Down to a little less than a week before decisions issued, but panicking as a bad week, but should we pull financial aid request (we would only qualify for loans–which we’d only take the basic $5,500 Stafford at most–and hope for some merit aid, though not getting it won’t make us not accept an offer) at NYU? We filed FAFSA and CSS (some schools said you had to do FAFSA to attempt to get merit, etc., other complications, so we went ahead and filed FAFSA). No way will we get “financial aid” so I am worrying that it’s impacting us. I believe NYU is need blind, but still, after our experiences the last few years, starting to feel firm in my thoughts that routinely asking for add (or filing FAFSA) has a negative impact. I am thinking I should somehow tell them we don’t want to be considered. Thank you.
NYU is need-blind to most of the world, including the US. It won’t impact you negatively. It’s too late to pull out of FA anyway; they’ve already pretty much finalized decisions, including aid.
@lynjobes Financial aid is a funny concept at NYU. They ask you to borrow a ton and then call it financial aid.
@klingon97, that is not true for everyone. NYU can be very generous for highly valued applicants. NYU will indeed “gap” others.
@lynjobes, do not pull your FA request. As noted above, decisions are already made anyway, and the admissions office is “need blind.” Plus, you never know - your student might be one of those highly valued ones.
@prospect11 That’s true but is what makes NYU the subject of fierce criticism. Far better to do what Smith, Wesleyan and others do and not admit students you know cannot afford it. Columbia and Barnard, by comparison, are need blind and meet full need, with minimal loans (none at all at Columbia).
@klingon97, I respectfully disagree with you.
It is not far better, in my opinion, to deny admission to students just because a college believes they cannot afford it. I prefer to let students and their families decide whether they can afford a college. Admission should be granted to whomever has fairly earned it, not only to those who the FA office has decided can afford it. In your opinion, NYU (and other expensive colleges that cannot afford to meet full need) should blanketly refuse admission to all but the wealthy. Now THAT would be worthy of “severe criticism” in my opinion. As it is, NYU does try to meet need where it can, as has provided many students with great FA and scholarships.
Columbia and Barnard have significantly higher endowments per student than NYU. They can afford better student aid. Your indictment of NYU is unfair.
@klingon97 How can a school possibly know what really goes on in a family behind a FAFSA number?
For starters, many parents who have high EFC’s refuse to pay those numbers and their children’s only recourse is to go to schools that offer merit aid without need, or to take on student loans, which may limit their choice of schools.
And then you have families who have very low EFC’s, but might in reality be able to pay. Perhaps there is a grandparent or other relative who will step forward with education funding.
Every student should be accepted/ rejected based on their application…not their FAFSA/ CSS profile.
PS–Wesleyan is meeting full demonstrated need these days. But again, if the student’s parents cannot/ will not meet their EFC, it may still be difficult for attend. And that is the case with any school that meets full need.
@uskoolfish I understand what you are saying, but in the US we have a system where the primary responsibility for financing higher education rests with the family. We’re not in Europe, where the state assumes this responsibility.
Many universities meet “full demonstrated need” but, again, it is the university’s determination of your need that they meet, not the amount you feel, or are willing, to pay. Sadly, where families refuse to do so the only recourse a student has is to take out loans or, if these are insufficient, to look elsewhere. It really isn’t the university’s problem if a family is unwilling to assume their financial responsibility.
In the case of Smith and Wesleyan, I know that they debated for months whether to become “need aware”. They decided to do so as they felt it was immoral to accept students and then see them crushed when they discovered they could not afford it. However, at least in the case of the top tier “need aware” schools, only a small percentage of students are affected by this policy: those at the margins. We were a high need family and got in everywhere, including ‘need aware’ colleges. So it does happen.
klingon97 - no, "many" universities do not meet full demonstrated need. Very, very few do; just a small handful, really. And even at those few schools, "need" is calculated by using their own internal formulas. Of the few colleges that meet full demonstrated need, most of them will include loans in their packages and will assume a family contribution well beyond the FAFSA EFC.
The huge, vast, majority of colleges cannot and do not meet full demonstrated need. In my opinion, NYU is doing an excellent job of doing what it can with the resources it has.
I don’t think I made myself clear as OP. I regret filling out FAFSA and whatever else I may have done (sent in items to IDOC). We are mostly hoping for just a little merit scholarship for any school. Any true financial aid we’d accept would be the “minor” $5,500 Stafford loan. Other than that, we will pay for the schooling out of income and savings (and we’re risking a lot by doing that, but we’re willing to do that). We will not be taking large loans. MY MAIN POINT was that I feel I diminished my child’s prospects of certain schools, perhaps NYU, by it thinking we really need or want aid or we would not accept an offer.
@lynjobes, no need to worry about this with NYU. The admissions office will not know your child’s “need” or lack thereof…the decision will be made without regard for need.
If your child happens to be waitlisted, then I don’t know. Perhaps under those circumstances it would be useful to alert NYU that you are willing to pay full fare. I don’t know how that works at NYU, but I do know that at some colleges the wait list can be “need aware.”
@prospect1 I am so grateful for your reassuring post. I was feeling so guilty and bad that I made a mistake. I thank you for reminding me to perhaps address the issue if D is waitlisted at NYU (and she’s waitlisted at a different school, though she’d prefer NYU, so I need to address this). Again, warm thanks.