Heather in VA Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 I don't know why I can't remember how this works. It seems like an eternity since we did it for my oldest. My middle daughter has all her acceptances in now. She has letters from the schools indicating her merit scholarships. All of this happened before we filled out the FAFSA. Now we have filled out and submitted the FAFSA to each school she's been accepted to. What happens next? Do we assume that the cost of attendance is the cost minus the scholarship or will they send us something later with additional aid etc? I know with my oldest when we set up the payment plan there was special grant for VA residents who go to private schools in VA (which I knew about because I live in VA but not because I remember it being on any letter from the school) and the Stafford loans which we had the choice of accepting or declining. But all of that was after she told the school she was coming. I don't know why I can't remember what we were sent before hand. She chose a school we knew we could afford without issue so it wasn't as big of a deal then. For my middle student it might be different, plus we now have two in college which I think affects the FAFSA. Will we get a financial package from each school with the actual price etc or do we just assume we pay what's on the website minus her merit aid? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanetC Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 You need to check the financial aid website for each school. Every school has different deadlines and notification procedures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 Will we get a financial package from each school with the actual price etc or do we just assume we pay what's on the website minus her merit aid? Since you already have the notification of the merit awards, you will not be paying more than the full cost of attendance minus the merit aid. You MAY or MAY NOT receive additional aid based on financial need. This is dependent on your own financial need and the policies of the school. Many many schools will determine your financial need and subtract the merit award since that is covering part/all of your financial need before deciding to provide need-based financial aid. A few generous schools will stack the awards. You CAN still get the direct student loans, as long as your merit is less than the full COA, so you can count on those as well. Sorry, but you need to check with each individual school for how it is handled and when you can expect notification (often through the online portal so pester your student to check student portal and email frequently). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.