The fafsa form asks the student to rank the colleges to which he wants to apply. This ranking does not affect the amount of aid given by fafsa but this ranking is considered when it comes to aid given by state. What rationale should a student use to rank the colleges?
There are some states that ask that you rank their state first. @sybbie719 is this still the case for NY? Or @kelsmom
Also, to the OP…I think this doesn’t belong in the Parent Cafe, but would better be addressed in either the Parent Forum, or Financial Aid and Scholarships. Would you like it moved?
Moved to FA
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No college sees any other colleges on your FAFSA, nor do they know where they were ranked on the form. The only reasons the ranking makes a difference is for students whose state scholarships/grants office wants the state listed first (I don’t know which states have that requirement, though) … and some states will schedule state grants/scholarships for the #1 ranked school. If your state does this, their website will have instructions explaining how to change the school once you finalize your decision.
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If you are applying for NYS aid, you should list any NYS school first on the FAFSA.
NYS uses the FAFSA information for NYS Tap (Tuition Aid Program). You can always go to HESC and change your NYS school choice once you decide where you want to attend.
For state financial aid, check if your state wants a college in the state listed first.
Some years ago, colleges saw the list of colleges, and some used it to guess at the applicant’s ranking of colleges when considering “level of interest”. However, the list of colleges was removed from what colleges see, so that no longer applies. Was this what you were concerned about?