<p>Does it make sense to file a fafsa for an oos public university if you know you are currently not going to receive financial aid bcs your income/assets are too high? What are the reasons for it or against it (ie: hurt one’s chances of admission)?</p>
<p>A reason for: well, fafsa is free to file, so it wouldn’t cost you anything.</p>
<p>Some colleges require the FAFSA be filed for any financial aid, even non-need-based. I know of no reasons NOT to file it.</p>
<p>Is one more likely to get rejected if out of state and filing for it? Any thoughts?</p>
<p>I don’t think filing a FAFSA has any bearing on whether or not one is accepted. At least I have never heard of any such thing.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t expect filing a FAFSA to prejudice admissions, particularly if you have no “need”. At some schools, you must go through the aid application process in order to be considered for merit aid, scholarships, etc. Check with each school for the filing requirements.</p>
<p>Thank you. Roger do you mean by filing requirements, as to whether one needs to file to get merit aid?</p>
<p>I am not expecting to get a dime from the oos school. I have read that to cover yourself in case of a change in circumstances in future years you might only qualify for aid if you filed a fafsa for freshman year. I don’t know if there is any truth to that. That would be my reason for filing. I can’t see any other reason for us to file with the oos public college. For the more expensive privates, I think we may qualify for some money.</p>
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<p>Another reason is that you might have a change in financial circumstances for THIS school year. If you already have a FAFSA on file, the process of asking for additional assistance is one step closer to being completed. Let’s put it this way…if you have a change in income (due to illness, death, job loss, etc) you’ll be happy you don’t have to tackle the fafsa at the time of the loss.</p>
<p>Thank you thumper.</p>
<p>Northeastmom, sometimes colleges automatically consider every applicant for merit aid, i.e., non-need based aid given to well-qualified applicants. Sometimes you have to request to be considered for such aid. Fairly often, if you file financial aid paperwork you’ll be considered for merit aid, too.</p>
<p>The best thing to do is check with each school to find out what they require. Note that merit aid is generally offered to the most qualified applicants, though sometimes state schools are fairly generous to in-state applicants.</p>
<p>Thank you for the information.</p>