<p>Do you have to fill out the FAFSA in order to get National Merit Scholarship money? Asking this question for a friend of mine who does not anticipate being eligible for any financial aid. Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>Not for any of the scholarships we are aware of.</p>
<p>If its a school sponsored National Merit Scholarship they may ask you to file the FAFSA.</p>
<p>It is free and doesn’t take that long…you might not get merit money if you don’t file it…lots of schools require it for any monies handed out.</p>
<p>Some of the NMS’s sponsored by colleges will only give you $750 a year unless you have “need” - then will give you up to the full $2000. (And some will give you more than that, too!) Use the online calculators to see what your EFC is - and if you are even close to having “need”, go ahead and file a FAFSA or profile (whichever is requested by the schools you are applying to)</p>
<p>If you absolutely won’t qualify & none of the schools your child is interested in require FAFSA for merit money, you don’t need to file one. That’s the case for us.<br>
NM scholarships range considerably from a $500 one-time award to full-tuition & room & board renewable for 4 years, as well as everything in between. It’s true that some schools require showing of need in deciding how much NM money student gets. If you have questions, you can always contact the financial aid offices at the schools your child is applying to–they will provide the answers.</p>