does applying for fafsa lessen your chances of getting accepted into an out-of-state private university?

Answered

Hi! Also rising junior here and my brother actually just graduated Georgetown this year so I think I can help. Although he didn’t apply to FAFSA he did tell me a bit about the process about applying for financial aid and how to get a job at the university. This is what I heard from him and what I got from the website:

1) You have to apply for FAFSA and CSS in order to receive financial aid

2) Georgetown is need-blind for financial aid, which means the amount you need to take out/your level of aid does not impact how likely they are to admit you (someone who needs partial aid isn’t valued more than someone who needs a full ride, etc)

3) They do NOT offer academic nor merit-based scholarships so you would have to apply for aid to lessen the cost

If you don’t want to apply for student loans/scholarships not affiliated w the university, I recommend you getting a job (I know there are a couple of jobs within the Business school my brother worked at) either in or out of school, or maybe some part-time work during high school. You cn also tutor kids in your neighborhood for some extra cash (I do this and I charge $15 an hour; if you live in a wealthy/affluent neighborhood you can stretch it to $20-30, if not maybe $10) You can also enter various contests for writing, language (national exam), stem (science fair), things like that where you receive monetary awards. Even if you can only save up one or two thousand dollars from this in a few years it will still help.

I will be quite honest kids who are able to pay full-price do have an advantage at schools like Georgetown bu that doesn’t mean that you are going to be discounted in the slightest. As long as you work on strengthening your application and developing a clear and cohesive story that you can present to the university, you will be in good shape. Hope this helps! <3