Correct, not altruistic. Schools want the best students they can afford, and schools with huge endowments can easily afford to be truly need-blind in order to get some of those “best” (by their definitions) non-wealthy students. Schools with more modest endowments can be truly need-blind until the aid budget is depleted, to get those students.
So, Sportmom, do ask for aid at every school. Also note that need-blind doesn’t help if the school doesn’t meet full need (NYU for example). And run the Net Price Caluculator for each school to see if there’s a good chance you can afford it.
I would apply for need everywhere. If you need a lot of aid the digging ditches scenario really isn’t going to work. There’s only so much you can borrow. If you don’t need much aid it won’t hurt you much with fully need aware schools, not at all at need blind schools, and possibly not at all at partially need aware schools (e.g. Bates, mentioned in #16.) At the latter category of schools most of the class is composed need blind, and it’s only when the FA budget is almost maxed out that admissions takes into account the ability to pay. At this point it’s the applicants who requires full funding who are at a distinct disadvantage, while full pay students are at an advantage and those with little need are probably in a neutral position.
The 2 colleges that are “high caliber” …their website self-describe as “need away.” That is why I was asking this question.
Any further advice is definitely appreciated as my kid is about to hit “send.”
Thank you!
At need aware schools, at some level, your ability to pay is considered. But sometimes this is not for the whole admissions cycle. Some schools only become need aware later in their admissions cycle.
Does this college meet full need for all accepted students?
Honestly, if you need aid, apply for aid. Even at need aware colleges, there are kids who apply for need based aid, and get accepted every year.
You say you would qualify for some level of aid. What does this mean? Have you run the net price calculators to see your possible net costs. And aid.
I agree.
You don’t have to tell us, but how much more than what you budgeted would these two reach schools cost? Would you be taking out loans, borrowing from retirement loans, home equity or your home? Think twice about this extra debt.
Personally I would say…apply for the aid.
ETA…if the school is need aware, and you kiddo doesn’t apply for aid, then expect to be full pay at those colleges. Your kid will have been excepted with the idea that you didn’t want aid for this academic year. She will be able to submit the FAFSA to get the federally funded Direct Loan…but that’s it for this year…if she doesn’t apply before the deadlines pass.
I’ve said I would scrub floors to pay for my kids to have health insurance…but with so many college options…I would not have done so if college had not been affordable for us.
If you would “absolutely qualify” for FA of “some sort,” then apply. An unaffordable acceptance, or one that requires taking on a second job…is not exactly desirable for 4+ years. At a minimum, what if you get tired and can’t keep it up? Are you prepared to do this for all of your kids?
I think you are making this more complicated than it needs to be. Apply for FA. Once all of the acceptances roll in, decide which schools are affordable and realistic, and choose one. If your daughter attends a school that is ranked a little lower than the schools that you consider to be “high caliber”…will it matter? This happens all the time, as many people have to consider finances.
Can you afford to send all of your kids to “high caliber” schools that are need aware…as a full pay family not asking for FA? You may be heading down a slippery slope.
OP- I hear you on the ditch digging, getting family to help, etc.
Reality somehow never works out that way. You get a back injury, one of you gets laid off from your job, a nephew discovers he needs a bone marrow transplant and ALL the grandparent and extended family resources get directed to helping the non-covered medical expenses. Or somehow has a preemie- and again, tens of thousands of family dollars just get side tracked to helping the overwhelmed parents.
If you need aid- apply. There is no worse feeling then telling your kid in June after freshman year that you can’t afford to send her back for sophomore year. I know people who have done this- summer of 2009 for example. They had found quarters in the sofa cushions and done the moonlighting gigs and sold grandmama’s Picasso lithograph and come up with the cash for Freshman year. And then- tapped out. Kids end up scrambling for a spot in the local, non-flagship state college, switching the major from econ to finance, or biochem to accounting, or urban planning to early childhood ed. Why? Because that’s what was available.
Don’t do this to your kid. Having financial constraints is not a crime. You are not a bad parent.
Most people feel it’s a struggle just being able to make the expected contribution as it’s typically a pretty high percent of income. Don’t willingly take on more than that just to get in a certain school. It’s not worth it.
I respectfully disagree. It doesn’t matter to an applicant if a school is need blind or need aware. What matters is that you like a school, it’s a good match, and the Net Price Calculator suggests it’s affordable; a school’s meeting full need can be critical. A school’s being need blind or need aware can affect the chance of admittance, and then usually only for applicants on the cusp, after the financial aid budget is depleted.
Schools don’t need to be looking up the addres on Zillow or researching the area you live in for SES. If they want to be need aware, all they have to do is say “hey, we’re need aware - tell us how much your house is worth.” Most schools that give a good deal of need based aid use the CSS and can ask and consider anything they want. They aren’t digging through records on the internet.
Quoting the part of my post that you disagree with, and not providing any context, is not helpful in this case. Here’s the qualifying language that you left out:
OP was wondering if her child should not apply for financial aid at some “high caliber” schools, fearing that applying for aid might hurt the chance of acceptances. OP further stated that if applying for aid might be a negative, they would not apply for aid and make the financials work somehow. This was the approach that I was referring to. Given this approach, knowing whether or not a school is need blind or need aware is essential. I’m not saying I agree with the approach, but if this is the approach that OP insists on using, the school’s policy must be determined. Otherwise, the student risks not applying for financial aid that may be needed at a school that is need blind.
Apply for the aid. It’s magical thinking to believe you will somehow “come up” with the money for four years of a college you can’t afford. What’s the college, by the way? I will say this: If it’s not need-blind, it’s likely not a college that’s sooo elite that it would make a big difference for her future compared with the others she applied to.