Parent's Income and Scholarships Forum

[singapore_sling]

So here's the deal, my parents are paying for my undergrad. I did not fill out the FAFSA for undergrad because I knew with their income I would not qualify for any need based aid. I'm wondering if Law School's give out their scholarship amounts(are most of them merit based?) and need based grants while taking into account your parents income.

If so I think that's kind of ridiculous. I do not want, nor would my parents give me, money for law school. I intend to take out loans and pay my own way, but it would really discourage me if I end up having to go into more debt because of my parent's income.

[georgetown.hopeful]

doesn't matter-- as a grad/professional student you fill out the FAFSA independently

[Kretzy]

For HYS, Boalt and Columbia (which was fairly generous to some folks this year), parental income is taken into account for grants. Some folks who got no aid in UG were able to get significant aid from one of those, generally Y or S.

[dominkay]

doesn't matter-- as a grad/professional student you fill out the FAFSA independently

You fill out FAFSA independently, but law schools will still want to see your parents' income to determine eligibility for need-based grants.

http://www.law.harvard.edu/current/sfs/ ... urces.html

[georgetown.hopeful]

doesn't matter-- as a grad/professional student you fill out the FAFSA independently

You fill out FAFSA independently, but law schools will still want to see your parents' income to determine eligibility for need-based grants.

http://www.law.harvard.edu/current/sfs/ ... urces.html

interesting...not in my case when i inquired about this...but awesome if it works for someone

[AppsAbound]

I applied to 14 schools and I am fairly certain that all of them required parents' income to be considered for any kind of merit/need aid outside of a named scholarship. Some schools made exceptions for students over 30. The trick is that sometimes "need" aid also takes into account other aspects of your application, so even if your parents income is high, you could still get something from the school.

[Core]

For HYS, Boalt and Columbia (which was fairly generous to some folks this year), parental income is taken into account for grants. Some folks who got no aid in UG were able to get significant aid from one of those, generally Y or S.

Penn, UCLA, and Georgetown as well.

[thechee]

I don't think parental income usually factors into merit awards. I received scholarships from Michigan, Penn, and WashU before sending any financial data to any of those schools. Duke, on the other hand, requests that admitted students fill out a scholarship application that asks for info on family income and personal assets.

[09042014]

Northwestern doesn't factor in parents aid. But I'm also fairly sure their Need + Merit aid = entirely Merit aid

[AppsAbound]

Northwestern uses Need Access which asks for parental information.

[09042014]

Northwestern uses Need Access which asks for parental information.

Need Access only asks for the information if the schools requests it. If you fill out for multiple schools and one of those schools requests it, it will still be on your form, but NU says they disregard the data.

I only filled out Need Access for NU, and it did not have a section for my parents, and NU's financial aid instructions explicitly state they don't use it.

[AppsAbound]

Ha. Ok. I'll take your word for it. Most of my schools used Need Access so I didn't look into each schools requirements.

[Stanford4Me]

FAFSA does not take into account your parent's income, but when I applied for aid at NYU they asked for my parent's income, and when I received my merit-based aid they asked for my parent's tax documents (although the woman in the office told me it would not affect my scholarship).

[singapore_sling]

So does anyone know if a hypothetical student with 3.9/171 numbers could get nearly a full ride at a school like UT or GW even if their parents had a fair amount of assets?

[Stanford4Me]

So does anyone know if a hypothetical student with 3.9/171 numbers could get nearly a full ride at a school like UT or GW even if their parents had a fair amount of assets?

I have a friend who is from Colorado and had like a 3.6 and 172+ (he never told me his exact score), and he was able to negotiate pretty much a full ride. He starts in the fall, so he's from the 2009-2010 application cycle. And he certainly doesn't qualify as "economically disadvantaged."

[berkeleykel06]

So does anyone know if a hypothetical student with 3.9/171 numbers could get nearly a full ride at a school like UT or GW even if their parents had a fair amount of assets?

Yes.