One of my kids just applied for a federal government internship, and the application asked for the SAR page from FAFSA. It was a very short application window, and we were glad we had the info available. She’s applied for a couple of scholarships while in college for particular programs that had a need component as well, and received at least one, even though we have a high efc and don’t otherwise get any need based aid.
@techmom99 - My daughter goes to a SUNY and with me having two kids in college she did get some subsidized federal loans. It wasn’t alot, but it was not squat. Our AGI was above 100K.
You are not speaking from personal experience, and your understanding is not accurate.
Thanks, @lookingforward . Yes- its just intended as a quick references for income and # of dependents only- doesn’t take the other factors into account. But he writes an annual article for Forbes which is pretty good.
Some colleges DO require the FAFSA from any student who wants to be considered for merit-based aid. If you are considering NOT submitting the FAFSA, then be VERY certain that you will not be applying to any school that has this requirement.
College Board has a FAFSA predictor that you can find here:
https://fafsa.ed.gov/FAFSA/app/f4cForm?execution=e1s1
Plug in some basic numbers and get an estimate of your EFC. When we did this, it did not take a long time - less than half an hour, maybe as little as 10 minutes? I think you can choose the college - we put in a school that was known for being generous - Yale or Harvard - to get a best case scenario. Then we plugged in one or two more. If the EFC is at or close to list price, then don’t bother, unless…
As others have mentioned, do verify with schools offering merit scholarships that the FAFSA is not required for eligibility.
FAFSA is a lot simpler than filing tax return unless you have a lot of assets in many different forms and accounts.
No, no one is obligated to complete a FAFSA unless (s)he is applying for financial aid.
Many of son’s potential colleges do not offer merit aid, but of those that do, none require filing a FAFSA for merit aid.
We didn’t file the FAFSA at first because we knew we wouldn’t qualify for any need based aid. Then D received a merit scholarship from a school that required it for merit. We quickly filled out the form and submitted it, a week after the school’s deadline. I spoke to someone at the school and was told that the deadlines are really just guidelines to encourage people to fill it out in a timely manner. They won’t take away your merit award if you are a little late.
Hope her sons never want to work for the government, because it is a question on the app and usually you can’t get around it. If you answer ‘no’, you can’t file the application. Why do people make decisions that may have a big impact on their lives years later. I had a friend ask me if there was any way around it. I told her no, that even if he didn’t file a FAFSA the LAW is that he has to register. I think females have to start registering too.
I have two kids in school. The daughter at a public school does have to file FAFSA to get ANY aid from the school, including merit, talent, or financial.
A couple schools give a bonus to anyone who files. U of Vermont has one listed, but I’m hearing it is only for instate residents. Still, $1000 is nothing to sneeze at.
We were offered subsidized and unsubsidized loans as well. I turned them down. I don’t consider those financial aid, although I know that many people do. To me, financial aid consists of scholarships and grants that don’t have to be repaid. To me, a loan is a loan, it’s just a matter of whether or not the interest is deferred.
I was disappointed not to qualify for Excelsior because I think the income limits are low, considering that this is NY. However, what made me livid was realizing that, at least at my son’s school, every student who didn’t qualify for Excelsior is being charged an extra $100 per semester in tuition, I guess to subsidize those who are being subsidized. Fortunately, this was not the make or break for us and I can pay the extra $200 but it’s kind of like adding insult to injury.
Not registering for Selective Service also renders someone ineligible for a security clearance to work in a NON GOVERNMENT job. There are hundreds of companies which require a security clearance to work in certain divisions or in some business lines- and not just those which deal with military contracting.
Big, big mistake which has nothing to do with financial aid.
When you have so much money rolling in that having even more would be inconvenient.
I think that figure is different for everybody.
Glad I found this thread before starting a new one.
I have been trying to figure out if D’s schools require the FAFSA for their merit aid/scholarships and it’s not clear. Would the FA page on the school’s website specifically state that FAFSA is required to be considered, or do they assume that everyone is filing the FAFSA and would they state the opposite if not necessary.
In speaking with friends who have gone thru this in the past, asking the school tends to result in a conversation where the school is trying to convince you fill out the FAFSA"just in case", but we know our EFC is too high and don’t want to bother if we don’t have to (I’d rather spend the effort finding other potential merit or service based scholarships that she also has little chance of getting…) and yes, we know this means no loans, but like someone else said, we don’t view the un-subsidized loan as “aid” either.
Also, would this question in any way be construed negatively by the school?
Our kids had access to outside scholarships through the local community foundation that required a FAFSA be filled out, so you may need to file it for organizations besides the school they attend. Ours were merit based because EFC exceeded CoA but without filing FAFSA they would not have been considered for the merit scholarships that they were able to take to any school they chose.
I completely agree with you. I strongly counseled my friend to have her sons register for Selective Service, but I could not force her to do so. All 4 of my sons are registered because it’s the law. The oldest works for the Post Office and I am going to ask him if he was asked for his Selective Service status. He was 25 when he applied there.
@techmom99 From the USPS handbook:
515.22 Postal Service Employment Eligibility Requirements
To be eligible for Postal Service employment, a male born after December 31, 1959, must either be:
Registered with the Selective Service;
Unregistered and over the age of 26, if the hiring official determines that his failure to register was neither knowing nor willful (see 515.323); or
Covered by an exemption to the registration requirement referred to in the Selective Service law (see 515.213).
515.311 Required Information Regarding Selective Service Registration
During the application process, each applicant is asked the following:
Whether the applicant is a male born after December 31, 1959.
If the answer to question 1 is “yes,” the applicant is asked whether he is registered with the Selective Service.
If the answer to question 2 is “yes,” the applicant is required to provide his Selective Service registration number.
If the answer to question 2 is “no,” the applicant is required to state why he meets legal exemption to Selective Service registration.
Note: An applicant may state that he has received a letter from the Selective Service stating that he was not required to register. A male born after December 31, 1959, who is age 26 or over and is not registered with the Selective Service can request a status-information letter from the Selective Service stating whether he was or was not required to register.
@hjmlmiller FASFA takes less than 30 minutes if you have your tax forms and online banking info available. Most family businesses are event exempt.
CSS Profile is more involved, particularly if you have a family business, divorce, etc. but FASFA should not be feared. It’s about the level of a 1040EZ.
@MA2012 -
Thanks for the link. Since I was born in 1959, my sons were definitely born after that date. My sons all registered as soon as they turned 18. Actually, with S17, I checked the box on the FAFSA that allowed him to be automatically registered upon turning 18. I firmly believe that people should register for the Selective Service because it’s the law.
As for my friend, her older son is now in his early 30’s and works in private industry. I have no idea if at some point in his career, he might try for a job that requires a clearance and what could happen if he’s declined. I doubt his mother (my friend) even discussed the issue with him.
Very few schools require FAFSA for merit aid. You need to check each school’s financial aid website to see whether they do, and if it’s unclear, call the admissions office and ask. My D applied for huge merit at 16 schools last year (mostly state flagships). Only one required FAFSA, and only if you wanted to be considered for their large pool of specific criteria scholarships, some of which factored in need; their major merit scholarships didn’t require it.
File FAFSA after running some net price calculators to get a sense of your EFC, to hedge against any future change in circumstances (mostly if it’s a private), or if you want federal loans. With an EFC higher than COA based on NPCs, only file for reasons 2-3. If you don’t care about 2-3, don’t file.