<p>I know they say that you can pull out of ED for financial reasons but i already know that it's looked down upon. How do you let the school know that you really really really desperately need aid and it's your number 1 choice but you're not applying ED?!!?</p>
<p>Anyone else has/had this situation?</p>
<p>First rule of college admission......never ever fall in 'love' with a school. Specially if you need aid. You can always show your interest in your application, visits, personal contacts, phone calls, e-mails etc.</p>
<p>ok..thanks.</p>
<p>icekiss, my suggestion is that you simply get your RD application in early and put special effort into the part of the application that asks you why you like that college. You can make it clear that it is your first choice. Make sure you mention something about the school and yourself that shows you have put some thought into it.</p>
<p>Also, if the college is need-blind and promises 100% need to all students, I would not suggest mentioning the financial reasons in the application itself -- that is, don't write "I would have applied ED but I desperately need aid." </p>
<p>The reason I say that is "need-blind" means that the ad com is making a decision without thinking about whether you need money. If you make a big point of telling them how much money you need, you are bringing their attention to the fact it will cost their college a lot of money to enroll you. They're not supposed to consider it --- but it's hard to ignore it if you are making a big issue out of it. Yes, they will see that you checked the financial aid box on the front of the application in any event, but that doesn't tell them whether you need $5000 or $35000 to come. "Desperate" for aid - as you have written here -- tells them that not only do you need a lot of money, but if their offer isn't good enough, you might not come in any event. </p>
<p>So the point is: tell them how much you love them, but don't make a big deal out of the financial issues in dealing with the ad com.</p>
<p>Unfortunately if the student is REALLY "desperate" for aid then they will most likely qualify for a Collegeboard fee waiver. The piece of paper the fee waiver is issued on and distributed by the GC's of each high school vary in color from year to year. However, they are ALWAYS a bright NEON of whatever color is chosen for that year. Can't miss them. They stick out like a sore thumb. I am sure they are meant to.</p>
<p>They are to be included with the application materials and not sent seperately. And when each college has their checklist of materals received, in the application fee spot it doesn't said PAID or received (with a fee waiver), it says fee waived or fee waiver or fee waiver granted. It is more than just checking the financial aid box, much more.</p>
<p>So yes they will know if a fee waiver is used if the applicant needs more than $5000. They know as soon as they open the application envelope, even before they read the app.</p>
<p>Kat</p>
<p>That must be a practice of your school, Kat. My daughter had fee waivers from her gc -- I certainly don't remember them being any color -- if they were on colored paper, it was something bland enough that I wouldn't remember.</p>
<p>In any case, I just checked - the forms are available to be downloaded from the NACAC web site in PDF format. PDF's don't have colored backgrounds, and the web site doesn't contain any instructions requiring the waivers to be printed on colored paper. See: <a href="http://www.nacac.com/feewaiver.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.nacac.com/feewaiver.html</a> </p>
<p>My daughter also mailed them in separately from the rest of the applications. I remember that distinctly because she made a big deal of getting them all mailed out -- she seemed to think that they needed to get to the college well ahead of the application deadline. </p>
<p>And in any case, the person who opens the envelope is not the person who makes the decision. Clerical staff of the office generally open envelopes, enter data, and make files. I have no clue as to whether the ad com ever sees it or not - it just as easily could be transmitted to the bursar or whoever does accounting as retained in the file. </p>
<p>In any case, my d. used fee waivers applying RD to colleges that were big reaches for her, and got accepted. </p>
<p>I'm not saying that a kid can actively conceal their need from the ad com in any case. I'm just saying that there is no point in emphasizing that fact. It is not a positive reason to admit a student -- that is, no ad com is ever going to say, "oh, we need to let this girl in because she needs a lot of money". So I think the space on the application needs to be focused on providing reasons for admission. That the student is very likely to come if admitted IS a good reason - as is the student being a good fit for the school, and the student having something to offer the school.</p>
<p>^ thank you. i get fee waivers for SAT from college board..is that the same thing.</p>
