BCEagle91

"I surely agree that the fafsa is long, complicated, drawn out, and a pain in the ass. But what isn't when your dealing with the government? People will find a way to get it filled out if they want free money, no doubt in my mind about that... maybe they make it hard because they know that a certain percentage of people will just say screw it and not fill it out. if everyone did, they wouldnt have enough money. just a thought.."

For those of us that filled it out and found no free money, it was a complete waste of time and revelation of our income and asset status to people that shouldn't have access to it.

thumper1

NOT TRUE...for FAFSA, you only report the income of your custodial parent...the one with whom your reside.

I've long advocated for a direct link between the tax prep software (turbo tax and the like) and the FAFSA. Importing the information from the tax software into the FAFSA would be so much easier than looking for line number whatever (not that it's hard...but it would be ONE less step to have that info imported directly onto the FAFSA). In fact TT piloted this last year, but I don't know how it went. I (sadly) was not asked to be part of the pilot!!

The FAFSA is not a difficult form to complete. If you complete the worksheets first, it's even easier to do.

Still...I'm VERY HAPPY that I've completed my LAST FAFSA...woohoo!!

ThatPoshGirl

I did my taxes with tax act online and it asked me if I wanted to import my tax information into my fafsa.

sk8rmom

Posh, I use TaxAct too - it doesn't actually import to FAFSA but will turn your tax numbers into a minimally useful Fafsa worksheet format.

sueinphilly

we're talking about maybe 3 numbers that are on the tax form that go onto the fafsa.
If you can survive the tax form, the fafsa is a walk in the park (except for maybe people with businesses or lots of non-traditional income sources)

kelsmom

I agree ... but believe it or not, parents routinely report "taxes paid" incorrectly. It's a disappointment when students think they are going to get a Pell grant & all the other grants that often go along with Pell ... then I look at their 1040 & see taxes paid are 0 rather than $6000. When I change the amount & recalculate need, voila ... EFC is too high for Pell. I cannot stress enough the importance of finding the line the FAFSA tells you to use when reporting income! I know the FAFSA is confusing ... but when they give you the line numbers, use 'em, please. I do know why some report incorrectly. They use the tax recap page, rather than the form itself.

Dbate

The FAFSA was not complex at all. I filled it out myself as a high school senior with my parents information and it was straightforward, simple, and included exact directions as to what should be included. The CSS Profile however was WAY more complex. The FAFSA was a piece of cake.

xam

Im in total agreement!

iceice074

when does the FAFSA go up for the 2010-2011 year?

swimcatsmom

January 1st, 2010