Fafsa related doubts

[thumper1]

1. for 2019-2020 using 2017 tax info. But when filling income details, should it be current income or 2017 income ?

2017

2. if taxes are filed for 2018 year, still is it ok to use 2017 taxes for 2019-2020?

For the 2019-2020 FAFSA you use 2017 tax return information.

3. is it okay to select work study program and not work on campus? Is it mandatory to work on campus if opted for work study program in fafsa? What about vice versa… Meaning did not opt for work study program, then can student still apply for work on campus or internship?

IF you receive work study as part of your award (doubtful at this late date) then those monies need to be earned working a work study job.

You can choose to work off campus if you want to, but that will be a regular job.

4. is the purpose of applying for parent FSA number only to sign or should parent also have a separate form etc?

Parents complete the PARENT section on the FAFSA (do you see that?) and students complete the STUDENT section.

The student needs a FSA ID, and one parent needs one to sign electronically.

5. is it enough if only one parent applies for FSA number or both parents have to have those numbers?

One parent.

6. should 401k be mentioned anywhere?

there is a question that asks about the 2017 contributions TO these accounts on the FAFSA. The balance IN these retirement accounts is not included.

7. if parents filing taxes jointly then, should all savings, earnings be entered in fafsa as combined savings and combined earnings

If your parents are married, it doesn’t matter if they file jointly or separately…ALL these things need to be included on the FAFSA for both of them.

8. should exemptions be from 2017 or 2018 or 2019?

2017…everything on the 2019-2020 FAFSA comes from the 2017 tax year.

9. if parent and student have joint account then that balance amount is parents saving?

Joint or separate accounts…ALL balances in both parent accounts need tombe listed if your parents are married.

10. if student had summer job in the summer of 2018 (not 2017) then those earnings be entered in student information?

NO. You are using 2017 tax year information…not 2018.

11. how many days does it take to get FSA number for student and parent?

Not long. Make sure younwrote EVERYTHING down and keep it in a safe place because you will need all the security question and log in information again.

And YES…it’s late since this has been available since October 1. This should have been filed when your kid applied to these colleges.

I also see that your daughter got accepted to a number of public universities in a LOT of different states. Clearly you are not a resident of all those different states. For those out of state public universities, can you afford the cost as an out of state resident.

Which one is your instate option?

And lastly…you wrote this in January…

If the college cost of attendance per year is 30k and if FAFSA EFC value is 50k, will the college ask parents to pay 50k?

Are you expecting an EFC in this range? Did you run the Net Price Calculators for each of these colleges BEFORE your kid applied? The schools WILL expect you to pay their calculated family contribution. If the cost of attendance is less than $50,000, you will be paying the full costs. If the cost of attendance is more than $50,000…then $50,000 is the minimum you will be expected to pay.

How much CAN you pay annually for college costs? That is the bigger question. And are ANY of you daughter’s acceptances affordable?