Are there any schools where FAFSA/CSS profile is needed even if you don’t qualify for any aid? How can one find the info?
Some require it for merit, some don’t. The info should be on each school’s aid page, otherwise you can ask your student to email admissions for info on that. If you’re not aiming at schools that give merit and know you won’t qualify for need-based aid, save yourself the hassle.
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I may be in the minority but I didn’t find the FAFSA too terribly taxing to complete. It was a little glitchy at first because I had an account for S23 already established and I had to log out and log back in to see D26’s invitation. But once that was set, it took me about 5 minutes. Admittedly, we don’t have any reportable assets other than bank accounts so I can see where it would be much more complicated if we did. And yes, our SAI was crazy. 
However, I know from S23 that although we couldn’t get any Federal need-based aid, we did qualify for a small PA state grant, which was pretty helpful. I imagine we will get the same for D26 as the SAI is the same as before.
D26 is going back and forth on how many schools to include in her Common Application. Realistically we can only visit three more schools before the weather starts to turn and she wants to make a decision by March. The ease of applying through the Common App is a double-edged sword, especially since D26 struggles with decision making.
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The FAFSA application has been ‘simplified’ about 2or 3 years ago. They dropped a bunch of questions which, if you answered in the affirmative, had you dropping in quite a few additional details (and sometimes you had to look for help in explaining how things were ‘classified’).
So it was cut down, between that and the student aid website/fafsa rollout debacle of a couple years ago - it now seems much easier than it was.
D26 is getting closer to completing her remaining essays in the next 2 weeks. 3 of the colleges she’s applying to have an optional supplemental question that’s almost identical to the 300-word Common App “Please provide any additional information you wish to share” question. So she’s going to NOT answer that particular optional question for those 3 colleges and instead is going to answer that optional question in the general Common App writing section.
Therefore, 3 fewer essays to write!
In her college counseling class at school, rewrites for the personal statement are due Wed of next week.
From what I recall from D19, it was the CSS profile that was the real nightmare. Lucky for me there are somehow no privates on C26’s list (so far at least..)
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We have never completed the FAFSA or CSS, and it has not impacted merit to my knowledge. There are very few schools (if any) that require it for non-need-based awards.
At D24’s LAC, she gets an extra $500 grant each year that she submits a FAFSA. We’ll take all the help we can get, so we submit FAFSA and a side benefit of that is it enables her to get an annual federal student loan.
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There were definitely a couple that D19 applied to - that’s why I filled it in. What a colossal waste of time lol, seeing as she ended up at a reach that hardly gave anyone merit then (and apparently doesn’t give anyone now)
I have seen somewhere that only about 250 schools require the CSS 
So not overly common for most to need to deal with.
D26 has one school that asks for it for need based aid- but not regular merit aid. I think 
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Still trying to figure that one out. I really do not want to fill that out- but of course will if actually needed.
Stevens Institue of Technology is very loose with the merit aid- so not wanting to mess that up!!! But also, don’t want to do this if I do not have to 
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Just a note that Fordham, which is a fairly well-known school around here, does require filing of the FAFSA to be considered for merit-based aid (I just checked out their FA page).
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This is a relatively recent thread discussing the issue.
Edited to add: According to this, Fordham apparently requires the FAFSA for disbursement of merit funds but not to award them.
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Hahaha! I’m reading about everyone’s kids that are finishing up their Common App and then noting that my STEM-loving daughter who has only thought about studying physics or maybe chemistry announced that she joined the mock trial club at school and maybe she was interested in law! Ok, then!
Anyway, not the end of the world - she has what we think is a pretty good list that will give her plenty of good options. But it was definitely a surprise to hear her say it out of pretty much nowhere. She has one STEM-focused school on her list, so we’ll see what happens with that one.
Guess it was time for an October surprise!
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D26 only has her UC application left to complete. And given we are OOS I wish she’d change her mind (it’s FAR +. $$$). But we told her we would commit to the process.
I’m curious - has anyone seen stats on numbers? Someone had asked in another thread. Given we are close to that 10/15 EA deadline I wonder what schools are seeing, especially after the LARGE# of applications last year. I did see UGA is up about 12% from last year. Which is CRAZY because last year was a huge increase from the year before. But they did not break down in v out of state. I feel like it’s been quiet? Especially as we head into October.
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I think most EA schools have a 1 Nov deadline? One of C26’s is 15 Nov. I know a couple have 15 Oct but I don’t think that’s most.
I can see some of it for our school on maia, in terms of who’s applied vs the total number previous couple of years, but I suspect the majority of students have not yet got their EA apps in.
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The other reason to fill out FAFSA (and likely CSS profile too but I can’t recall off the top of my head), beyond the schools who require it for merit that others have mentioned, is future institutional aid. At some schools, if you do not apply for need based aid when you initially apply, you are barred from receiving need based institutional aid either for some number of years thereafter (say 2 years) or for entire enrollment. This is true for some of D26s schools from what I remember when I looked into it. Thus, if there is any chance you may need need based aid in the future (say if there is a job loss or something else they devastates your finances) at some schools you should apply now even if you would not qualify.
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Stick with the stem degree. She can still go to law school but will have the option to sit for the patent bar or stand out in her law school applications. Definitely no advantage in doing a liberal arts degree when applying to law school.
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I agree on those benefits of the STEM degree pre-law school if it is someone who wants to do that. But, overall am of the view that she should do something she is excited about studying rather than stick to STEM just because. One is likely to have more success doing something they want to study as opposed to something they should. People can be highly successful either way. Also, a kid who is finding new intellectual passions senior year of high school seems to me a prime candidate for someone who could find a new field in college that they weren’t exposed to in high school that is actually their best fit. I’d stay open to all of the great possibilities at this point if it were my kid.
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Thanks for the advice folks. I wasn’t really looking for any. Just thought it was funny how a 17-year old’s brain works! Looking forward to seeing what tomorrow brings!
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On the progress front: sat down with D26 and started scheduling her admission interviews. Decided she will interview at 6-7 schools as we felt scheduling 11 felt like a lot. A few of the 7 recommend interviews, while the others are optional. She needs to get the EA ones done before 11/1 or 11/15 deadlines, so those are first up.
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