FAQ: Money

"Financial aid" and "scholarships" are often used interchangeably, but they are not necessarily the same. Financial aid almost always refers to need-based financial aid. Need-based means the financial aid is being awarded on the basis of you and your family's income and assets, and what the financial aid office estimates you are able to pay to attend college.

Scholarships most often refer to merit-based financial aid. Merit-based means scholarships are awarded based on academic performance, specialty skills like arts or athletics, or other factors that have nothing to do with your financial circumstances.

Sometimes financial aid is referred to as "need-based scholarships" or scholarships are referred to as "merit-based financial aid." Regardless of how it is labeled, always make sure you understand what is being considered when any type of financial assistance is offered to you.

Are financial aid and scholarships the same thing?

The FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. (https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa). This is a required form, to be completed annually by current and prospective college students in the United States to determine their eligibility for student financial aid. The FAFSA becomes available on October 1 each year. Check with the colleges on your list to determine their specific filing deadlines. You can learn more about the FAFSA by watching our playlist. https://www.collegeguidancenetwork.com/playlist/fafsa. To request a free copy of Funding Your Education: The Guide to Federal Student Aid, call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243).

What is the FAFSA?

EFC stands for Expected Family Contribution and is a number used by a higher education institution to calculate the amount of federal student aid you are eligible to receive. Like its name suggests, the EFC is a calculation of what a family with your financial assets should be expected to pay for college. Your EFC is not the amount of money your family will have to pay for college, nor is it the amount of federal student aid you will receive. Instead, it is a measure of your family’s financial strength and is calculated according to a formula established by law. Your family’s taxed and untaxed income, assets, and benefits (such as unemployment or Social Security) are all factored into the formula.

What is EFC?

You can only list 10 schools on the FAFSA itself, but there are ways to provide your FAFSA information to more than 10 schools. You can find more information about that here: https://studentaid.gov/help/more-ten-colleges

Does the FAFSA only allow for you to add up to 10 colleges maximum?

The CSS profile is an online application that collects money-related information, typically used by several hundred private colleges and universities to award non-federal aid in the form of grants, loans, and scholarships. (https://cssprofile.collegeboard.org/). Check your colleges’ information to determine whether they require the CSS Profile in addition to the FAFSA. There is a fee associated with filing a CSS Profile. In case of divorce or separation, both the custodial and noncustodial parent must complete the CSS Profile.

What is the CSS Profile?

The CSS profile only needs to be filled out once, but you’ll pay a fee for each school you send it to. You can request a fee waiver if your family makes less than $100,000 a year. The CSS profile becomes available to fill out on October 1st. Financial aid documents are usually due at the same time as the application, so you should have it done by the earliest deadline of the schools you’re applying to. (Note: Not all schools require the CSS profile to apply for financial aid)

Do you fill out the CSS Profile for each school individually? When do you fill out the CSS Profile?

If you’re applying for financial aid at a school that requires the CSS profile, you should fill it out and submit it when you apply (financial aid documents are usually due at the same time as the application). If you don’t, it’s possible your financial aid application will be considered incomplete and they may not offer you financial aid or they may be running out of financial aid funds by the time you get the CSS profile to them.

Should you send the CSS profile only if they ask for it after reviewing your submitted application?

Need-based financial aid is heavily impacted by your parents income, more so than their assets. Merit-based aid usually is not impacted by your parents’ income or your family’s financial situation.

How much does my parents' income impact my financial aid package?

If the year being considered by the FAFSA (two years before the year you would start college) is an outlier in some way for your family, many schools will allow you to also submit documentation from the previous year (one year before the year you would start college). It will be very important for you to proactively reach out to the financial aid office so they know from the outset what your situation is. You’ll also want to ask if your financial aid package is recalculated every year or if the financial aid package you get your first year remains the same until you graduate.

The financial aid office looks at information from two years ago, but my family’s income was much different than usual in that year. Can I provide information from last year instead?

Yes, the FAFSA considers 529b and other types of educational savings accounts as assets when determining your Expected Family Contribution.

Is a 529b plan taken into consideration as an asset when determining financial aid?

