@lakeviking My impression is that ultra-high-income and high-resourced families do not show their financial bona fides via Fafsa. It’s usually through personal connection–knowing a trustee or having a mutual connection make an introduction to the development office or president’s office.
Thanks for the input, brantly. I’m sure the scenario you describe does happen, but I’m really curious about views that the admissions office would have about this potential hook approach. There are families that are very high income and high net worth, where full pay is blatantly obvious, but are not in the league of “building naming rights.” And in my case, my son’s schools of interest are in a half-dozen different states – no one is likely to have inroads with a trustee or connecting friend for a handful or more of schools (as opposed to maybe a particular school, or two).
Petula, I do not have a handy link. I was just googling some topics and saw some articles about “even the ‘rich’ should fill out a FAFSA”, etc. One such article was in the Wall Street Journal. Others I saw were mainly blogs by college admission consultants.
Admissions staff generally do not see FAFSA, or other financial aid documents. There would have to be crosstalk between the financial aid office and the admissions office, something that I think would probably be discouraged at most need-blind schools.
You’re not alone, I am not filling out the FAFSA either!
I think those with enough money to be ‘naming rights of buildings’ worthy have names that are already known to the universities - Trump, Romney, Walton, Buffett, Gates, Kennedy. Sure there are the ‘millionaire next door’ types, but they are usually ‘just’ millionaires, not naming rights folks. There are others like Obama who will not fill out the FAFSA but we all know their assets because they release their tax returns.
I think there are a whole lot of $200k-$1M people who do not fill out the FAFSA just to show the schools they don’t need the aid. Doesn’t suddenly give them a hook.
@twoinanddone — agree with your comment above other than to say that there are need-aware schools, and at those places, not filing for FA would be a hook, or a finger on the scale.
@lakeviking I still do not think that filling out the Fafsa to demonstrate high net worth is a “hook.” If you are full pay, you just don’t tick the box that says you are applying for FA. They don’t have to know whether you are an ultra-high-net-worth individual or if grandma left enough to fund college. Full pay is full pay.
If you want to signal that you can provide social or financial resources, there are other tells. Your zip code. Your and your spouse’s professions (partner at Goldman Sachs, law partner at Davis Polk, owner of a hedge fund, etc.). Name-brand private schools or boarding schools. Experiences, alluded to in essays, that are only available to the rich.
@brantly Speaking of tells of wealth, I fear we don’t have many. Our zip code is unimpressive, my wife is a nurse practitioner, and I am a SAHD. Our kids at least go to a private school, one we hope adcoms have heard of. It’s grandpa’s money we can use for full-pay. And so I still wonder if doing a FAFSA is a good way to let adcoms know we aren’t just rubes who don’t know what full-pay is, that we can do it…
I am going to do the FAFSA. I promised myself would start it 2 days ago, but I was reading a good book, and fooling around with CC, and there were some good TV shows (Westworld!) But I will do it this weekend. Jumping back into earlier in the thread about privacy and SSNs, I am not worried a bit about that. What’s out there, is already out there.
My son’s in his 4th year in college and we only filled out the FAFSA (and profile) when he was applying to colleges. He’s full pay at his college and we haven’t done the FAFSA since. His college has numerous scholarships, but all that we’ve been aware of have a need component. However, my daughter is transferring from a CC and the college she’s applying to offers a guaranteed merit scholarship to transfer students based upon GPA, and they require the FAFSA. She qualifies for that so we filled out the FAFSA and sent it off yesterday. She did indicate on her application that she was not applying for need based aid. Our FAFSA EFC is 89K (primarily based upon assets not income) and the college NPC indicates full pay (which we knew it would before we put in the numbers). If the merit scholarship wasn’t guaranteed we wouldn’t bother filling out the FAFSA.
Never assume your kid’s ss# is “out there.” Medical providers of all kinds ask for it because they 1) want to run their index system off of it (and they are lazy) and 2) want it for possible debt collection should your insurance (or you) fail to pay the full bill. Some states have consumer protection laws that allow you to refuse to provide the ss# to medical offices. We never give this out unless absolutely necessary. Nor should you give it to your elementary school district. Ours wanted it but we refused. They assigned a new identification number.
Had to fill out FAFSA to receive state based lottery scholarship which was guaranteed for a certain GPA and ACT/SAT score. Otherwise, would not have filled out FAFSA (and revealed ss#).
Medical systems can’t use your SSN as an id or patient number or anything else. It is against federal law. They can use it for collections. They CANNOT require you to give it to them, but they can require you to pay in full at the time of service (no credit) if you don’t.
Your university can’t require it either unless you are applying for loans.
Our state lottery money scholarships used to require a FAFSA be filed, but that ended about 5 years ago and you no longer have to fill it out OR give your SSN.
@twoinanddone – “Your university can’t require it either unless you are applying for loans.”
I only have one in college presently so do not know if this is universal, but his school required him to provide his SSN toward the end of the first semester freshman year. The school issues a 1099 each year which shows the amount of tuition paid.
No FA, no loans, never applied for FA, but once enrolled, they needed the SSN.
If the schools can require a SSN, what do they do with students who don’t have them?
If you don’t provide a SSN, they won’t issue a 1099-t. If you don’t provide it, they will not expel you.