So my parents refuse to fill out the CSS for “privacy reasons” (more likely that they just do not want me to apply to many colleges because they think it will cost too much - a guarantee with no FA). They make too much to qualify for need-based aid, but I need FA for loans and I need merit aid. So at schools like U of Miami and Fordham where you have to complete the CSS to qualify for merit aid (Which I would get) what do I do? They will complete FAFSA so I can get loans. What are schools that do not require CSS for merit/FA?
And you are currently taking a gap year, right?
If your parents don’t complete the required firms, you can’t get aid from those schools.
How much WILL your parents pay annually for you to attend college? Even with the largest merit aid offered, U of Miami and Fordham could very well cost more than your flagship, UT-Austin.
You won’t get additional loans by completing the Profile. Did you think you would?
What has the conversation been about college funding in your household?
ETA…does your dad realize you will need to link to the IRS data retrieval tool when he completes your FAFSA? There is a plentiful amount of information already on the FAFSA (income and all assets), and his taxes. The only additions I can think of would be the value of your primary residence…which is a matter of public record. They also ask for the value of retirement accounts.
If he isn’t prepared to answer the questions, IS he prepared to pay a certain amount per year for your schooling?
@thumper1 Yes right, and I am guessing ~35k. Slightly more than UT for a better school. The main reason I want the CSS completed is so I can apply to those two schools and get merit aid, as well as others that require it for merit. I assume that for top 30 schools it won’t matter whether he completes it or not because I wouldn’t get merit anyway, and it doesn’t give loans. I think he realizes how stupid it is, he just thinks this is the last ounce of power he has over me and applications.
Well, eliminate the top schools that won’t give merit because he won’t pay for them anyway.
You need to ask him how much he will pay.
With an ACT 31, I don’t think you’d get enough from Fordham or Miami to bring costs down to $35k. An ACT 31 isn’t high for those schools.
(since when has Fordham required FA forms for scholarships? Both of my kids got merit from Fordham and we never even filled out FAFSA.
Well then…your budget is $35,000 plus the $5500 Direct Loan you can take. That means you can look at colleges that are $40,000 in cost per year. You are very fortunate.
So…just eliminate schools where the cost would be higher, or where the Profile is required for merit. You will have LOTS of options.
@mom2collegekids I am retaking ACT in Dec and will get a 33 superscore at least (hardly studied for 31). That is reassuring, so basically if I don’t have CSS I can still get merit aid, even though they require it for other forms? Hopefully this goes for other schools as well.
@thumper1 I can get co-sign loans as well I thought? I plan to work, take loans, get outside + inside scholarships (I hope). I am applying to 20+ schools, and I am including schools where the cost would be lower, but my parents change their mindset weekly, so I cannot count on that. I will just have to assess my options in March. Too unpredictable…
And if I get into a top school that number may be higher, it is just a rough estimate. Obviously the prestige of the school changes that number quite a bit.
Can you count on your parents consigning loans for ALL FOUR undergrad years? They will have to do so for anything above the Direct loan amount.
Are you sure your schools will count an ACT score taken after your HS graduation? You need to check that. Usually schools look at these scores taken during HS.
@thumper1 A lot of the finances depend on prestige of school. But yes, I assume so if I get into a top 30. 31 was during HS, but Duke does, so I assume most will. Not much info on that though…
I doubt you will get sufficient merit aid at Duke to make it affordable…with an ACT of 31.
I hope you have some sure thing colleges on your list. Ones where your current stats will give you fairly assured acceptance, and which are affordable, and which you will be happy to attend if accepted.
I’m not wishing to sound discouraging…but these are THE most important colleges on your application list…the sure things.
It sounds like you are applying to a lot of reach schools.
@thumper1 Not applying to Duke, just was an example of ACT. I have a few sure thing colleges, but haven’t really found many like that that actually fulfill those requirements… I am applying to a lot of reach schools, which should increase my acceptance probability. WUSTL ED and Emory ED II
OP, I thought that you had already applied ED to WUSTL? Your parents and your your high school counselor had to sign off on it. If you are on a gap year, maybe you don’t need to have the counselor sign off. My point is that your parents should have understood the ED contract more thoroughly and should not be putting up barriers to completing the CSS now.
If you need merit without divulging your parents income and assets, you need to go into lower tier schools where your stats put you in the 75th or above percentile.
I’ll give you my S’s results for this- SAT of 2240 with 800 CR 700 M 740 WR got him full tuition and housing at Loyola Univ in NOLA. We did not disclose any financial stats to them. He ended up somewhere else but it would have been a great choice. So you need to find schools that would consider you a top student.
Good luck.
Are your parents pushing you to apply to a specific college, or trying to limit you to a specific geographic area? Are there colleges that they approve of and would be willing to pay more per year for you to attend?
But also, can you really rely on them to come through for the full 4 years of tuition, or are they so wishy-washy that you could get stuck at one of their choices of college without the means to continue there?
Where are the funds coming from to apply to 20 colleges? I would suggest you look more realistically at your list and pare it down to schools that offer automatic merit aid for specific stats. You may get more cooperation from parents by including some of their choices in your application list in addition to your own.
What is your career goal? Are your parents supporting your career choice? Are your parents supportive of you in general, and if so, why do you think they are hampering your ability to apply to college?
@goingnutsmom He completed the WUSTL alternative to the CSS, and has until Jan to complete the CSS for Emory. I am looking for schools like that now actually, so far found U of Alabama and UH-Manoa. The full ride ones are culturally not there for me…
If your parents won’t commit to paying a specific amount for all 4 years and are using paying for college as a way to exert their “power,” then it would be prudent for you to find a college where costs can be covered by merit aid, the federal student loan, and work earnings. The best aid goes to freshmen (transfer students generally get very little), so once you enroll in a school those generous merit offers will no longer be available to you. If that college is one that you can only afford if your parents write a $35k check, then this year’s forms and tuition money aren’t the “last ounce of power” he has over you. You have 4 more years of it.
If you apply to 10 reach schools at which your chances of being accepted are small…applying to 20 won’t increase your chances at those schools. Sorry.
If a lot of the schools on your list have acceptance rates of 10% or so…simply applying to more of them is not going to increase your chance of acceptance.
WUSTL doesn’t give very much merit aid…neither does Emory. Their aid is primarily need based aid.
Will your parents pay the full cost of attending these schools? If not why apply?
@powercropper They want UT out of convenience and price, yet UT is FAR from a match for me in SO many categories. It would ruin my plans for Law school, and would destroy my ability to get a CS degree (Not to mention they may not even accept me into that major). They would probably pay more for top 30 than others.
I am paying for apps for so many colleges with my own money partly. Still looking for colleges where I would get merit aid.
My career goal is to get a CS degree (Passionate, lots of natural talent) and a Law degree (Which is why I need to make the correct undergrad choice, if I don’t I could ruin my ability to go to Law school due to a crap GPA, already scored 90th percentile on LSAT with no studying.)
Are you saying UT is BENEATH you, or that UT is too much of a REACH for you, and you couldn’t keep a good GPA there? Just trying to understand, since I have no knowledge of UT.
@thumper1 At the time I applied they were more willing to contribute, but they change their mindset weekly. I am not applying to schools like HYPSM, and none have lower than even 15% acceptance rate. We are talking NYU, Vandy, Emory, WUSTL, Rice, Case, etc. Once I get my acceptances only then I will truly know what they will contribute.