Last week, while participating in a #CampusChat on Twitter a question was asked by a parent about college financial aid. Since none of us participating were sure of the correct answer, I wanted to provide the parent with the correct answer and get some clarification myself on the subject.
Question: If you check the box that says, “no financial aid needed” on the college application, does it improve your chances for acceptance?
I immediately sought the answer from the two admissions representatives I have connections with on Twitter: Chip Timmons (@ChipTimmons) of Wabash College and Gil Rogers (@GilRogers) of the University of New Haven.
Chip responded by saying, “If the student is on the margin it may help provided they are prepared academically (i.e demanding curriculum, strong in high school). My guess is more schools are going to take that into consideration in the coming years as it gets tougher to fill classes”.
Gil responded by saying, “Not at the University of New Haven. With that said, at some schools it may if the student is on the wait list and the school is trying to control discounting.”
If you weigh both these responses, it appears that it’s not a determining factor unless other considerations are in place. The best advice would be to check with the colleges your teen is interested in and ask them if they use it as a factor. However, I wouldn’t plan on it being the card in your pocket to assure acceptance. And honestly, if you have a college-bound teen with an impressive high school record, you should make an attempt to get some merit aid; even if you can afford the entire tuition. It just makes sense to fill out the FAFSA and take your shot at grabbing a piece of the financial aid pie.
If you’re an admissions officer or college admissions expert, please leave your comments here and share your experience with us. We value your input.
In past years, and I suspect more so now, I’ve had clients check off “no financial aid” as an admissions ploy. Why? Because I’ve had marginal students get into colleges were they were missing the mark academically. I’m very suspicious of any academic who says, in effect, that they are above doing such things. They are clearly NOT above doing such things because it’s always about the money. The trend that these colleges haven’t accepted is college online, where knowledge can no longer be packaged as it once was, and parenrs are no longer going to pay their confiscatory rates. The first stage in this process is evident by the flooding of community college applications or the flight from private to state colleges. It’s always about the money.
Paul,
Are you saying that in your experience it HAS helped their chances of admission?