speaking of financial aid...

<p>i was also concerned about whether or not checking the "i will apply for financial aid" box can affect admissions. since i'm not sure if i can qualify for need-based financial aid even if i apply (and fafsa isn't online yet), i was wondering if anyone knows about how high the maximum-income cutoff is for a student with no siblings to qualify for need-based financial aid. thanks!</p>

<p>It depends on a lot of other factors......</p>

<p>I got a LOT of aid (2/3) and I earn between $100 and $150k. There is a sibling. I detailed other expenses. As part of the package, my son received a substantial award for being a Named Scholar, for which he had to meet certain academic and leadership criteria. Perhaps those things help boost the award...I don't know. I think they look at factors other than income...like savings, home equity, stocks, etc. And, of course, necessary expenses are part of it. In my case, the sibling's expenses are high...so there's a big part of it.</p>

<p>Hi double,</p>

<p>congrats on being accepted to MIT. I saw from their posting that you stated that you did not apply for FA. Do you think that the school will let you apply for it now. Since you admission is non-binding, I guess you want to see where you will fit in financially. You need to file the FAFSA even if you think that you will need loans. You should also check the financial aid policies at each school as schools have different measurements fro applying FA . Schools which are heavily endowed may have a little leway where even families making 100,000 can still recieve aid. You should also look at schools that offer merit money which may not be tied into how much money your family has.</p>

<p>While the FAFSA is pretty straight forward and only looks at your income the CSS profile looks at how the money is being allocated. </p>

<p>Schools also take into consideration the age of your parents and protects some of the income for retirement.</p>

<p>for example</p>

<p>MIT states:</p>

<p>They apply a formula that has two assessments: one made against total discretionary income and one against total assets, including home equity. The parent's contribution reflects the amount that we have determined that the family is able to contribute.</p>