<p>The problem is that alphabetical is not doing it for some state scholarship programs. The people at FAFSA seem to be clueless about this. It must be something in the scholarships themselves. So far California and Tennessee are mentioned. I have never heard of a college discriminating about what order they are listed on the FAFSA.</p>
<p>I just summarized this thread for my family, including the mention of research that links FAFSA order and college preference. Of course, the colleges listed on our FAFSA was determined by going through the pile of viewbooks (to remember them all) which were sorted by size. I think her top choices were in the middle of the pile...!</p>
<p>PUT FIRST CHOICE FIRST is my motto . All I know is that my D put her first choice private out-of-state college first in that order on her FAFSA . Not only she got a healthy scholarship & the typical grants but all kinds of odd out-of-state students incentives regional grants from that state - plus, eclectic college aid & loans . I am hoping it stands for her renewal FAFSA as well ( -:</p>
<p>I put it in a really random order: least selective college 1st, then most selective in between..</p>
<p>First choice first is not such a good idea if a school does care, and it is not a first choice. Most schools do not care, so it pays to find out what schools have programs and scholarships where the order does make a difference. Of the those schools, you would then put, first choice first, perhaps, but even then there are other factors to consider.Would it work to file multiple FAFSAs, correcting and putting schools where order counts first on each FAFSA submission?</p>
<p>Yikes! The thought that order mattered never even crossed my mind. Our order is entirely random. In fact the first one listed is probably the least desirable to my son at this point, whereas the last would be highly desired. Hope the schools he chose do not care...</p>
<p>Order does matter, depending on your state.</p>
<p>It is best to put your most expensive school first, your first choice second, your second most expensive third, etc. </p>
<p>Specifically in California, you will not get as much money for your most expensive school if you didn't put it first.</p>
<p>What if all of the colleges are out of state? Would it matter then?</p>
<p>Yes, it would still matter.</p>
<p>For example, the some of the schools I applied to are Georgetown, Stanford, UCLA, and Berkeley.</p>
<p>Even though Georgetown is in D.C., I put it first on my application since their tutition was going to rise and I would have to travel between SoCal and D.C. Next came Stanford, because it was the next expensive, and one of my top choices, should I be accepted. Then came UCLA, my first choice public school. From what my financial aid advisor told me, funds are set up for each student and the top 3 schools you list usually can the majority of the federal funds. The allotment goes primarily to the three schools.</p>
<p>*Disclaimer: The information I'm providing solely reflects my experiences through this process this year as a senior in high school. I'm not qualified in the field to be 100% certain; however, my experience and information so far, at least in California, is that order does matter.</p>