I have been researching Dartmouth as a possible college to apply to. In the hypothetical scenario that I was admitted, would I be able to receive the Dartmouth Scholarship denoted on this webpage? http://admissions.dartmouth.edu/financial-aid/how-aid-works/how-much-help-will-i-get My parents make an estimated $60,000 - $70,000 a year and it says free tuition for those who earn less than $100,000. I do not believe I am FAFSA eligible does this still apply? Any point in the right directions is appreciated. Thanks!
Run your family’s income and asset numbers through the Dartmouth NPC. THat will give you the best indication of what aid package they will give you.
I ran it through the NPC and got a very reasonable cost out of it, around $8,000. However I saw this on the webpage. “Students must complete the Free Application for Federal Aid (FAFSA) in order to be eligible for and receive an actual financial aid award that includes federal grants, loans and work-study assistance. Students must also complete the CSS Profile and submit the required tax return and W-2 information in order to qualify for Dartmouth Scholarship assistance.” I just wanted to verify that even if I don’t meet the requirements for FAFSA I would still be eligible for scholarship the university was providing.
What do you mean “I don’t meet the requirements for FAFSA”?
Are you an international student?
Also…this
You are a HS sophomore. The income that will be used for your first year of college is a few years away. How do you know what that will be?
The PSAT you took as a sophomore is really more a practice than anything else. The PSAT score that is used for National Merit status is,the PSAT you take when you are a junior. But really…your SAT will be the defining standardized test for college admissions…not the PSAT (or the ACT, if you so choose).
In the next couple of years, you need to craft a broad list of colleges for applications. Ypu can include reach schools (like Dartmouth), as well as matches and safety schools. You should include options that will be affordable to your family where you also have a string likelihood of acceptance.
It’s good that you are starting to look at financial aid now…but do keep in mind, policies change…And what is in place now may very well NOT be what is in place when you apply.
The Net Price Calculators are currently for students who will be starting college in September 2015, not September 2017.
Are you international student? Caontact the school. See http://admissions.dartmouth.edu/financial-aid/apply-aid/international-students
I’m not an international student, I am legal resident of the United States, I simply haven’t undergone the process of naturalization which is witheld from me until I am 18. I understand that there is still a while before I apply to college, I just like to plan ahead… a lot. I am basing all of these calculations on the most recent information I have. I have a somewhat decent grasp on the college system due to independent research I have done and realize that I still have to take the SAT and accomplish several other tasks before applying to college. Nothing is set in stone for me yet. I have a couple of safeties in mind and the like, Dartmouth is just one of those reach schools I was considering.
However, I would need to eliminate it from my “wish list” if I am not able to obtain the scholarship Dartmouth offers if it requires you be eligible for FAFSA funds. This was my original question. To obtain the Dartmouth scholarship I linked above, does the college require you to be eligible for FAFSA funds?
Even though I don’t know exactly what my parents’ income will be, based on previous experiences, I doubt it will fluctuate much. Just trying to prepare! Thanks to all who replied!
Do you hold a green card? Are you a permanent resident?
When you say you haven’t gone through the “naturalization” process, it implies that you are a citizen of another country who has not yet become a citizen of the U.S. Is that the case?
It sounds like he has a green card
Dartmouth is a rare college that meets full need of all students. So no you don’t have to be FAFSA eligible. However if you have permanent resident status you can file fafsa. Dartmouth doesn’t give scholarships based on merit, rather they give financial aid based on need.
If foopy is a green card holder, then he is eligible to file a FAFSA.
Foopy…please clarify why you can’t file a FAFSA.
Generally, you are an eligible noncitizen if you are one of the following:
U.S. permanent resident, with a Permanent Resident Card (formerly known as an Alien Registration Receipt Card or "Green Card”)
Conditional permanent resident (I-551C)
Other eligible noncitizen with an Arrival-Departure Record (I-94) from the Department of Homeland Security showing any one of the following designations: “Refugee,” “Asylum Granted,” “Indefinite Parole,” “Humanitarian Parole,” or “Cuban-Haitian Entrant”
A citizen of the Republic of Palau (PW), the Republic of the Marshall Islands (MH), or the Federated States of Micronesia (FM).
You can receive federal student aid if you are an eligible noncitizen. You must enter your eight or nine digit Alien Registration Number (ARN) on the FAFSA.
If your citizenship status has changed from an eligible noncitizen to a U.S. citizen, you should contact the Social Security Administration (SSA) to update your citizenship status. If you do not update your citizenship status with the SSA, it could delay processing your student financial aid. To contact the SSA call 1-800-772-1213 or visit the Social Security Administration’s Web site at www.ssa.gov.
So sorry to cause such a ruckus, I really need to get better at wording my posts. I indeed hold a green card and that is not what prevents me from receiving aid through FAFSA. I simply used the FAFSA estimate calculation and in the case that I would have had to apply this year, I most likely would not have been given any funds due to wages of my parents. Of course this is just an estimator and there is still time, but I don’t count on being eligible. What is frustrating is that we are barely above the ceiling amount. Oh well.
So to get it straight, you are eligible to file a FAFSA, but you will not/may not get a Pell Grant. Colleges that give their own institutional aid will still require you to file a FAFSA (and often a CSS Profile as well.) So you will need to file one if you apply to Dartmouth and most other colleges. You can get a federal student loan if you choose, most colleges will include those loans in an aid package and that is considered to be part of ‘meeting need’, and filing FAFSA is required for that as well. Please read the pinned threads at the top of the forum, there is a Financial Aid FAQ so you can sort out these sort of details and not misstate.
Oh please, Foopy.
You are eligible to file a FAFSA when the time comes.
There is your answer.
Now, regarding your parent income…if your parent income is too high for need based aid…you won’t get need based aid. Period.
Carry on.
As i stated, the NPC will give you a better idea than the FAFSA estimators as to what your family will be expected to pay for any given school. You should run your family number’s through Dartmouth’s. However, the FAFSA EFC tends to be lower than institutional expected contributions, so if you got am EFC higher than the cost of attendance at Dartmouth, no, you will likely get no aid, no scholarship from them. Dartmouth only gives scholarships, aid based on need, not merit. You will have to fill out the FAFSA when the time comes as well as the PROFILE to get money from Dartmouth, but the PROFILE results will be the ones primarily used to put together a financial aid package for you if you qualify.
Ok, thank you, I think I finally have it straight now. I am eligible to apply for FAFSA but based on the estimator I won’t receive any money from the government. When I input the same information into Dartmouth’s NPC, I am eligible for some money. Just because I don’t qualify for FAFSA money due to income doesn’t mean I don’t qualify for Dartmouth income.
Foopy…what was your FAFSA EFC? It is highly likely Dartmouth will exoect your family to pay that amount…unless your AGI is below $100,000 a year. Can they pay that amount based on your projections for 2016 income?
My parents have an income of about $75,000 so we indeed earn less than $100,000. When I use the FASFA estimator, it says I am not eligible for the Pell Grant based on a $65,000 tuition. Clearly my family cannot live on $10,000, so it falls on me to find financial aid another way. From what I understand, at Dartmouth since my family’s income is less than $100,000, I am eligible to receive financial aid that if accepted, would reduce my costs to about $10,000. This would be something I could handle. Have I correctly understood?
If you are amongst the about 10% of applicants who get accepted at Dartmouth, yes, it is very possible this could be an affordable option for your family…assuming you can pay your calculated (by Dartmouth) family contribution. Dartmouth expects a stusent contribution so you need to plan for that.
Thanks, I know I’ll have to work diligently and even that might not be enough, but it’s nice to know I have a chance.