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I have been listening to many Moms and Dads who have their children applying for college. The one thing I hear is that schloarships are based on "financial need". So, what does that mean? What about the middle class family that planned ahead and put money away. Are they not entitled? Do schools look at grades and base schloarships on academic merit? Thanks in advance!
One of the things every family should do when they first start thinking of their childs college future is to examine how much they can afford to pay for college. They need to start here: https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/p...ion-calculator
There are basically two different kinds of financial aid - need based and merit based. Many middle class and upper middle class families will not qualify for need based aid and will need to focus quite a bit of their search on colleges that are more generous with merit aid. A family of a superior athlete has a different kind of search, which is more complicated. There are books written on how to pay for college and strategies on how to search for the best college for your child - more then a few posts on a bulletin board could explain. If you are seriously interested in this subject, there are links at the top of this page you can explore and this BB may help too: Financial Aid & Scholarships - College Confidential
A lot of times, as toobusy said, middle class gets stuck, however some schools will still give you some type of need based aid, from my experience this usually comes in the form of Work Study which isn't enoug for anything accept maybe food ( usually about 3k)
Anyway, if your child applies to colleges, and is accepted, he or she will be notified in the acceptance package of what types of merit aid they receive- this is aid based on Test scores and GPA. Occassionally along with those scholarships you will get a scholarship for leadership or community service ( as long as you have that included I your application. Many times however those are separate applications)
Your child's guidance counselor may have a list of local and regional scholarships and so long as your child is willing to do the work they can go to these scholarship websites
I have been listening to many Moms and Dads who have their children applying for college. The one thing I hear is that schloarships are based on "financial need". So, what does that mean? What about the middle class family that planned ahead and put money away. Are they not entitled? Do schools look at grades and base schloarships on academic merit? Thanks in advance!
Well nobody is "entitled" to free money for college.
Most financial aid is based on financial need. There is a FAFSA form that students fill out that determines their Expected Family Contribution (EFC) (some schools use CSS Profile). That is the number that determines how much a family is expected to contribute according to the Federal Government. Theoretically, the difference between the Cost of Attendance (COA) and the EFC is given to a student as financial aid. The EFC is driven more by income than assets although assets do come into play.
There is federal financial aid, like Pell Grants and there is institutional financial aid. Federal financial aid is granted mostly to low income students but most private universities grant aid to middle class students based on FAFSA (or CSS Profile). There is no standardized way that universities have to allocate financial aid. They are free to determine financial need any way they choose and they are free to package that financial aid any way they choose (grants, loans, work study). They are not required to cover the difference between the EFC and COA.
There are schools that give merit based scholarships. They will usually state on their websites what the requirements are for those scholarships. These scholarships are based on academic performance, leadership, or other criteria and you have to seek them out. Generally if a student is eligible for financial aid they take any merit scholarships off the top and then award financial aid if there is still need after the scholarships are applied.
There are exceptions to the above. I just described the general process. There are differences between the individual schools.
Most "scholarships" are based on merit--meaning academics, sports, music, etc. with no financial need demonstrated. These typically come from the colleges themselves and are usually awarded at the time of acceptance. There are many colleges that don't give merit awards because all of their students would qualify for them, so they expand their "need" range so many people that don't qualify for need (financial) aid at other schools qualify at these schools. These schools are typically Ivy schools and upper end liberal arts colleges.
Merit awards are given no matter what your income level and if you fall into that spot of not really making enough money to save or pay for most of the college costs but making too much to qualify for financial aid, it's in your best interest to fine schools where your child will come in at the top off the applicant pool and qualify for their merit awards. Most of this information is listed on the school website and typically is tied to GPA and test scores (ACT/SAT). Some schools will also have awards for class rank or for Nation Merit Semi Finalist/Finalists.
For those families that qualify for a lot of financial aid, some of that aid will be in the form of a scholarship or grant. All that means is that they don't have to pay back that money. Then the move into the "self-help" meaning loans and work study. Everyone that fills out the Federal Financial Aid form qualifies for unsubsidized federal loans, regardless of income. Over 4 years, the max on these loans is $27,000.
