Will not submitting my financial aid files hurt my chances of admission?

Paying for College
1

If I selected that I want to pursue need-based financial aid but don’t get my financial aid files in time, will that hurt my chances of getting accepted into the school?

Or even worse, would not getting in my financial aid files render my application incomplete?

2

no, but if you aren’t going to apply for FA be sure to let the school know. Sometimes they wait until receiving the FAFSA until processing any merit aid too.

3

Your application for admission will not be affected by late financial aid application forms.

BUT…

  1. If your aid application forms are late, and you need aid, you likely won’t get it in time to make a matriculation decision.
  2. At most schools, if your financial aid application forms are late, you will be last in line to get aid...if they even consider you for it at all.
  3. At need aware schools, it will be assumed that you intend to be a full pay student.

If you need aid…get your aid applications done…on time.

4

Every school works in different ways, so to give a blanket answer to this question is not going to be accurate for every school. For some schools, demonstrated interest, and level of financial need are factors and admissions/financial aid are the same or in synch. It’s rare but there are such schools.

Most schools do not care if you have need or if you applied for financial aid but , who knows what stopblocks they have in their process if you haven’t sent certain documention? Say, you are accepted, but acceptances funnel through financial aid office to make sure aid packages are released in lock step with the acceptance letter? And fin aid can’t do anything because you havent sent in your info?

So, yes, it is possible that you impede, delay, complicate the process when you don’t send in documents. It’s also possible that a school just forges on, ignoring that part of the process.