Should I file for FAFSA if there is almost no chance I will get any financial aid (parents’ income over seven figures)? Will FAFSA hurt my chances in admissions?
Also, will FAFSA open up more opportunities for merit-based scholarships?I am asking this because I applied to two merit-based scholarships (UCLA Alumni and UT Austin’s Presidential Scholars) that require FAFSA, and I forgot to submit it :(.
For many schools: no!
If your family income is indeed over seven figures, then you won’t qualify for need-based aid and filing the FAFSA won’t affect your admissions chances at any place that practices need-aware admissions.
Contact the scholarship organizations, and let them know that you are filing the FAFSA right now. Two reasons why they might ask for the FAFSA would be
a) there is a need component in the decision-making process of who to award the scholarships too
and
b) they want to make sure that students who do have need will be able to get access to federal and state money in addition to the need-based award
@happymomof1 thanks for the response! The decisions for UT Austin’s Presidential Scholars scholarship have already been released. UT informed me that they did not review my application because I did not submit the FAFSA. So should I let UT Austin know I’m filing the FAFSA right now?
You should contact UT and ask them if it is possible to do so.