Hi All,
GW is my son’s top choice. He is considering ED to hopefully hedge his bet. He has a 4.09 weighted, top 10 percent of class, top high school in the state with rigorous course load, all 5’s on APs, assuming excellent teacher recommendations since they approached him, and just okay extracurriculars. He is a white, upper-middle class… so financial aid is out of the question. I have a couple of questions: 1. Is the FAFSA required to be considered for merit aid? Do you need to say “YES” on the question about financial aid and submit a FAFSA/CSS if you are not asking for financial aid in order to be considered for merit aid? 2. Does applying ED impact chances for merit aid? It seems they would not give much/any merit aid to students willing to bind ED; rather use the merit aid for RD students to entice them to choose GW.
Thank you!
Your questions:
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No, the FAFSA is not required to be considered for merit aid at GW. However, I’d still encourage your son to get that paperwork in order. GW can be quite generous with financial aid compared to other schools, even if you’re a “upper-middle class” student. GW realizes that they have a hefty price tag, and they do a good job mitigating that problem for many. Additionally, the FAFSA is required for merit aid at several other universities. So if you have to submit the FAFSA for those other schools, you might as well file it with GW too.
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Applying ED absolutely impacts chances on receiving merit aid. While ED applicants do routinely receive merit aid, they are (for the most part) offered less than their RD counterparts. The trade off is that it is easier to gain admission in general. Your son is going to have to weigh that decision based on your financial situation and his chances of admission.
My conclusion: I would highly discourage from having your son apply ED without filling the FAFSA, since it seems like you require merit aid in order to make GW affordable. Say hypothetically, you don’t submit the FAFSA, and your son is accepted ED. Say also that he doesn’t get any merit aid, due to increased difficulty in doing so as an ED applicant. You’re now in a bind, because the school is unaffordable for you. The only way you can reject your binding contract as an ED applicant is to demonstrate that GW is unaffordable for your family. But if you didn’t even bother to submit the FAFSA, that is NOT going to be a conversation that goes your way. If on the other hand you do file the FAFSA, and you assume correctly that the price tag is too high, you can appeal the FA decision and have the option to pull out of the binding decision and move on to other schools.
Thanks gudya. I appreciate your insight!
While I agree with everything stated above, GW also requires the CSS Profile in order to be considered for need based financial aid. It is much more involved than FAFSA and goes into much more detail on your family’s finances. I’m in the process of compiling all of that data now for my daughter and it’s a big pain. Just thought you should know!
Mbmama, Yes, we are about to do that. I have not even looked at it yet. Good grief.
No problem, I’m happy to help. I’m a current GW student on financial aid and also have a merit award. So I know all about the CSS Profile and FAFSA. I swear if my parents decide to order a two topping pizza one night they’ll try to take money away… It’s annoying and quite a process. But if it makes school affordable it all pays off.
So all that being said, sympathy going your way! Let me know if you’ve got any other questions. I’m happy to be a resource to you!