<p>Thanks @GoAskDad. Just one pin for married parents?</p>
<p>@KAMmom, I believe parents need just one PIN and the student needs one, as well. Here’s a link to the thread that was mentioned upstream, started by our own @OHMomof2, and it’s a great start for all of us Newbies!
<a href=“First time FAFSA filers: Get your PIN! (and a warning) - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1723724-first-time-fafsa-filers-get-your-pin-and-a-warning-p1.html</a></p>
<p>One parent and the student each sign with their own pin.</p>
<p>I’ve always uploaded our taxes to the FAFSA website and signed them with my pin. D’12 has had no involvement.</p>
<p>Thanks, @GoAskDad and @OHmomof2. I did the CSS for one of d’s EA schools, and that was a bear. Hoping the fafsa will be easier. All so complicated!</p>
<p>We had to upload both my return and s12’s.</p>
<p>Does it matter which parent gets the parent PIN? The stay-at-home parent or the works-outside-home parent?</p>
<p>D’12 hasn’t filed a tax return. I suppose that is why she’s never done a FAFSA or needed a FAFSA pin.</p>
<p>Aaargh, She will not work on her last application! It is due the 1st, and we have plans from the 28th (early Monday morning) on…so that leaves tomorrow. 1 day! It’s a school in her top 3…what’s the deal! ~X( </p>
<p>@shoboemom - At least you only have 1 more application! DS’s top 2 schools are sitting around collecting dust while he procrastinates. Plus a couple more apps he needs to finish due after 1/1.</p>
<p>I know it will get done, but I really wish they were finished so we could enjoy more family time.</p>
<p>Checking back in after a very strange Christmas week. Christmas was bookended by two Saturday memorial services. I was home all week and had to rely on the family to finish up Christmas prep and dinner since I was sick. I know it’s cliché, but you really do find yourself appreciating what you have at times like these.</p>
<p>D got a couple disappointing "no"s to her voice performance pre-screen auditions and one “no” that barely phased her since it was more of a “might-as-well” application. She has one pre-screen “yes” that is a huge relief and we’re waiting on a couple more. As was the plan, she is proceeding with applications to a couple other schools that we didn’t think we could fit in originally. I think she is fading fast on all of the essay writing. It’s especially difficult to answer “why x school?” when you’re spreading a wide net. She has auditions set up at three schools now (two didn’t require a pre-screen). </p>
<p>I’ve tried to keep up with the acceptances, etc. but I have not been posting much. Congratulations to all with good news! Two years ago, my D’13 was getting news of her ED acceptance and we just coasted to the finish line while everyone else was tied in knots. I think I like the one and done path much better!! ;)</p>
<p>I thought the student/applicant ALWAYS needed a PIN, the parent only if the student is dependent. I guess the student can sign physically instead, according to the FAFSA site: <a href=“https://fafsa.ed.gov/help/achk06hlp.htm”>https://fafsa.ed.gov/help/achk06hlp.htm</a></p>
<p>@W2behome, It’s such a difficult time to deal with loss. You are so right in saying that it makes you feel appreciative of what you have. The loss of someone close makes you think, in many ways. I am still working on that with the loss of my aunt last summer…I just don’t seem to be able to figure out a way to properly acknowledge it, but I think of her often. </p>
<p>Omigosh…maybe all I had to do was report to all of you that she wasn’t working on her application…because now she is! 
She’s decided she needs to start over on her essay…but she’s working on it!</p>
<p>I’ve never differentiated between “student” and “parent” PIN. D’12 is a dependent; hasn’t filed a tax return yet, so I just upload our tax return. It’s never been kicked back for not having D’s signature. And we don’t qualify for aid. If she was getting a Pell grant or some other program, she’d have to be more involved. I think its just informational for the school.</p>
<p>Now I’m curious…you upload it? Or you use the FAFSA-IRS electronic match?</p>
<p>I always think it’s kind of humorous that both FAFSA and the CSS Profile folks imagine that kids are filling out these forms, by referring to “you” when they mean student income, assets, etc. I don’t know about most of you but I have always filled out these forms. Kids give me their tax returns (which I generally have helped them fill out in the first place) and I do it all. Student pops in at the end to sign with PIN, that’s about it…and frankly I know my son’s PIN and could easily do that myself as well.</p>
<p>We’ve always found tax software to be invaluable when it comes to figuring out the best way to file taxes each year. We can create multiple returns to see how everything plays out if D1 is listed on our taxes with her income or if she files her own tax return. Depending upon individual family circumstances it can make a fairly substantial difference.</p>
<p>For those whose kids qualify for large dollar scholarships, remember that any scholarship amount that exceeds the cost of tuition, mandatory fees, and books (AKA “qualified educational expenses”) is considered taxable income for the student. For students with full-ride level scholarships this can often mean several thousand dollars worth of income and the requisite amount of taxes will be due. Still well worth it in the long run to incur a few thousand dollars in taxes to avoid paying $30K-$50K per year in college expenses, but it’s something parents need to be aware of and plan ahead for.</p>
<p>^^ I feel like I’m de facto being taxed by colleges too. For every additional dollar we make both the IRS and the finaid department have their hand out for their share. </p>
<p>But I do prefer that problem to the alternative of not having income to tax or pay for school. </p>
<p>@kidsrexpensive – Thanks for the head’s up on Macy’s – I ordered a Twin XL memory foam topper from them at a great sale price! We are starting to find things on sale and hoping to get most of the dorm necessities at a discount. :)</p>
<p>@mamabear16–I just checked out Macy’s, and they do have some good prices. What size did you get? I’ve never bought one of these before–just wondering whether 2" is enough. I think I will get one for my d’s birthday next month.</p>