<p>Fordham is in the mix for my nephew, but for some reason they seem to need FAFSA to decide merit $$. They are the only college in the mix requiring FAFSA for merit $ award to be issued. Why is this? Family is reluctant to provide FAFSA as they know they will not qualify for need based aid. Nephew would like to see what his package would be. Conflict is arising in the family because dad is very uncomfortable providing FAFSA info to this school. Advice please?</p>
<p>Reasonable request. Yes, Fordham does ask for FAFSA for all kids who accept their offer of admission and merit scholarship. I think they do it largely for statistical information and internal usage. If you dont’ qualify for need based aid, then it will be filed away and nothing happens and that is the end of it for four years. If he does qualify for aid…and sometimes they increase the amount of the scholarship (its happened), you get more money. You wont go down in scholarship value, that is for certain. (even if the income is very high). I understand the feelings…one’s income is very private. </p>
<p>If I were him I would call and ask financial aid if there is any way to waive that request. Not saying its going to be the answer you want to hear, but perhaps a better explanation. </p>
<p>If you are not going to accept the offer at Fordham and go elsewhere, then simply ignore it and decline the offer.</p>
<p>Its not a personal matter aimed at you or the father or anyone…its a school policy for everyone accepting an offer of admission with a merit scholarship. </p>
<p>Its not aimed at hurting anyone and they safeguard tens of thousands of FAFSA filings every year. Only need based aid requires a FAFSA all four years. Merit aid is “one and done.” </p>
<p>Hope that helps. If he got a merit scholarship, he is very desirable to Fordham and they clearly want him. I recommend the school very highly. Hopefully this can be worked out.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>Thank you Sovereign, nicely reasoned and helpful response. Didn’t know the one and done part. Still feels invasive…will be interesting to see what they do. He has some other very nice options.</p>
<p>Hugcheck - We were in a similar position where my S was awarded a merit scholarship, but they required we filed a FAFSA by a certain deadline before they would give it to him. We would not qualify for need-based financial aid. We asked if they would waive the FAFSA if we would wave our interest in need-based aid but they would not do that (we asked 4 years ago when our son was first accepted). But the difference is that we found out his award before the FAFSA had to be submitted. Maybe if you can call you can get an idea of what the award would be to determine if it is worth your time to fill out FAFSA. We had to re-file the FAFSA each of his four years (he is currently a senior so our experience is current) in order for him to keep the merit scholarship. It is a pain the first time around, but after that it is pretty smooth. Certainly our time doing the form was worth the merit aid he received – especially since Fordham was my S’s first choice! I think that sovreigndebt’s reason for Fordham wanting the FAFSA makes as much sense as anything. If Fordham is the school he wants, then I suggest it is worth doing the FAFSA, but of course it is ultimately your choice.</p>
<p>happy:</p>
<p>really? They made you file FAFSA each year? I was mistaken on the one and done then…sorry about that. I had misinformation from someone else (friend of my D.) We didnt get merit aid (it was razor close!). But we filed FAFSA and got grant money instead.</p>
<p>Hugcheck: Sorry about that misinformation. I was apparently misinformed. Just the same, it is what it is…and its a school wide policy. Information is kept secure. Your scholarship is not affected by your income however. Perhaps they are doing statistical data on how many come from families in need and how many come from families with high income levels. Fordham also tries hard to admit Pell Grant kids if they can qualify…and thus they have a mission to serve everyone in social strata, not just one level. There are a good number of high income kids at Fordham, due in part to Manhattan salaries and WallStreet. But there are also a lot of kids on financial aid and Fordham endeavors to be fair. But yes, its one of their quirks. </p>
<p>In the end, you have to compare your offers and compare the quality of institution and the opportunity factor for the student. They hate to lose any scholarship kids, but they also understand that is reality in this age. I just hope we don’t lose your nephew due to this one issue. Its a wonderful school and well worth the trouble of filling out a FAFSA. </p>
<p>PM me if you want.</p>
<p>^^^yes, we have to file every year or they won’t apply the merit aid to his tuition bill. It was the only school that asked for a FAFSA for merit aid. But our S’s experience at Fordham is so wonderful that at this point it is it just one minor inconvenience that isn’t such a big deal in the larger scheme of things.</p>
<p>One final point. I suppose for those with very high income, if they dont want to file the FAFSA but still like Fordham, they can always decline the scholarship but accept the offer of admission and pay full monte. I am also aware there are payment plans at Fordham where you can hedge against inflation, a good choice since tuition is still rising at an alarming rate. For example, for those with the available funds, they can write a check for all four years and be done with it, locking in the tuition rate for next year. Or still others can pay by semester or quarterly or even monthly. </p>
<p>Its a sad reality that the cost of a higher education is rising so rapidly across the nation.</p>
<p>Alot of good info. Do you know if the CSS Profile is needed every year?</p>
<p>I think we did file the CSS every year with our FAFSA, along with W-2s and tax forms. But that was for financial aid (grants and loans), and not scholarships.</p>
<p>I was told by financial aid the other day that the CSS is only needed freshman year.</p>
<p>The FAFSA is a very short form to fill out, especially if you’ve already done your taxes for 2011. I’d advise filling it out if you really need the merit aid. The PROFILE form, on the other hand, is very time-consuming b/c they look at more years of income and at more sources of income and assets. On the other hand, if merely filling out the FAFSA is too much effort for you to justify getting the merit aid, why not leave the aid for kids who really can’t afford to attend the college without it?</p>
<p>“On the other hand, if merely filling out the FAFSA is too much effort for you to justify getting the merit aid, why not leave the aid for kids who really can’t afford to attend the college without it?”</p>
<p>I don’t know if that is the point. Filling out the FAFSA, though not so difficult, is personal and invasive…and seems unnecessary if you aren’t requesting need based aid. It’s really none of their business how much money you make or have if you are only hoping your kid gets purely merit based aid. Makes you wonder if they are filing it so they know how hard to hit the parents up for donations. And as far as leaving the aid for kids who can’t afford college without it? Guess who is getting the vast bulk of the money, all over the college spectrum? Not the kids with pure merit and less financial needs. And very few people are wealthy enough that they would throw away or not appreciate merit aid.</p>
<p>^^^As I mentioned earlier, we are in a similar position where we were not eligible for need based aid but had to fill out the FAFSA to get my S’s merit aid (and for us as well, Fordham was the only school that asked for this). Just so you know, we have not been pushed to donate to Fordham other than a typical annual letter or call. We were offered a Stafford loan which we did not accept. I think it is just part of the school’s process – I can’t tell with anything other than speculation or guesses why it is the case. Every school has its own quirks and this is one of Fordham’s. It is up to you and your family to determine if the process of filling out the FAFSA and considering Fordham with the offer of merit aid is worth it to you or not. My S really wanted to go to Fordham so it was certainly worth it to us, but the college process is personal and no one answer is right for everyone. Whatever you decide, I wish you the best.</p>