<p>Same here - my d’s schools did not consider the financial aid applications until after merit aid was awarded, just to see if she qualified for anything else. Merit aid is given out by the admissions office at most schools; need-based aid is given out by the financial aid office. I know several kids who never sent in any financial aid applications, but received merit aid anyway.</p>
<p>You send in the FA application so that colleges can give you the estimated FA award in time for you to decide where to enroll; without that info, you can’t make an educated choice. That doesn’t mean that they use the FA information to award merit aid.</p>
<p>(However, I do know that some schools do want the financial information even for merit aid; I assume they use it for the purposes that newmassdad mentioned.)</p>