Starting with the 2023-2024 academic year, the FAFSA will no longer use the number of children a family has in college at the same time as a factor in determining that family's Expected Family Contribution for each child. Colleges that use additional documents like the CSS Profile may still use the number of children in college as part of their own financial aid calculations, but colleges that exclusively rely on the FAFSA will not.

I have siblings who are or will be in college at the same time as me. Will financial aid offices take that into account?

Unfortunately, whether or not your parents are going to contribute financially to your college education does not impact whether or not you need to provide their information to financial aid offices. Unless you are a legally emancipated minor, your parents will need to fill out the FAFSA and any other required other financial aid documents.

My parents aren't helping me pay for college. Do they still need to fill out the FAFSA and other financial aid documents?

If you are a legally emancipated minor, you do not need to include information about your parents or guardians on the FAFSA or other financial aid documents.

I'm an emancipated minor. Do my parents/guardians still need to fill out the FAFSA and other financial aid documents?

Yes, it is. Some schools will indicate that they are “need blind” which means they do not consider your financial need as part of your admissions decision, but most schools WILL use your financial need as part of your admissions application. It’s a great question to ask the schools you’re applying to so you can learn if they use it as a small part or large part of making your decision!

Is FASFA information ever used for the purposes of making admission decisions?

Some schools are need-blind which means admissions decisions are made without considering whether or not you’ve applied for financial aid, so in that case applying for financial aid would not work against you.

Most schools are need-aware, though, which means that applying for financial aid may impact what admissions decisions you receive. That being said, if you need financial aid to afford a school it’s very important to apply for financial aid when you submit your application. If you wait until after you receive your admissions decision, there may not be any financial aid left for you.

Will applying for financial aid negatively impact my chances of being admitted?

This depends on the school. At some schools, the admissions officers review the application and then once all the applications have been reviewed they begin to consider financial need of the students they want to admit. At others, the admissions officers may know at the beginning how much financial need a student has and that may factor in to their review of the application.

For schools that are not need-blind, at what point does the admission officer reading the application know how much financial aid I need?

Yes. Most schools distinguish between aid that is awarded based on a need and aid that is awarded based on merit, but schools are not bound to offering aid based exclusively on your federally calculated Expected Family Contribution. Some schools use a formula completely different than what the government uses to calculate EFC based on your FAFSA, and even schools that use the EFC provided by the FAFSA can use professional judgment to make adjustments. So it is possible that if a school really wants you to attend but does not have merit aid to offer you, they could make adjustments to your need-based financial aid. It is unwise to count on that, however, and even if it does happen it is unlikely to be a substantial amount.

Do some colleges give more financial aid as an incentive to attend their school?

This varies from school to school, so make sure you explore the websites of schools you’re applying to. Many schools will have a separate scholarship application, and often times it is due EARLIER than the application is due. But other schools do consider students for scholarships automatically.

Will I automatically be considered for scholarships when I apply to a college?

Usually, yes. Some schools list the requirements to qualify for merit scholarships very clearly, which may put you in a position to estimate in advance the amount of merit aid you may receive. Other schools do not list scholarship requirements clearly at all, so it can be risky to count on scholarships to afford those schools. That shouldn’t stop you from applying, but make sure to manage your expectations in case you are admitted and cannot afford to attend.

Should I apply to a school if I can only afford to attend if I receive scholarship money?

It's possible. Even if a college is not requiring test scores for admission they may still require or prefer test scores for scholarship consideration. Scholarships you apply to from an external organization may also require or prefer test scores, even if the college you will be attending does not. It's always best to ask the administrator of the scholarship if test scores are required or recommended for consideration.

Does applying without test scores negatively impact my chance of receiving scholarships?

There are many local and national organizations that award scholarships to students no matter where they are attending college. When applying for those scholarships it's important to understand how much the scholarship award is and if it is for one year or all four years.

It's also important to know how the money is distributed. If they give the money directly to you, you can use it to pay for things like tuition, books, transportation, etc. If they give the money to the school you attend, the school may use that money towards their financial contribution instead of yours.

