Send in FAFSA in hopes of qualifying for Presidential Scholarship?

Colleges & Universities Carnegie Mellon University
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<p>I’ll try to make this long story short…</p>

<p>I called the Admissions Office today to make sure CMU got the fax which said my D is not applying for need-based financial aid. (D had indicated otherwise in her admissions app back in December, but since then we went thru some FAFSA estimates and found that our EFC is really high.)</p>

<p>However, the Admissions Office person today said that D <em>should</em> submit the FAFSA because otherwise she won’t be considered for a Presidential Scholarship. The office person said that even though it’s past the deadline, she should still do it.</p>

<p>My first thought is that if we are lucky enough that CMU really wants her, then CMU would give her one of the other scholarships that you don’t need a FAFSA for. </p>

<p>Does anyone know about the Presidential Scholarship vs Andrew Carnegie Scholarship vs CMU Scholarship? [Grants</a> & Scholarships](<a href=“Home - Computing Services - Office of the CIO - Carnegie Mellon University”>Home - Computing Services - Office of the CIO - Carnegie Mellon University)</p>

<p>I feel like I’m jumping the gun a bit, because who knows if she’ll even get accepted, but I’d hate to miss out on a potential scholarship if she is. (And yes, D and I would like to avoid one more to-do item if it’s unnecessary.) Thanks for any help you can provide.</p>

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<p>AustinHills, I looked at this a few weeks ago and decided (since I hadn’t done our taxes yet) and because the presidential was really small ($1000 max?) that I wasn’t bothering. I don’t remember where I found the actual dollar amount but I remember it involved a lot of googling. Hopefully, this will help you find the actual amount and make a decision. And from what I also understood, the other scholarships are NOT dependant on the FAFSA and are worth a decent amount without which DD isn’t going to CMU.</p>

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<p>DS got a merit scholarship (institutional grant), renewable 4 years, without conditions, but FAFSA must be supplied. We also took loans to manage our cashflow which also needed FAFSA.</p>

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<p>Thanks, sharonohio and LongPrime, for responding. I tried googling and didn’t have much luck except that I ran across “it varies” for the amount of a Presidential Scholarship. So I just now called the CMU Admissions and Financial Office and the woman there said that last year, the average Presidential Scholarship was $6,900. So I guess we should get on the ball and do that FAFSA after all. This weekend’s action item, I guess…</p>

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<p>RATS!!! Well, I guess I get to work on that too.</p>