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Lupine
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| Joined: | Thu May 17th, 2007 |
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| Posts: | 129 |
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Posted: Mon Apr 14th, 2008 10:31 pm |
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Carolyn posted a link to a very interesting article from the US News and World Report website on financial aid appeals --
http://www.usnews.com/articles/business/paying-for-college/2008/04/10/what-they-do-when-you-ask-for-more-.html
All to the good, until I read the following:
Bauder (the financial aid admisinistrator at the University of Maryland) also notes that the student, who does not live in Maryland, had a FAFSA sent to several colleges in the family's home state. She notes that the student listed UMD seventh on the FAFSA, which she believes means it is almost a last-choice school. "It's subliminal," she explains. "I know my kid put the school he wanted first on that list."
Somehow I never thought that any given university got to see what other schools a kid applied to, much less the order in which they're listed on the FAFSA distribution. This strikes me as way too much information sharing, and not supported by the FAFSA disclosure statement.
Families already feel paranoid enough that their need for financial aid adversely affects some admissions decisions -- knowing that schools now can see what order you listed the schools in on the FAFSA simply adds to that. I also don't think that it is any school's business what other schools a student applies to.
Maybe I'm just having a bad day, but this just ticks me off.
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mackinaw
Member
| Joined: | Mon Mar 6th, 2006 |
| Location: | Michigan |
| Posts: | 776 |
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Posted: Mon Apr 14th, 2008 11:16 pm |
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Lupine, it ticks me off too. All I can think is I'm sure glad the University of Chicago didn't hold it against my son when he mistakenly put the code for University of Illinois-Chicago on his SAT form as a designated recipient of his scores. (Generated a lot of mail from UIC, though.)
College adcoms that have time to look at this kind of stuff actually have way too much time on their hands, haven't had a teenager themselves for a while, or are way overthinking the admissions process. Time for a vacation -- or a new job.
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Descartes
Super Moderator
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Posted: Mon Apr 14th, 2008 11:20 pm |
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Yes, I learned of this a few months ago: apparently this has always been true of the FAFSA form. It is (purportedly) not true of SAT and ACT score reports.
I have heard it suggested that school names be listed in alphabetical order on the FAFSA precisely for the reason that a financial aid officer would not then infer (rightly or wrongly) a preference from the list provided. However a better practice would be for the government to withhold the names of other schools from the FAFSA report. Why should they be entitled to this information?
It is instructive that advice from admissions offices generally dissuades applicants from attempting to "game" the process, but these kinds of practices suggest that admissions offices themselves are not above leveraging artificial nuances and other trivial "insights" for their own purposes.
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mominva
Member
| Joined: | Sun Mar 5th, 2006 |
| Location: | DC Suburbs |
| Posts: | 332 |
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Posted: Tue Apr 15th, 2008 01:55 am |
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I remember reading the advice of filling out the FAFSA then submit to one school. Log off, log on again, erace school one, submit to second school. Log off, log on again, erase school two, submit to third school,,,,repeat until submitted to all schools. Each school only sees their own name!
Last edited on Tue Apr 15th, 2008 01:56 am by mominva
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outwest
Member
| Joined: | Sun Mar 4th, 2007 |
| Location: | CA |
| Posts: | 548 |
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Posted: Wed Apr 16th, 2008 04:53 am |
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I was just going to suggest that, but the students shouldn't have to do that. When you hit send is it instantaneous, I wonder?
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Chedva
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| Joined: | Sun Mar 5th, 2006 |
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| Posts: | 557 |
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Posted: Wed Apr 16th, 2008 12:34 pm |
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| It's easy to do the "one school at a time" with the Common App, but much harder with FAFSA. It takes 2-3 days to process the FAFSA, and until you get your SAR back, you cannot edit the FAFSA. So if you have 5 schools, you have to give yourself at least 15 days leeway before the due date to make sure that it gets where it needs to go on time.
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outwest
Member
| Joined: | Sun Mar 4th, 2007 |
| Location: | CA |
| Posts: | 548 |
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Posted: Wed Apr 16th, 2008 02:11 pm |
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That's what I was thinking, too, Chevda. It seems it took a few days to get confirmations.
