<p>I have marked "Yes", for applying for financial aid in common app so far to the schools I have submitted my apps. My parents realized that they won't quality for financial aid and are not planning to fill out the CSS and other forms. Is that okay? Should I be informing the schools I have submitted common app, that we won't be applying for financial aid? I would greatly appreciate your advise. Is there any advantage to applying for financial aid even if we know that we won't qualify?
Thanks.</p>
<p>You should let the schools know that you are not applying for financial aid if you submetted the apps with a “yes” marked. Some schools are need aware so that could affect admissions chances. IF they are not, you could still hold up the process in that your name would be sent to fin aid when admissions is done, and they’ll be waiting for info that isn’t going to come.</p>
<p>If you absolutely do not qualify for fin aid, and you know the school has no merit awards that require a fin aid app or some other benefit they give to those fin aid applicants, such as a free application–no fee needed, that you may want; go on ahead and ask admissions if there are such things, then there is still the possibility that you may need fin aid in the future and the school has stipulations for those who did not apply from the onset . Ask about that too. It can make it easier, if you applied from day 1 and then things changed financially so that you qualify later. Some need aware schools want to see the change in circumstance and if there is fin aid info on file already, can make it easier. How important all of that is, I don’t know. This usually comes up in need aware, not need blind schools, in my experience. Also ask if it’s an issue if a sibling enters college, say a year or two later, that could bump you into the need category. Would having applied from the onset make a difference in then getting aid?</p>
<p>Where it might help is to fill out a FAFSA in case you or your parents want to borrow from Direct Loans. You don’t need to apply for fin aid to do that. Just fill out the FAFSA. It isn’t even out til 1/1//15, so you have time to think about it.</p>
<p>Just curious…how can a school be need aware if a student does NOT complete the financial aid forms? Wouldn’t the school then assume that the student will be full pay? The school wouldn’t know the student’s financial status unless some form was required that lists it out.</p>
<p>Some schools are simplistic about this. The kids who do not check the fin aid box get put into one stack and are processed first, the ones who check the box are put on hold until the financial info all comes in and is processed. I remember some years ago a parent whose kid was under consideration at Connecticut College was told that yes, it would make a difference in admissions odds if the kid withdrew fin aid application. I thought that was a bit odd because I don’t think the kid qualified for that much aid anyways, so that he would have been a good prospect even with that bit of need. A whole other story from needing close to full tuition or cost. But apparently then, at that school, it made a difference in how the application was treated. Apparently a no need application got clear sailing and a different route than one that checked off fin aid needed. </p>