Seniors confused about FAFSA and FA

[ajwetzel]

1. Is it possible/legal for private universities to give less merit aid if they have seen your FAFSA? That’s what I read but it could be about that particular school.
2. I applied to many private schools that require CSS. I don’t want to pay $20 or whatever per school, especially since I don’t think I have a huge chance of getting in. What would be the smart (and financially smart) thing to do?
3. FAFSA said my family’s contribution is 20k (for example). However the school costs 35k (for example). Wouldn’t I get 15k in aid? Instead I got a small loan.
4. Do schools look at the scholarship amount I earned in merit scholarships when determining aid? In other words if I get a scholarship will that effect the amount of aid I receive?

It would super helpful to get answers to these. Thank you in advance!

[Mwfan1921]

1)Yes some schools tie merit awards to level of need. Check each of your schools’ policies.

2)If you miss the CSS Profile deadlines, you may not be able to get any financial aid from these schools. Run the net price calculators to get an estimate of costs. Note that NPCs may not be accurate if your parents are divorced, own a business, or own real estate beyond a primary home.

3)For FAFSA only schools, there aren’t many (maybe none) that meet full need. So they gap students, which is what you are seeing. Some CSS Profile schools do meet full need, according to their own formulas. Most schools have constrained financial aid budgets. Run each school’s net price calculator to get cost estimates.

4)Yes, merit awards may affect need based aid. So if they calculate you can pay X, they may give you a combination of merit and/or need based aid to get to X. If you ultimately earn a higher scholarship level, many schools will decrease need accordingly. Some schools do stack scholarships, but again you have to check their FA policies.

Lastly, what is your budget? Have you applied to at least one affordable safety?

[thumper1]

1. Is it possible/legal for private universities to give less merit aid if they have seen your FAFSA? That’s what I read but it could be about that particular school.

Merit aid is usually based on stats…but at some schools there are merit awards that are tied to financial need. Also, if you get a merit award…at some schools this will reduce your need based award, because your need is less.

2. I applied to many private schools that require CSS. I don’t want to pay $20 or whatever per school, especially since I don’t think I have a huge chance of getting in. What would be the smart (and financially smart) thing to do?

You need to NOT miss the deadlines for submitting the Profile. If you miss the deadlines, you have the potential to receive no aid or less aid. Schools have deadlines for a reason. You need to prioritize your application list. If you have too many schools on it, maybe some need to be removed.

3. FAFSA said my family’s contribution is 20k (for example). However the school costs 35k (for example). Wouldn’t I get 15k in aid? Instead I got a small loan.

The FAFSA gives an EFC, but that doesn’t mean the school will give you aid to fill all need you have. The vast majority of colleges do not meet full need for all accepted students. You should view the FAFSA EFC as the MINIMUM amount you will be expected to pay for college. At many schools, especially ones with not deep pockets, a loan might be all you will receive.

4. Do schools look at the scholarship amount I earned in merit scholarships when determining aid? In other words if I get a scholarship will that effect the amount of aid I receive?

It might. At some schools, if you receive a merit award, they will say it reduces your financial need and therefore your need based aid will be reduced. If you receive outside scholarships, you are required to report these to your college and these also have the potential to reduce your need based aid award, because your need has been reduced.

[TigerInWinter1]

Just to elaborate on issue 3, the FAFSA determines your eligibility for federal financial aid – that is, Pell Grants and federal student loans. Many colleges use the information from FAFSA to calculate the amount of need-based aid they will offer to students, but as thumper1 noted, nearly all schools expect families to contribute more – often much more – than the FAFSA’s estimated family contribution.

[ajwetzel]

Yes, I have plenty of schools below 30k for total cost. Thank you!!

[grtd2010]

IMO, as stated previously, FAFSA is for federal subsidized and unsubsidized aid including grants and loans. Yes, a loan is a form of financial aid either as a federal aid or a loan from a private institutional source. The total COA (cost of attendance) is what matters. The COA must equal all funds available to you either merit scholarships, grants, loans, work study and family contribution, etc. You may not get an amount exceeding COA from all sources. Choose a school where you can meet COA with funds available from all sources.

[ucbalumnus]

@ajwetzel

Is it possible/legal for private universities to give less merit aid if they have seen your FAFSA? That’s what I read but it could be about that particular school.

If a college gives a full ride merit scholarship to a student who receives a Pell grant, it may be required to reduce the scholarship so that the total of the scholarship plus the Pell grant does not exceed the stated cost of attendance.

@ajwetzel

FAFSA said my family’s contribution is 20k (for example). However the school costs 35k (for example). Wouldn’t I get 15k in aid? Instead I got a small loan.

A college does not necessarily “meet need”, nor does it necessarily use the FAFSA EFC to determine “need”.

@ajwetzel

Do schools look at the scholarship amount I earned in merit scholarships when determining aid? In other words if I get a scholarship will that effect the amount of aid I receive?

Merit scholarships may affect need-based financial aid, but not always the same way at every college. Each college has its own policy, which may or may not be publicly stated on its web site.

[ucbalumnus]

The following thread gives examples of how some colleges treat outside merit scholarships for students who get need-based financial aid:

List of outside scholarship + financial aid policies ("stacking", "scholarship displacement")

Since the interaction between outside scholarships and financial aid varies for different colleges, how about making a list of different college policies? Specify the order in which parts of the financial aid package are replaced. Use the following abbreviations for common terms (not all colleges include all of the following): UN = unmet need SL = student loan (federal direct loan) SW = student work expectation or work study SC = student contribution = SL + SW IG = institutional grants (i.e. grants from the college) PC = parent contribution expectation Full “stacking” examples (IG is reduced last): CMU: UN, SL, SW, PC, IG https://www.cmu.edu/sfs/financial-aid/types/scholarships-and-grants/outside.html Maryland public universities: (UN + SC + PC), IG https://www.baltimoresun.com/education/bs-md-scholarship-displacement-20170704-story.html St. Olaf: SL, SW, PC, IG https://wp.stolaf.edu/financialaid/outside-scholarships/ Better for the student than typical policy, but not f…

[ajwetzel]

Thanks so much