<p>Sorry, I meant the other way around. If your EFC is 45,000 and you only expect a few thousand $$ of FA from school, then I would apply as a full fare student.</p>
<p>Please keep in mind that many schools donot look at whether a person has applied for financial aid when considering their application for admission. So, if you think there is a likelihood that Stafford Loans or Parent PLUS loans might be necessary, you can complete the FAFSA without affecting your childs chances of admission. Besides, depending on your actual EFC and the actual Cost of Attendance, your child may qualify for some need based aid</p>
<p>I think all schools look at whether a person needs FA when considering his/her application for admission, especially in today’s economic environment. It comes down to whether the admission is more important or FA.</p>
<p>Here seem to be some reasons why someone should fill out the FAFSA:
- You must have need-based aid to go to college
- Your college may require FAFSA to give MERIT aid (check w/the college, not all do)
- If you want a Stafford loan
- To insure your place in line, in case your financial status crashes in the future.
- You figure you won’t qualify for need-based aid, but don’t mind giving it a shot just in case.
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Here seem to be the reasons why someone might NOT fill out the FAFSA: - You are sure you will not qualify for need based aid, now or in the future
- Why disclose all that personal information for nothing?
- Your college does NOT require FAFSA to give merit aid.
- It <em>may</em> give you an edge in admissions.</p>
<pre><code> Have I missed any reasons, pro or con?
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<p>No, that’s about it. You will do fine in this process.</p>
<p>My sister asked me if her son should check off “applying for FA” when they make close to a million - just in case. I got a good laugh out of it.</p>
<p>Yes, oldfort, becoming first acquainted with the school funding situation as it exists today, is a rather shocking experience.</p>
<p>At our local high school, I see it over and over. When the parents of a senior first realize what college is actually going to cost them, and how little aid they can get, there is a certain wide-eyed, stunned look.</p>
<p>“My sister asked me if her son should check off “applying for FA” when they make close to a million - just in case. I got a good laugh out of it.”</p>
<p>The reaction that I got from coworkers was to get laughed at. Basically noone where I work is going to get any need-based aid outside of loans.</p>
<p>I wonder what assumptions the college makes at that point. That you’re stinking rich? Or can they look up your zip code and pretty much figure out what you make anyway?</p>
<p>Probably that you have resources to cover education costs.</p>
<p>You might have a scholarship outside the university paying your way from a company that’s sponsoring you, a contest that you won or some other organization that you’re getting funding from.</p>
<p>You might have an affluent relative that will cover your university costs but won’t otherwise transfer money to your family.</p>
<p>It basically gives them much less information to work with but you might wind up as more attractive in the current economic environment.</p>
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<p>Why? I want my son to have a financial stake in his college costs, and a Stafford loan is a good way for that to happen. College is $50K/year; we’re asking the kid to absorb 10% of the cost. I don’t think that’s a bad deal for the kid at all!</p>
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<p>I’ve seen that look before!! Also, many parents expect that Junior is going to get a full ride scholarship (or at least many scholarships) based on his grades alone. Big shock when they find out that Junior’s college doesn’t give merit money or that good grades alone is not enough or that many scholarships have a need component.</p>
<p>I was at a school function this afternoon, and I had two parents tell me how my kid was sure to get a free ride at any Ivy League college because of grades and test scores. People really believe that stuff.</p>
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<p>For someone who is making anything near a million dollars a year, this is the only reason (other than school policies) to do the FAFSA. Unsubsidized Stafford loans can be a much safer option than, say, a private loans in cases like that, and it’s better to give your kid a stake in his education this way than to do what some other parents apparently do (cut their kid off completely, refuse to fill out FAFSA, etc).</p>
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<p>Yeah. For possible readers who might not know this; most (if not all) Ivy League colleges don’t give out merit aid. The main reason for merit aid is to encourage kids to go; most people who apply and are accepted to those colleges want to go and don’t need any financial inducements. </p>
<p>And it’s not like those colleges are starving for kids with high grades and test scores…</p>
<p>This post is a year old. I doubt the OP is still debating.</p>