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leftcoast
Member
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Posted: Thu Apr 17th, 2008 02:19 am |
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I went with a variation of the alphabetical order plan -- it was when the FAFSA only allowed 6 colleges to be listed (I think they've changed that now and allow more) -- so I looked at financial aid deadlines and put the schools with the earliest deadlines on the first FAFSA. Then THOSE went in alphabetical order.
Of course, it just so happens that my daughter's college, Barnard, ended up first on the list that way (ahead of Boston U., Brandeis, Brown, etc.) So who knows?
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Descartes
Super Moderator
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Posted: Thu Apr 17th, 2008 02:52 pm |
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Followed by Bryn Mawr and Bucknell? 
I'm just "b"-ing annoying.
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Lupine
Member
| Joined: | Thu May 17th, 2007 |
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| Posts: | 129 |
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Posted: Thu Apr 17th, 2008 03:08 pm |
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B-kind, Descartes!
Okay, so given all this, what's the best strategy given that we won't have a big enough window to submit the FAFSA one-at-a-time for each school?
Do three submissions: one featuring the "match" schools listed in alphabetic order, another featuring the "safe bet" schools in alphabetic order, and a third with the reach schools? One list with everything, all alphabetical?
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jocelynDAD
Member
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Posted: Thu Apr 17th, 2008 03:47 pm |
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D3 submitted applications to 16 schools. I submitted the FAFSA data in two groups due to size limits per submittal. All 16 offered aid and/or scholarships. Three of these schools issued corrections to the FAFSA after they received our Income tax forms. I issued a correction after I completed the income tax form. In all, there were 7 corrections to our original submittal.
Naturally, none of us know in exactly what manner the individual schools operate regarding the paper review cycle of applications and how and when the FAFSA and other financial reviews and decisions are made. 
However, IMO if a school intends to determine their selection process based on where else the child is applying most probably, if the school is that determined, they will get the data. Remember, they ask in the admission paperwork, at many schools, they ask at the interview (in some cases) , they can call the GC and (skillfully inquire).
However, when you reflect (especially at the high competitive schools) and the volume and flow of paper that they must deal with, plus the interviews, telephone calls and the time constraints etc etc etc, it would be difficult if not impossible for any school to pursue any significant percent of their applications to gain that relatively minor information.
Maybe on the last few selections where they are struggling to fill the class on those relatively few (cusp applicants) they might take the time and trouble to seek the range and number of other applications. To my logical and methodical mind that is the only time there would be time, incentive and need enough for the ADcoms to investigate such a tiny item.
Therefore, I would urge any student/parent to relax, submit the FAFSA early as possible and after the Incomne tax forms are completed - correct the FAFSA as necessary and not to sweat the small stuff  . Remember their adcom staffs are limited in personnel and time and if they have 5,000 or 40,000 applications that is a ton of paper (maybe tons of paper), they really do not seek more to read and file and monitor and discuss etc etc etc.
As to that article and the quote from the administrator - I think it is so false as to be a direct lie! 
Does anyone believe that the student submitted that FAFSA? Has anyone on this site fiven their families financial data to their child and told them to have at it, submit the financial and other family details - complete the form, allocate the tax andincome figures, etc etc etc. and this in a family with a College./university Financial Aid parent>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Give me a break! Maybe the child wrote out the list, but the parent most likely completed the FAFSA form in all respects. Therefore to make that kind of presumption and base a critical decision on the relative placement of college names on the FAFSA is really lame. I just do not believe that FA administrator is for real.
Last edited on Thu Apr 17th, 2008 04:29 pm by jocelynDAD
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CarolynLawrence
Administrator
| Joined: | Sun Mar 5th, 2006 |
| Location: | USA |
| Posts: | 3197 |
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Posted: Sun Apr 20th, 2008 11:54 pm |
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JocelynDad,
At my high school, nearly all of my students fill out the FAFSA and CSS Profile themselves, without parental help. Many of their parents do not speak English, or have no real sense of the importance of financial aid paperwork. In most cases, the parents just give the kids their tax returns, which were done by H&R block or a next door neighbor. I know this because I had to sit and help many of these kids correct their FAFSAs and CSS Profiles when inevitable mistakes cropped up. In more than a few instances, I had to call parents and insist that they get their taxes done early so their kids could apply for financial aid. So, yes, there are students out there who are doing the FAFSA and CSS Profile all on their own, with minimal, if any, help from their parents.
Last edited on Sun Apr 20th, 2008 11:54 pm by CarolynLawrence
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