Merit aid cancels out need-based aid

<p>I have read on this site of a parent whose S was an RA say being an RA reduced his FA and he was not better off financially. May depend on the school.</p>

<p>It is ALL school dependent.</p>

<p>I am suggesting you can sometimes stack the RA money with a Merit award and sometimes come out better than with FA.</p>

<p>That’s an interesting idea. I may ask about that after all the results are in before she makes a decision on schools. I never even thought about the RA question, but it’s definitely something she would be interested in.</p>

<p>Ohiobassmom, I hope that you are pleasantly surprised when the aid package arrives. It is certainly possible that you may be. Truly, it is dependent on the school.</p>

<p>SteveMA quote:</p>

<p>Can I safely assume that merit aid won’t be cancelled out by athletic aid?</p>

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<p>That could depend on the school, its policies, and/or how much that athletic scholarship is. </p>

<p>Is this a “full head” sport or is this a sport where scholarships are divided amongst many players?</p>

<p>The UC scenario with the NCP doctor dad is an example of why UCs should require NCP info.</p>

<p>And, yes, the family is likely manipulating info…the NCP has likely been paying large child support which should have been mentioned at least in the first FA app when the student was a senior in HS…and it likely wasn’t. And, during later years when FA was filed, there’s a question about other money sources (which likely the NCP was supplying) probably wasn’t getting included.</p>

<p>This kid wouldn’t get a free ride in grants, but would likely get B&G (tuition). Dad probably paid for room and board and the family probably never declared that.</p>

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<p>Mind you, what we know about the case of the California doctor’s kid is what parent57 has reported. He or she may not have all the facts (not saying parent57 is withholding information but just that he or she may not know all relevant details). But if things went down as mom2collegekids is speculating, that’s not “manipulating.” That’s fraud!</p>

<p>^^^I agree. The information supplied may not be the whole story and cannot be trusted.</p>

<p>Actually, the mother is the NCP and the doctor. The Dad doesn’t make enough money to support his son. I also know that the kid lives some of the time with the mother. The Dad has bragged to me that his son has a free ride to attend a UC school. I was very surprised when he told me, and he explained how he didn’t need to include the mother’s income in the FAFSA . I also know another kid who received substantial financial aid to attend Berkeley. Father is a very successful stock broker/consultant. Mother told me same story. In her case , she is either remarried or just living with another guy. Don’t know which. Whether this is fraud or not I am not sure, but it is obviously very easy to do. I don’t know how many kids in California are in this situation, but something tells me it may be pretty widespread.</p>

<p>mom2collegekids–scholarships are mostly split, but not always. It depends on the program. Usually what you see is the top one or two get a full scholarship and the rest are split so you either get tuition or room/board–so 1/2 of your schooling is taken care of. We are counting on merit aid to cover most of the rest based on the information from the school and how they grant merit aid.</p>

<p>What would make it “fraud” is if the custodial parent lied (i.e., failed to mention child support payments when that information is specifically required by FAFSA). Getting a “good deal” because the UCs are FAFSA only and don’t count NCP income the way CSS Profile does: That’s taking advantage of the system. I don’t like to think someone would “brag” about lying to the federal government!</p>

<p>Well, whether it is a good deal or fraud, it is definitely a bad deal for the taxpayer.</p>

<p>I took the following question and answer from Kiplinger’s:</p>

<p>"My parents are divorced, and I am wondering who should file the FAFSA financial-aid forms. My primary address is with my mother, but she only makes $15,000 a year and receives $20,000 a year in child support. My father and stepmom make $170,000 per year. Should my mom file the FAFSA, even though my dad says he is paying for my college? If my dad and stepmom file, won’t this hurt my chances of receiving financial aid because of their income? How does this work with divorced parents who are remarried?</p>

<p>It looks like you’re in luck: The federal aid formula considers only the finances of the custodial parent (the parent you lived with the most in the past 12 months)"</p>

<p>According to FAFSA, the custodial parent is the parent with whom the student lived the most during the past year. This is not necessarily the same as the parent who provided most of the student’s support or even has legal custody of the child. So it would be very easy for a family to select the NCP for purposes of determining financial aid for a FAFSA only school.</p>

<p>Right, parent57, that’s how it works. No one is questioning that. What I am saying is that if (in the case of the CA doctor whose kid is going to a UC for free) the custodial parent omitted information about child support received, that would be fraud. That information is required on the FAFSA, so neglecting to include it would be more than manipulation, it would be outright lying for gain. Mind you, I’m making no suppositions about how your acquaintances filled out FAFSA, I was just responding to a suggestion mom2collegekids made.</p>

<p>Actually, the mother is the NCP and the doctor. The Dad doesn’t make enough money to support his son. I also know that the kid lives some of the time with the mother. The Dad has bragged to me that his son has a free ride to attend a UC school. I was very surprised when he told me, and he explained how he didn’t need to include the mother’s income in the FAFSA . I also know another kid who received substantial financial aid to attend Berkeley. Father is a very successful stock broker/consultant. Mother told me same story. In her case , she is either remarried or just living with another guy. Don’t know which. Whether this is fraud or not I am not sure, but it is obviously very easy to do. I don’t know how many kids in California are in this situation, but something tells me it may be pretty widespread.</p>

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<p>I know for a fact that these kinds of things happen frequently in Calif and it does upset the intact families that must report both parents’ incomes. Typically, it’s the lower income parent who has custody and doing FAFSA…the higher income parent (usually the dad) can be an engineer, doctor, lawyer, etc…and his income isn’t included (even if he’s providing money, which goes unreported).</p>

<p>And believe me…shared custody is popular in Calif, and no one really checks to see which parent the child stays with most, so typically the parent with the lower income gets used for FAFSA (as long as parents don’t live far from each other).</p>

<p>At UC’s the Blue and Gold promise is based on income of custodial parent. So any kid who lives with a custodial parent who earns under $80k gets free tuition (aka UC fees)…so about $12-13k per year in free money. Obviously, this is terrible for intact families who must declare both parents’ income and may earn a total of $85k…while a divorced home where the custodial parent earns $79k gets a big grant. </p>

<p>Since the UCs do give generous aid to low income kids, they should ask for NCP info.<br>
That said, the UCs do not give “free rides” for low income. They tend to give free fees and sometimes a bit more…but their FA packages are also filled with full student loans and work-study. R&B is typically very high at UCs, and grants are rarely given to cover all of those costs…much of those costs are usually covered with loans.</p>

<p>If this particular student got a free ride, then it’s likely that he got merit on top of certain FA (like Pell, Cal Grants, and B&G promise)…or the student is commuting so saving on R&B.</p>

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<p>Are you saying it’s routine for people (in California or anywhere else, for that matter) to leave this information off FAFSA, even though it’s specifically required? If you think it’s routine, can you say why you think so?</p>