FAFSA says we can pay $90K; should we have applied for FA?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We insisted DD apply only to state colleges and to private colleges that offer Merit Aid. Her stats are 1480 and 3.8 unweighted gpa at respected public high school.

She was accepted at all the state schools she applied to with merit aid. She was accepted at all the privates, but only two gave her merit aid, and not enough to match the cost of the public colleges.

Now, I'm scratching my head and wondering if I should have filled out the CSS and applied for FA at the private schools. FAFSA said we could pay $90K, so I gave up at that point, didn't file the CSS or apply for FA. What was the point?

Did I make a mistake? Does anyone know?

I thought Merit Aid was based on Merit! Now I'm wondering if relative wealth is factored into the equation? Can anyone answer this?

Is there any point in applying for FA and "appealing" our merit aid awards at the privates?

I only mention this because DD is HEARTBROKEN that she didn't get enough Merit Aid from the private colleges. I want to make sure I didn't do something wrong here.

I don't understand this. Is it because you have set a limit to the amount of money you are willing to fund? (which is a perfectly acceptable reason)

[Anonymous]

20:22 here. You must look at each school individually. Some "full need" schools do not have any merit scholarships.

[Anonymous]

Maybe you made a mistake. Maybe not.

First, most of the very top schools offer little or no merit aid. Are you very sure the privates your DD applied to offer merit aid? And to what share of students? A school like Duke, eg, offers merit aid to just a handful. (The reason merit aid goes to so many B students (as noted above) is that the top schools don't offer any, so these top students aren't getting any.)

Second, merit aid isn't only about yield management-- it is about attracting better students. Second tier colleges are offering merit aid to their better applicants. Are your DD's stats in the top 25th percentile (or better) of the schools' accepted students? If not, she is highly unlikely to be offered merit aid.

Third, many schools do require you to submit the FAFSA for merit aid. I don't think it's only because they want to make sure you don't qualify for federal funds. I think it's also because they are using merit aid to manage yield, and they know that offers of merit aid will be more enticing to some families than to others. My guess is that a student from a family with HHI of $200k might be more likely to get merit aid than one from a family with HHI of $300k, all else equal. And they might be more likely to offer it to students they think might actually go there. So if the student's stats are TOO high, or if the student hasn't demonstrated any real interest, they might not bother offering merit aid because they don't think the kid is going to come anyway.

IF your DD really wants to go to one of the privates, she gas nothing to lose by calling and asking for more aid. But recognize that the above points will influence the likelihood of her getting any.

Recognize, too, that with an EFC that high, most people wil think you can afford to send her to any of these colleges, aid or no, so sympathy for your DD might not be too great.

[Anonymous]

I thought that applying for financial aid at a need aware school when you already know you won't qualify drops your chance of acceptance.
I didn't apply for aid an DC still got nice offers from a few schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We had a very similar situation. 3.8+ and 34 ACT. Filled out FAFSA and sent it to colleges despite EFC of $99,000 and stating not applying for financial aid. Plenty of merit aid offers from private schools, but if you are looking to get the pricing equivalent to state schools you are likely to be unhappy. Here is why they would give you (and us) "merit aid"--you are willing to pay actual cash dollars for the remainder of the bill. And if you pull up the college's common data set you will find that the average merit aid recipient still pays more than the average net revenue at the school.

I can guarantee at FAFSA EFC of $90k you are not going to qualify for federal funds, so all you can possibly receive is a tuition discount for your ability to pay. Your child, while qualified, is competing for the likely 1 full ride spot at most private schools. The rest of the qualified and well funded kids just have to have the parents pay the bill. If you are really looking for a tuition bill like a state school with that amount of EFC then you really should be looking at state schools. Just the way it is.

OP here. Thanks, this is very helpful. I did call the private schools today, and most of them said, No. They won't match the price of state schools.

One of the private colleges sent me a list of their criteria for merit aid: 3.9 or 4.0 unweighted GPA, 1540 SAT, great recommendations, and a very strong desire to attend that school. We know two kids who got free rides to private schools, but their stats must have been better than DD's, and I thought hers were pretty darn good!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We insisted DD apply only to state colleges and to private colleges that offer Merit Aid. Her stats are 1480 and 3.8 unweighted gpa at respected public high school.

She was accepted at all the state schools she applied to with merit aid. She was accepted at all the privates, but only two gave her merit aid, and not enough to match the cost of the public colleges.

Now, I'm scratching my head and wondering if I should have filled out the CSS and applied for FA at the private schools. FAFSA said we could pay $90K, so I gave up at that point, didn't file the CSS or apply for FA. What was the point?

Did I make a mistake? Does anyone know?

I thought Merit Aid was based on Merit! Now I'm wondering if relative wealth is factored into the equation? Can anyone answer this?

Is there any point in applying for FA and "appealing" our merit aid awards at the privates?

I only mention this because DD is HEARTBROKEN that she didn't get enough Merit Aid from the private colleges. I want to make sure I didn't do something wrong here.