There are 100's of colleges out there that give substantial merit aid to good students--good being a B student with reasonable test scores and above.
Each school is different.
There are schools that only give out need based aid. These are going to be more of your Ivy schools, HYPS, etc.
However, these schools are very generous with their funds and most use a sliding scale to award need based aid.
Visit the schools website and use their Net Price Calculator and put in your family financial info and you can see just how it works. For example, visit the Duke site and try it out. Even those that make $100k or more a year will get some aid. Schools like Duke, Stanford, families that make $60K or less per year get a full ride including the school providing transport costs for the student to fly home for the holidays. Many families do not know this and automatically dismiss them when they really should be looking at these schools if their student has the stats to get in. It would be far less of a strain on them financially than sending their child to the local community college and footing the entire bill themselves.
Then there are the schools that give out the merit aid. These are going to be more of your state schools. Sadly, not many in my home state give this out. This is why it is going to be a lot less expensive for our family to send our D to a very nice big state flagship in another state this coming fall than to our in state flagship. This out of state school has been working hard to attract the brightest students and gives out great merit aid. They have varying levels based on if the student is a NMF, SAT/ACT scores, GPA, etc. NMF are getting a "full ride" with a stipend. Even my non NMF D is getting a nice little package based on her ACT/SAT and GPA.
The middle class is not "getting left out" if they search wisely for the best fit for their student and pocketbook. There is absolutely no need for a student/family to go into debt for a undergrad degree. They just need to change their mindset and look beyond their own state borders and open up the door to all schools.
Each school is different.
There are schools that only give out need based aid. These are going to be more of your Ivy schools, HYPS, etc.
However, these schools are very generous with their funds and most use a sliding scale to award need based aid.
Visit the schools website and use their Net Price Calculator and put in your family financial info and you can see just how it works. For example, visit the Duke site and try it out. Even those that make $100k or more a year will get some aid. Schools like Duke, Stanford, families that make $60K or less per year get a full ride including the school providing transport costs for the student to fly home for the holidays. Many families do not know this and automatically dismiss them when they really should be looking at these schools if their student has the stats to get in. It would be far less of a strain on them financially than sending their child to the local community college and footing the entire bill themselves.
Then there are the schools that give out the merit aid. These are going to be more of your state schools.
This is NOT true. The largest amount of merit aid is given by private colleges, not state schools. My three kids all went to private colleges (one is still in college) and all were awarded tens of thousands of dollars for each year in merit aid. They were offered next to nothing in any kind of aid at state U's, either in state of out of state.
I agree with toobusy! My state schools give out close to nothing as far as merit goes and my state schools (ny) arent super cheap like other state schools.
This is NOT true. The largest amount of merit aid is given by private colleges, not state schools. My three kids all went to private colleges (one is still in college) and all were awarded tens of thousands of dollars for each year in merit aid. They were offered next to nothing in any kind of aid at state U's, either in state of out of state.
This is not to say that private colleges are less expensive, but they can be just as affordable as State U's for students with good grades.
Reread my post. I did not say that all private schools do not give out merit based aid. However, I did give a very good example of how some of the top tier schools give out need based aid and on a sliding scale to boot.
I also stated that not all state schools give out aid. My own state does not. A few of our in-state publics do but not ones that most people think of. They are not the flagships. Our large flagships in-state no longer give out NMF scholarships.
It all depends on each school and is different from one to the next.
My own D was given a very nice merit based scholarship, over $40K to a private school. However, in the long run it would cost more to send her to that school vs the state school (out of state) that is giving her merit aid as well. She decided on the OOS school due to it being a better fit for her.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MinniieJ
I agree with toobusy! My state schools give out close to nothing as far as merit goes and my state schools (ny) arent super cheap like other state schools.
Again, I stated that. Reread my post. I said, "Sadly, not many in my home state give this out."
Even if our D's choice OOS gave her nothing it would still cost less than our in state school.
Again, why I stated it is very important for parents and students to be open about their options and that they do not have to go into debt for an undergrad degree. There are too many options and aid out there for the taking, IF they explore all of their options.
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