<p>No, its not. For the college application fee waivers, you get a form signed by the school guidance counselor; that form is then mailed to the college. The college still has the option of turning down your request for a fee waiver and asking you to pay the application fee - my daughter heard of that happening to a classmate with one of his schools, but she didn't have any problem.</p>
<p>Calmom,
the fee waivers my four kiddos used in 3 different states in 3 different school districts were all provided to them by the GC's sponsored by the College Board, the same company that provides the SATs as mentioned by icekiss45 in post #7.</p>
<p>I am NOT referrring to the fee waivers for the SATs but rather the college application fee waiver forms supplied by the College Board. The College Board limits it to 6 per student. And yes, every year for the past five years these fee waiver forms are printed and distributed to the GC's across the country and each year the color has changed and they are neon.</p>
<p>As indicated on the master acceptance list in the Parent Forum son this year also applied to some reaches and was also accepted. However, most of those apps did require the fee waiver to accompany his app. In some instances the school mailed back a request to fill out their school specific fee waiver form, for example Univ. of Penn, Georgetown and a few other of his reaches. So their admission office and his various assigned reps were quite aware of his fee waiver status.</p>
<p>He did not use the fee waivers at the nacac website but rather the ones provided to him by his GC from the College Board, two very different forms. Same forms used for his sis in Cali and brother in NV and he on the east coast this past year.</p>
<p>Fee waivers were also granted to Venture Scholars for specific institutions, such as Swat, Amherst, Boston College, Fordham. The critieria for this designation might also reveal the need for financial aid. Also participation in Upward Bound programs, a component again being need, which can also issue fee waivers.</p>
<p>Kat
hope this clears some of the confusion</p>
<p><a href="http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/sat/calenfees/feewaivers.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/sat/calenfees/feewaivers.html</a>
explains the process for college app fee waivers</p>
<p>Kat, thanks for explaining - I have no clue about college board fee waivers -- I just know that the colleges accept the NACAC fee waivers and that is what my daughter used. Those have to be signed by the guidance counselor and there is no limit on how many may be used as far as I know. There is a place on the form for the signature of the student and for the counselor. </p>
<p>Given what you say, I am not sure why a counselor would want to use the College Board waiver --even the College Board seems to direct counselors to use the NACAC waver (the link and description is placed more prominently on the page) - see:
<a href="http://www.collegeboard.com/prof/counselors/apply/10.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.collegeboard.com/prof/counselors/apply/10.html</a> </p>
<p>I mean there is one set of forms that is printed on white paper (or whatever color the counselor chooses to put in his printer) - and which is basically a no hassle procedure: the counselor prints or photocopies as many forms as he wants, and issues them to whatever students he thinks is appropriate. In our case, the counselor also gives the student school envelopes and lets the student take care of mailing them in - so no real work for the counselor beyond signing the form. From what I can tell, the financial eligibility guidelines for College Board are stricter, too. </p>
<p>My daughter did not seek a fee waiver for SAT exams, and her high school happens to be an ACT testing site, so my guess is that many students may not even take the SAT -- and I don't know whether the CB waivers would be available to ACT-takers. </p>
<p>In any case, it's news to me that there are two types of waivers, but now that I know, I would highly recommend that a student use the NACAC waiver procedure, assuming that their GC is willing. </p>
<p>Now that I think about it, I think that the reason my daughter mailed in fee waiver forms separately is that most of the college apps were submitted on line -- so obviously the paper would have to go out separately. She probably wanted to mail the fee waiver early so that the college would have it in hand by the time they received the electronic submission - without that the app wouldn't have been accepted or processed.</p>
<p>I completee college apps when a college came to my hs and offered their fees waived...Didn't need a fee waiver, but helped alot. They also had an evening at a small Penn State college that offered the same...I applied to 6 colleges and didn't have to pay one fee.</p>
<p>Alot of colleges try to get you to apply early by waiving the fees...that is an option also. Go online and get on their mailing lists.</p>