I don't understand this. Is it because you have set a limit to the amount of money you are willing to fund? (which is a perfectly acceptable reason)

OP here. Yes, absolutely. We have four kids, and can't fund DD at private school rates. We told her we'd pay in-state tuition, and that's it. We urged her to apply to colleges that offer merit aid, foolishly (I see now) thinking that she'd get merit aid offers that would compete with in-state tuition. She did get generous merit aid offers, but when private colleges cost upwards of $60K per year, only a free ride at a private college will bring the price in line with that of a state college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe you made a mistake. Maybe not.

First, most of the very top schools offer little or no merit aid. Are you very sure the privates your DD applied to offer merit aid? And to what share of students? A school like Duke, eg, offers merit aid to just a handful. (The reason merit aid goes to so many B students (as noted above) is that the top schools don't offer any, so these top students aren't getting any.)

Second, merit aid isn't only about yield management-- it is about attracting better students. Second tier colleges are offering merit aid to their better applicants. Are your DD's stats in the top 25th percentile (or better) of the schools' accepted students? If not, she is highly unlikely to be offered merit aid.

Third, many schools do require you to submit the FAFSA for merit aid. I don't think it's only because they want to make sure you don't qualify for federal funds. I think it's also because they are using merit aid to manage yield, and they know that offers of merit aid will be more enticing to some families than to others. My guess is that a student from a family with HHI of $200k might be more likely to get merit aid than one from a family with HHI of $300k, all else equal. And they might be more likely to offer it to students they think might actually go there. So if the student's stats are TOO high, or if the student hasn't demonstrated any real interest, they might not bother offering merit aid because they don't think the kid is going to come anyway.

IF your DD really wants to go to one of the privates, she gas nothing to lose by calling and asking for more aid. But recognize that the above points will influence the likelihood of her getting any.

Recognize, too, that with an EFC that high, most people wil think you can afford to send her to any of these colleges, aid or no, so sympathy for your DD might not be too great.

OP again!
THIS is what I am worried about! Yes, I think I did make a mistake by not sending the FAFSA to all the private schools DD applied to! And it's too late, I discovered today! I have no way of knowing if it would have made a difference, but your explanation makes it clear to me why I should have sent the FAFSA!!

BTW, I'm not looking for sympathy for my DD. She's darned lucky we can afford to send her to a state college, and doubly lucky she was accepted to two state colleges.

Our guidance counselor encouraged DD to apply to private schools that she was overqualified for (ie Naviance showed her stats were well above the averages of accepted kids from her high school). It's entirely possible those schools thought DD wouldn't come! I didn't think of that explanation either!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I thought that applying for financial aid at a need aware school when you already know you won't qualify drops your chance of acceptance.
I didn't apply for aid an DC still got nice offers from a few schools

Could you explain this? Why would the school be less likely to accept your child because you apply for FA, when you don't have a demonstrated need? That makes no sense to me.

Did your DC get merit aid offers from private schools? More than $25K? That's the amount that would really make a difference to me. Anything under $25K won't help us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We insisted DD apply only to state colleges and to private colleges that offer Merit Aid. Her stats are 1480 and 3.8 unweighted gpa at respected public high school.

She was accepted at all the state schools she applied to with merit aid. She was accepted at all the privates, but only two gave her merit aid, and not enough to match the cost of the public colleges.

Now, I'm scratching my head and wondering if I should have filled out the CSS and applied for FA at the private schools. FAFSA said we could pay $90K, so I gave up at that point, didn't file the CSS or apply for FA. What was the point?

Did I make a mistake? Does anyone know?

I thought Merit Aid was based on Merit! Now I'm wondering if relative wealth is factored into the equation? Can anyone answer this?

Is there any point in applying for FA and "appealing" our merit aid awards at the privates?

I only mention this because DD is HEARTBROKEN that she didn't get enough Merit Aid from the private colleges. I want to make sure I didn't do something wrong here.

I don't understand this. Is it because you have set a limit to the amount of money you are willing to fund? (which is a perfectly acceptable reason)

OP here. Yes, absolutely. We have four kids, and can't fund DD at private school rates. We told her we'd pay in-state tuition, and that's it. We urged her to apply to colleges that offer merit aid, foolishly (I see now) thinking that she'd get merit aid offers that would compete with in-state tuition. She did get generous merit aid offers, but when private colleges cost upwards of $60K per year, only a free ride at a private college will bring the price in line with that of a state college.

How can only a free ride from a private = in state tuition. In state is cheaper but it is not free.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought that applying for financial aid at a need aware school when you already know you won't qualify drops your chance of acceptance.
I didn't apply for aid an DC still got nice offers from a few schools

Could you explain this? Why would the school be less likely to accept your child because you apply for FA, when you don't have a demonstrated need? That makes no sense to me.

Did your DC get merit aid offers from private schools? More than $25K? That's the amount that would really make a difference to me. Anything under $25K won't help us.

I think it depends in large part on whether school pledges to meet 100% of need (or close to it).

