<p>Question: My father left money in trust for my daughter’s education. There’s enough to cover one–maybe two–years at a private college. Income is less than six figures, but we do have some investments. Any reason we should do the PROFILE and FAFSA? When a student applies to college as a “No Need” candidate (i.e., he or […]</p>
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<p>Do colleges tell candidates who file no-need applications that there is a waiting period before they can then request aid? I don’t recall seeing that anywhere on anything son filed or in any communications back from the schools. Given what has happened to the economy over the past year, it seem likely that there are some folks who are now eligible for need-based aid who weren’t a year ago.</p>
<p>Colleges may “tell” families about the waiting period but only if burying it in fine print counts as “telling.” In other words, I suggest that all potential no-need parents ASK admission offices what the school’s policy is, just so there’s no confusion, should the family decide to apply for aid in a year or more.</p>
<p>Of course, as you suggest, colleges seem to be changing policies these days or, at least, making significant exceptions, in order to hang onto students whose family fortunes have suddenly reversed. </p>
<p>In the past, most financial aid officers were open to altering policies in the face of extenuating circumstances, and right now there seem to be so many of those that past aid practices may not mean much anymore.</p>