford loans your child will be eligible for if you plan to use them. I could be wrong about that, but that is what I was told. </p>
<p>Sent from my DROID RAZR using CC</p>
<p>We’re in the same boat financially speaking and yes, you should apply to FAFSA so that they can give your university that information for loans and possible university related scholarships.</p>
<p>We don’t qualify either but our state requires it yearly for the state merit scholarship program no matter what your income is. Safer to apply even though it’s a hassle.</p>
<p>Zilcho chance! A few years ago we made over $200,000 (just), had 3 kids in college at same time (each school over $45,000/yr), and my husband had just gotten laid off. We got nothing.</p>
<p>Cheerios: I hear you loud and clear! Yep!</p>
<p>At the school I go to you have to file the FASFA to get any merit aid they offered you when you were excepted. It doesn’t matter what the need is they’ll give you the merit aid, but you’ll lose if you don’t file it.</p>
<p>It depends on the school. We never filed Fafsa and received merit aid for all three kids—2 at private unis and 1 at a public. You might want to ask this question in the discussion forum of the schools where you plan on making application and see how others in your position have fared.</p>
<p>To all the above - pretty depressing, isn’t it? We have the same problem. We’re already cash flowing sibling (nursing school) & son wants to go to an out-of-state school for engineering. Based on our 2010 tax return we qualify for zilch. Just filed 2011 tax return & find we owe $megabucks to the IRS (ouch). Cash flow will be a major challenge & financial aid folks still think we don’t “need” the money. Too bad my kid isn’t black, hispanic, blind, orphaned, from a single-parent home, etc. Too bad he’s only got a 3.6 GPA and a 30 ACT score (not high enough for merit aid). Not sure what we’re going to do. Maybe we’ll get lucky and find an oil reserve in the back yard (start digging!)</p>
<p>to the previous poster, being Black doesnt automatically qualify you for financial aid. Being lower income does, and that comes in all shades…</p>
<p>To the OP, yes, go ahead and file, you never know what you may get…</p>
<p>I researched this issue thoroughly when my D was applying to college. Here’s what I learned:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>As noted above, some colleges might require students to file FAFSA in order to be considered for merit aid. I questioned one admissions rep about this, though, and I concluded that that requirement was instituted in order to ensure that students receive any need-based aid they could receive. Check with each college to make sure.</p></li>
<li><p>Some CC posters stated that there are colleges that won’t consider a student for need-based aid, even with a change in circumstances, if that student didn’t apply for aid as a freshman. I called each of my D’s eight colleges to make sure of their policies; all said deciding not to apply as a freshman didn’t bar her from future financial aid applications. I recommend doing this with your child’s potential colleges to make sure.</p></li>
<li><p>Complete the Net Price Calculator on the websites of your child’s colleges (or at least the most generous one) to satisfy yourself as to whether you could possibly receive any need-based aid. I agree with other posters that it is unlikely, but this is too important to rely on the opinions of strangers!</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Agree strongly with point #3 by Schokolade. We make 200K. Just did the calculator for a variety of schools. Need based aid for us would actually exist for some schools. Looking at a variety of 55K high end schools the aid we would be eligible for ranged from 0 (Cornell, Duke, BC, Tufts) to about 10K (Amherst, Colgate, Swarthmore). It is worth checking. Many schools participate with the College Board calculator, so if you eneter the data it is saved and then you can quickly check multiple schools. Also, you can quickly alter variables to learn how various factors influence the result.</p>
<p>Davisra, my oldest kid (no hook) had a 29 ACT and a 3.6 GPA, and got significant merit aid at Dickinson. She did have some pretty good ECs, but not spectacular (Girl Scout Gold Award, sports team captain, top 5 finish in state in speech). She also came from a state that is not near the school, which helps. You are looking at the wrong schools if you think you kid can’t get merit aid.</p>
<p>And in general… I would rather have the problem of making too much to get need based aid than to be in the situation where I HAD to rely on need-based aid and my kids came out of college stacked up with a lot of loans. We are doing a lot of belt tightening, but I’d still rather make a good salary and pay out quite a bit of it for college than have a lower salary. </p>
<p>As those above have said, some schools require the FAFSA to also be considered for merit aid, but many do not. Check with each school. The school’s web site on financial aid can often give you this info.</p>