Some schools don't appear to give a damn what your need is (I'm looking at you NYU). They don't trouble themselves much with whether or not students can afford to attend. Other schools do try to meet students' financial need, but can't afford to be completely need blind. These schools likely sort their "accepted" students piles into those they really want and those who are on the bubble. Then they go thru the students they really want, identify need, and meet it (or try to). Then they turn to the bubble applicants, and among that pile accept those with no need and reject or wait list the rest. (IOW, yet another advantage for wealthier students.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe you made a mistake. Maybe not.

First, most of the very top schools offer little or no merit aid. Are you very sure the privates your DD applied to offer merit aid? And to what share of students? A school like Duke, eg, offers merit aid to just a handful. (The reason merit aid goes to so many B students (as noted above) is that the top schools don't offer any, so these top students aren't getting any.)

Second, merit aid isn't only about yield management-- it is about attracting better students. Second tier colleges are offering merit aid to their better applicants. Are your DD's stats in the top 25th percentile (or better) of the schools' accepted students? If not, she is highly unlikely to be offered merit aid.

Third, many schools do require you to submit the FAFSA for merit aid. I don't think it's only because they want to make sure you don't qualify for federal funds. I think it's also because they are using merit aid to manage yield, and they know that offers of merit aid will be more enticing to some families than to others. My guess is that a student from a family with HHI of $200k might be more likely to get merit aid than one from a family with HHI of $300k, all else equal. And they might be more likely to offer it to students they think might actually go there. So if the student's stats are TOO high, or if the student hasn't demonstrated any real interest, they might not bother offering merit aid because they don't think the kid is going to come anyway.

IF your DD really wants to go to one of the privates, she gas nothing to lose by calling and asking for more aid. But recognize that the above points will influence the likelihood of her getting any.

Recognize, too, that with an EFC that high, most people wil think you can afford to send her to any of these colleges, aid or no, so sympathy for your DD might not be too great.

OP again!
THIS is what I am worried about! Yes, I think I did make a mistake by not sending the FAFSA to all the private schools DD applied to! And it's too late, I discovered today! I have no way of knowing if it would have made a difference, but your explanation makes it clear to me why I should have sent the FAFSA!!

BTW, I'm not looking for sympathy for my DD. She's darned lucky we can afford to send her to a state college, and doubly lucky she was accepted to two state colleges.

Our guidance counselor encouraged DD to apply to private schools that she was overqualified for (ie Naviance showed her stats were well above the averages of accepted kids from her high school). It's entirely possible those schools thought DD wouldn't come! I didn't think of that explanation either!!

Can you say what privates we are talking about? Some are generally much more generous with merit aid than others. It also matters (a lot) how many applicants the school gets for top spots.

Also, well-off, white, east coast girls are at a disadvantage at northeastern SLACs. Too much competition.

[Anonymous]

^^I mean at a disadvantage for merit aid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought that applying for financial aid at a need aware school when you already know you won't qualify drops your chance of acceptance.
I didn't apply for aid an DC still got nice offers from a few schools

Could you explain this? Why would the school be less likely to accept your child because you apply for FA, when you don't have a demonstrated need? That makes no sense to me.

Did your DC get merit aid offers from private schools? More than $25K? That's the amount that would really make a difference to me. Anything under $25K won't help us.

DC did get merit aid offers, 24-27k from privates, and full tuition oos 23-38k from publics, as well as a few offers in the 10k range from less generous schools. There are lots of schools which aren't need-blind. When you check on common app (or wherever) that you plan to apply for need based aid, admissions doesn't know that your EFC is 90k; they haven't seen those figures. From Admissions standpoint, if there are 2 equally desirable candidate, one of whom is full pay and one of whom is asking for aid, they'll likely take the full pay. I think GW had a scandal a few years back about claiming to be need blind when they were not. California high schoolers get upset at the number of OOS kids accepted to the California schools; the consensus is that qualified in-staters are denied in order to admit OOS kids or foreigners who will pay the extra 23k premium

[Anonymous]

Just curious, at what HHI did they determine that you could pay $99K?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We insisted DD apply only to state colleges and to private colleges that offer Merit Aid. Her stats are 1480 and 3.8 unweighted gpa at respected public high school.

She was accepted at all the state schools she applied to with merit aid. She was accepted at all the privates, but only two gave her merit aid, and not enough to match the cost of the public colleges.

Now, I'm scratching my head and wondering if I should have filled out the CSS and applied for FA at the private schools. FAFSA said we could pay $90K, so I gave up at that point, didn't file the CSS or apply for FA. What was the point?

Did I make a mistake? Does anyone know?

I thought Merit Aid was based on Merit! Now I'm wondering if relative wealth is factored into the equation? Can anyone answer this?

Is there any point in applying for FA and "appealing" our merit aid awards at the privates?

I only mention this because DD is HEARTBROKEN that she didn't get enough Merit Aid from the private colleges. I want to make sure I didn't do something wrong here.

I don't understand this. Is it because you have set a limit to the amount of money you are willing to fund? (which is a perfectly acceptable reason)

You have an EFC and $90,000 and your daughter is heartbroken???
This is a parent-willing-to-pay-or-not issue, not a college spending its limited resources on your daughter issue--in my opinion.