Does a higher mortgage get you a better scholarship with fasfa? Or do they not take that into account?
Where you live and your mortgage is a life choice. It is not taken into consideration to get you a scholarship or more need based aid.
The only “scholarship” you get by submitting the Fafsa is a Pell grant, up to about $5k. And you’d have to be poor to get that.
The cost and value of your primary residence…including any mortgages…are NOT NOT NOT included anywhere on the fafsa form. At. All.
Although the opposite may be true. If you pay off some/all of your mortgage, you have removed savings and that is something that is on the FAFSA and affects financial aid. I certainly would pay off the mortgage just for that reason, but it should factor into a decision to prepay the mortgage.
I meant to say “I certainly would NOT pay off the mortgage just …”
Paying off some of the principal would not necessarily affect the actual mortgage payment each month. It would shorten the remaining time to pay…but the payments might actually not change…at all.
To the OP…you might be doing a LOT of financial gymnastics for no financial,aid gain. Does this college,meet full need for ALL? If not…you just might not see any real difference by paying off somemof the mortgage on you home.lleven if it does reduce your bank accounts.
The #1 most important factor is your income.
I think you’re a soph or junior in HS. Please talk to your parents about how much they’ll pay each year for college.
FAFSA is for fed aid and isn’t much (to many folks surprise). Free money from the Feds is for low income people, and again, it’s not much.
Schools that only use FAFSA rarely meet need.