For example, say a college costs $10,000 and offers you $8,000 in financial aid. This means you and your family pay $2,000 and the college pays the other $8,000. If you receive a $1,000 scholarship from an organization that gives the money directly to the school, it's possible the school will now pay $7,000, the organization pays $1,000, and you still pay $2,000. This is sometimes referred to as scholarship displacement. Learn more here: https://www.collegeguidancenetwork.com/content/428

Not all schools apply outside scholarships that way, but make sure you understand the value you will get out of a scholarship before you spend time applying for it.

Should I apply for scholarships outside of the ones colleges offer?

Definitely not! If you have questions or concerns about the financial aid package a school offered you, reach out to the financial aid office before you commit. You want to feel confident in what attending that school will cost you before you pay an enrollment deposit.

Do I have to commit to attending a school before I can speak to the financial aid office about my financial aid package?

Many schools have formal financial aid appeal processes in place for students who need their financial aid package reconsidered. Look on the financial aid office's website to determine if they have a process, and if they do you should follow the steps they outline. If they do not list a formal process you should call the financial aid office and explain your situation. Financial aid officers are there to help you and will explain what options you have. Be prepared to explain and document why you feel you should be receiving more aid, and it also helps to express how passionate you are about attending that school.

I was admitted to a college I'm excited about attending, but I need more financial aid to afford it. What should I do?

FAQ: Money

FAQ: Money

FAQ: Money

FAQ: Money

Are financial aid and scholarships the same thing?

​

What is the FAFSA?

​

What is EFC?

​

Does the FAFSA only allow for you to add up to 10 colleges maximum?

​

What is the CSS Profile?

​

Do you fill out the CSS Profile for each school individually? When do you fill out the CSS Profile?

​

Should you send the CSS profile only if they ask for it after reviewing your submitted application?

​

How much does my parents' income impact my financial aid package?

​

The financial aid office looks at information from two years ago, but my family’s income was much different than usual in that year. Can I provide information from last year instead?

​

Is a 529b plan taken into consideration as an asset when determining financial aid?

​

I have siblings who are or will be in college at the same time as me. Will financial aid offices take that into account?

​

My parents aren't helping me pay for college. Do they still need to fill out the FAFSA and other financial aid documents?

​

I'm an emancipated minor. Do my parents/guardians still need to fill out the FAFSA and other financial aid documents?

​

Is FASFA information ever used for the purposes of making admission decisions?

​

Will applying for financial aid negatively impact my chances of being admitted?

​

For schools that are not need-blind, at what point does the admission officer reading the application know how much financial aid I need?

​

Do some colleges give more financial aid as an incentive to attend their school?

​

Will I automatically be considered for scholarships when I apply to a college?

​

Should I apply to a school if I can only afford to attend if I receive scholarship money?

​

Does applying without test scores negatively impact my chance of receiving scholarships?

​

Should I apply for scholarships outside of the ones colleges offer?

​

Do I have to commit to attending a school before I can speak to the financial aid office about my financial aid package?

​

I was admitted to a college I'm excited about attending, but I need more financial aid to afford it. What should I do?

​

More Like This...

Are financial aid and scholarships the same thing?

​

What is the FAFSA?

​

What is EFC?

​

Does the FAFSA only allow for you to add up to 10 colleges maximum?

​

What is the CSS Profile?

​

Do you fill out the CSS Profile for each school individually? When do you fill out the CSS Profile?

​

Should you send the CSS profile only if they ask for it after reviewing your submitted application?

​

How much does my parents' income impact my financial aid package?

​

The financial aid office looks at information from two years ago, but my family’s income was much different than usual in that year. Can I provide information from last year instead?

​

Is a 529b plan taken into consideration as an asset when determining financial aid?

​

I have siblings who are or will be in college at the same time as me. Will financial aid offices take that into account?

​

My parents aren't helping me pay for college. Do they still need to fill out the FAFSA and other financial aid documents?

​

I'm an emancipated minor. Do my parents/guardians still need to fill out the FAFSA and other financial aid documents?

​

Is FASFA information ever used for the purposes of making admission decisions?

​

Will applying for financial aid negatively impact my chances of being admitted?