<p>Sometimes you don’t find out that you need FAFSA filed until it comes to actual getting the funds for a scholarship. There are many different reasons why the school wants that FAFSA on file. Sometimes it is due to the clearinghouse function of FAFSA. Sometimes, it is to keep an eye on need in awarding certain scholarships, giving a nod to those who have more need than others.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>I agree.</p>
<p>On one hand, a school may want to see if the student qualifies for state and fed grants, and also a school may want to award merit to a student with high need so that it can better its “need met” percentage.</p>
<p>On the other, there have been kids without any need that get awarded merit after submitting FAFSA. </p>
<p>However…I noticed this…</p>
<p>When looking at FA packages for UCLA for various students, some didn’t have high stats at all, yet they had high need and their FA packages included a few thou in “merit scholarships” in addition to UC grants, Cal Grants, etc. It seemed to me that UCLA is using merit to help meet need. These weren’t Regents…they were just small merit scholarships that seemed to have been thrown in to help meet need with really little regard for high stats.</p>
<p>DD1 had to fill out FAFSA for the Paschal scholarship at Denison. I know I’ve posted this before.</p>
<p>D2 received a merit-based scholarship which covers tuition, fees, room and board. One requirement for renewal is that we fill out the FAFSA every year. We will certainly do so!</p>
<p>Many if not most of the most selective schools that now give no merit money still have awards labeled as scholarships. The reason for this is that some of those monies are endowed in the past, may still be funded by foundations currently and are now given out only to those students who show need, but the colleges in deference to the objective of these awards try to award them to those most deserving of them who also have need. </p>
<p>At schools where all the need is met by grants, it’s pretty much a moot point, but at schools where loans and work study can make up the packages, it is certainly wonderful to qualify for one of these scholarships since they are pure money. Those schools that meet some of the need with self help, do preferential packaging where the top kids in the financial aid pool will get the best packages with these grants. </p>
<p>Some of merit awards may have specific financial need language in them that the donor included, and in such cases a FAFSA or some other financial aid app is needed. Need might comprise, say, 10% of the factors used to determine scholarship assignment. A family with a $55K EFC is certainly going to have more need than one who has the $9999999 on the FAFSA even though neither will qualify for need base aid at a school where the COA is less than $55K. Most of us do not find it easy to meet EFC unless that figure is way higher than the COA. Also some awards may be clumped with others where a certain need component has to be met but only in total, sort of like the average SAT score or gpa needed for a team. </p>
<p>I was on a committee for a music scholarship that the donors very specifically wanted all areas of need, academic achievement and musical achievement addressed. So the kid getting the award usually was not the neediest, best student or best musician, which led to a lot of complaints and unhappiness each year when the winner was announced. We had to rate each applicant in each area, using the SAR, gpa/SAT, and music evaluation from a committee. All categories were done on a 1-10 scale, and the highest number would win. We usually got more than a dozen kids getting the same number and had to go into a frigging matrix to give the award. No other issues were supposed to be taken into account from the way the endowment was set, but it was open season on how to evaluate the three categories. We had a very well to do, yes, rich kid win the award one year. His wealthy dad was non custodial and did not show up on the criteria we had set up for the financial rating.</p>
<p>University of Maine requires FAFSA completion in order to be considered for merit awards.</p>
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<p>I’m usually only a lurker, but I signed up for a CC account just to help clear this one up.</p>
<p>D1 received merit award from Fordham U. They required that we file FAFSA after the fact. We wouldn’t have done so otherwise and didn’t send it to any other Colleges. Ultimately, she has enrolled elsewhere.</p>