I had to fill out the FAFSA in order to for D21 to be considered for merit at 2 of the schools she applied to. She ended up with merit from several on her list, including one of the schools that had the FAFSA requirement. I knew we would not qualify for any federal financial aid (and we didn’t) but she was eligible for the federal student loan that’s offered.
Filling out the FAFSA triggered a CSS requirement at 2 schools - one of which was an in-state where she was in the middle of the pack, stats wise, and very unlikely for merit consideration (based on the type of merit this school historically gives out). The other school was not in her top 5. The CSS questions were much more intrusive than the FAFSA and it didn’t make sense to spend the time filling it out when the merit chance was slim and the financial aid chance was nil. I emailed the schools requiring it and they confirmed that it was unnecessary unless we wanted to be considered for merit/fin aid.
We were new to the FAFSA/CSS process as we did not submit it for my older daughter, who received considerable merit without it.