Does asking for financial aid hurt your chances of getting into college?

Many students and their families worry that applying for financial aid could hurt their chances of being admitted to colleges. Unfortunately, many schools do take financial need into account when evaluating students for admissions.

According to the New York Times, most colleges and universities in the United States today are considered “need-aware.” This means they accept most students without looking at their need for financial aid but take need into consideration for a percentage of applicants.

Elite schools such as Harvard, Princeton, and Stanford can afford to be need-blind in admissions because of large endowments, but with many college’s endowments shrinking and funding cuts to public colleges, fewer schools are able to meet students’ full financial need or admit students without considering their ability to pay.

To increase their chances of being admitted, some students and their families choose not to apply for financial aid. However, this is a risky move for most families, as few can afford to pay full freight for college without loans, grants, or scholarships.

If his or her family can’t afford to front the entire cost of attendance on its own, a student may be forced to take out private student loans at higher interest rates to make afford the full cost of attendance. In this weak economy, there are no guarantees that college graduates will be able to find a job that allows them to afford high student loan payments.

Choosing whether to apply for financial aid is a personal decision that needs to be made within the family, by assessing the family’s ability to pay, available financial options, the student’s chances of admission, and the student’s future career interests.

if you’re struggling with the decision to apply for financial aid, call us at 1-888-234-3907. We offer a free initial consultation to determine if your family could benefit from working with our financial aid counselors. For more advice and answers, check out our blog or our Financial Aid FAQs.