Our family situation is complicated (divorced parents), but all EFC calculators indicate there is no way we will see any need based aid. However our student is a high achiever [NMSF, 800R/800W/690M, 4.35/3.9 W/U GPA, most rigorous schedule, top 10% of class, 3APs- all 5s + 4 APs in senior year, decent ECs- music related] and it would be super if she was awarded some merit aid at her less-reachy schools.
So… is there any reason to bother filling out all the financial aid forms?
Depends on the school. Many want students to submit FAFSA and CSS in order to be considered for merit.
We did not fill out the FAFSA nor did we check the applying for financial aid box. The colleges we expected to give merit aid based on their net price calculators, still gave merit. And in two cases, more than expected. Of course, this is an N of 1.
Thanks for the response. That’s kind of what I thought, though I’m a little puzzled about why-- any clue how they use this information?
The family situation is ‘complicated’, and I was really hopeful to avoid needing his cooperation with this right now…
Thanks BearHouse- that was helpful too!
When I asked directly, the answer I received was merit aid was independent of need. Merit was essentially awarded by the admission committee and, when my D1 received her admission letters, they included her merit award. I have a suspicion that her merit offer at two of the colleges was higher because she was not applying for any other financial aid. The colleges that offered aid were LACs in the US News 40-90 range who are known for providing merit aid. The higher ranked colleges that admitted her did not provide merit aid (and we were not surprised by that) as she was no longer in the top 25% student profile.
I didn’t want to complete the FAFSA because of a complicated financial picture and I knew we wouldn’t qualify for need
aid any way. The net price calculators really tell you what you need to know as long as the information you put in is accurate.
I am sure that all colleges do this differently. But it isn’t too difficult to figure out how any particular college she is interested in might handle this situation. Sometimes the website will let you know. Otherwise, I asked the colleges “do we need to apply for financial aid in order to be eligible for merit aid?” They all said “no.”
There are debates on CC as to whether this offers an admission boost. I have no idea.
A few merit school required FA forms be submitted for merit aid. I vaguely recall: UMich, WUSTL, Carnegie Mellon – you should double check.
It seemed like a cynical ploy to cut the merit aid award based on family income. We crossed those schools off the list.
IMO it is to make sure students who are Pell eligible get their $. I had to fill out the forms for merit aid for my D but only for the first year.
We’re required to complete financial aid forms in order for D to receive her merit scholarship. The reasoning is, if the student DID qualify for anything like a Pell grant, the school wants to get that money, which would then be deducted from the total scholarship amount. It’s a pain, but then again the ROI on filling out the forms is incredible. (Note - we weren’t required to provide this until after the merit award was made)
Apply for aid anyway. Some schools require initial submission for subsequent years or semesters of aid. You never know what could happen – better safe than sorry.
If the ex isn’t the custodial parent, his information isn’t used on FAFSA (Profile is a different story, depending on the school).
You also need to file FAFSA to take out federal student loans.
A citizen or permanent resident student can also file FAFSA even if parents are non citizens as far as I know, although then the signature has to be mailed in, not online, I believe.
Colleges will tell you on their web site if you need to apply for aid to be considered for merit.
Marquette Required FA forms be filled out for merit when S applied there in 2011. We knew we were not going to get need based aid, but they required it for merit.
I have been sending emails to the colleges and universities in question to get confirmation in writing about the need for financial aid forms for merit consideration, unless it’s obvious from the website. Never hurts to cover your bases.
We did not do it, and didn’t need to in order for our son to be eligible for and receive Bright Futures here in Florida.
Even if it is not required, make sure the school knows you are not going to file the forms. My daughter’s school was waiting to process the merit and outside aid (like bright futures) so they could do it all at once. Just let them know you aren’t filing FAFSA.
My daughter takes out Federal student loans so we knew we had to fill out FAFSA. However, we were shocked to learn that to receive her guaranteed merit aid for her sophomore year, we were also required to fill out the school’s financial aid form. I thought that was a little much, but did it anyway. I would recommend making sure what the rules are for each specific school. And, as someone mentioned above, I’ve heard that some schools won’t let you apply for financial aid if you don’t file the first year. Don’t know if that’s true, and it makes no sense to me, but why risk it if you might need it someday?