Panicking too soon?

[JennifersLost]

If we did our FAFSA by the end of January and received three acceptances from colleges in February - but no aid packages - does that mean we're not getting any? Or am I panicking too soon?

 

Our efa is high, so I'm not expecting a full ride even though my son did great on his test scores, but...nothing? Won't they even send a letter telling us we're getting nothing?

[TravelingChris]

No, while my daughter has gotten 7 acceptances before New Year, none have given us the lowdown on financial aid yet. All seven have awarded her merit aid already.

[Beebalm]

Thank you for asking this. I'm losing sleep worrying about who will do what when. Can any veterans tell us the timeline of this process? Some people have told me it's early yet, but this is my family's first time through the college search saga.

[Jane in NC]

Thank you for asking this. I'm losing sleep worrying about who will do what when. Can any veterans tell us the timeline of this process? Some people have told me it's early yet, but this is my family's first time through the college search saga.

 

I dove into my files for you. My son applied Early Admission to the college he is now attending as a first year student. His acceptance letter in January indicated his merit aid. I sent the FAFSA in February. The official financial aid letter arrived in April.

 

I kept the info from School #2. Same timeline initially, but their financial aid letter has a March date.

 

Remember, students must decide by May 1. I think that spring of senior year is a time of much anxiety for parents as we await the pieces of the puzzle.

 

Jane

[creekland]

Financial aid in the form of merit aid often comes with or within a few weeks (3 or 4) of the acceptance letter.

 

Need based aid and "general" financial information almost always comes in March or later as many colleges have a March 1st or 15th deadline for priority Fafsa submissions. Once those are in, they consider all admitted students and see who they are going to offer what.

 

Once you get the "first" notification, you can sometimes "up" an offer if you call or have a "better" offer from another college. It just depends on how much money the college has and how much they want the student. There are some limits based on your Fafsa for federal aid. There are no restrictions on college aid if no federal aid is involved.

[Photo Ninja]

Many schools wait until after March 2 to start dealing with need based aid because that is their FAFSA priority deadline. They may still distribute need based aid in order of when they received the FAFSA, though. Schools are all different in how they handle it. It is not late to hear. You may not hear until late April. Don't worry. They will send a letter that says you don't qualify for anything except loans if that is all you qualify for. You will hear something eventually.

[JFSinIL]

While I agree with the above, oddly enough eight of the nine schools that accepted ds last year DID send scholarship, etc. info with the acceptance letter! He did all his apps early in the fall - none as Early Decision, but simply to get them DONE - and then acceptance packets wandered in from Oct. to March. Full info on loans came a bit later - we did the FAFSA and Profile by end of January - one school (where he ended up going) had an extra $500 award simply for filing the FAFSA early, even if you knew you'd have to tweak it later after completing taxes!

 

The two schools that rejected him took the longest, too!

Edited February 25, 2011 by JFSinIL

[creekland]

While I'm mainly bumping this up to get above the multiple spams :confused: I'll add that I agree with JFS that merit aid usually comes with or within a few weeks of an acceptance letter.

 

It's need based aid that often comes later - after the Fafsa.

 

This is all based not just on my kids, but multiple kids from our high school. Merit aid gets posted on the wall with acceptances.

[distancia]

Merit aid notification comes with the acceptance letter or shortly thereafter---possibly two, three weeks. And you can get additional merit aid as time goes on, and some students don't accept, allowing your child to move up the ladder, so to speak.

 

Regarding need-based aid, I have read various replies, but the general consensus is that notification is anywhere from the end of February through the middle of April. EACH SCHOOL HAS A DIFFERENT AWARD DATE, so check online for each one!

 

From what I can see, you may have to log into the school site itself, and check under the Student tab (entering your personal information) and then check under Financial Aid. I don't know if you receive a letter, maybe someone else knows that.

[Nicole M]

 

Remember, students must decide by May 1. I think that spring of senior year is a time of much anxiety for parents as we await the pieces of the puzzle.

 

Jane

 

You can say that again! Today we had auditions for the School of Music at the college where I work, and I was having full-on flashbacks to last year. I think I'd blocked out the anxiety from last year, but it all came back today.

 

Our experience is about the same as Jane's. Typically, the aid packages are sorted out in late March & April, after the colleges have sent out all the acceptance / rejection letters, which, for ordinary (not early action or early decision) is early- or mid-March.

[Beebalm]

Thank you so much for your responses. The music audition process on top of the normal college ap process is tough. Thank you for giving an idea of timelines and norms.