Financial Need vs. Ability to Use a scholarship
Hello,
There is much discussion about financial need of a student. We evaluate a student based on a number of input items from the student such as SAI, income, extenuating family circumstances.
What I do not see being considered is the ability to use a scholarship. Does anyone determine the amount the student owes - SAI? Or even just the amount the student owes?
The downsides are that the scholarships would have to be decided after a bill is received, and there would be an increased workload for the foundation.
I asked this question about a month ago, but it was buried in another topic.
If anyone does this, please let me know how to go about it!
Thank you!
MC
Comments
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We do not ask specifically how much a student owes but we ask a few short answer questions that offer a chance for the student to explain their financial situation including any gaps in funding. One such question below:
Describe how you plan on paying for your college education. Your response may include scholarships, loans, grants, family/parental support (if applicable), working a job, etc. Include any gaps in funding you might have.
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I did add that question, but I might need to reword it because I got very general answers. We already ask about jobs in the application.
When is your due date? The reason we might be getting too general of an answer from students is that our due date is well before any decision and/or financial aid package is received.
Thank you!
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Many of our answers were somewhat general too. Most said they would use scholarships and loans to pay for school, and some included that their parents would help. Our deadline was April 30, 2024, which leads to the same problem that you ran into. Honestly a lot of it can end up depending on how much information the student shares to help reviewers understand their situation, and that ultimately depends on how much effort the student decides to put into the application.
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Our application has students upload their FAFSA Submission Summary with SAI and their financial aid award letter from the school then plan to attend. We can then calculate need well in advance of the student bill availability
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@EllenVietor, I am adding a question that asks for an upload of the FAFSA Submission Summary, then type in the SAI, and type in the Pell Grant. We'll see what that does for us. Hopefully I won't be running through the applications, hiding the question this year because of the FAFSA again!
Thank you!
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