@Undercovermom1 No. Custodial parent and another one for a child.
Thank you @mommdc and @ballerina016
Wow, all this info on the FAFSA I didnāt know. So to summarize, both S and I need one?
On another note, S got first official acceptance today, he is enrolled as a DE student at our local CCā¦
Yes, @Mysonsdad I believe that one parent and the student need their own FAFSA ID. Super Congrats to your S! Is this to take classes over the summer or is he taking classes currently?
Only one parent needs the FSA id, and the student needs one. If you had a FAFSA pin in the past, you need to change to this new system (you should have received an e mail to that effect in the last few weeks.) Itās not that hard to set up; I think they are just anticipating technological overload when the FAFSA season hits in January. I know I am dreading doing it again, though our situation is not as complicated as some! Iāve never had to do the CSS profile for older daughter though, so that will be a new one for me.
Whoever posted the US News article, thanks, it was interesting. I never knew that all the schools could see who else was on the list!!
@mysonsdad, is he taking classes this spring? I know he has some great acceptances that will come to pass in the next monthsā¦
One of my current headaches is that the ā202ā follow-up to D16ās ā201ā DE Chinese class last semester was just cancelled for low enrollment. It did confirm once again that our local university is really not a reliable option for her in the long term as far as that particular academic interest. Right now, I need to figure out an alternative plan for second semester Chinese though. She may end up working with a tutor and prepping for the Chinese AP exam (which will create an entirely new headache as I try to figure out a testing location for the exam!!)
Thanks for the FAFSA information! I wish I had more time to keep up with this thread in more detail!
Dreading FAFSA, so just ignoring it for now. Maybe after Christmas.
I feel ya @Booajoā¦doing exactly the same thing!
Just a comment about FAFSA and CSS. Different schools have deferent due dates. Be sure to check when each school requires the forms to be filled.
Can you sign up for passwords now or do you need to wait until Jan 1?
You can sign up now for an ID and then wait until Jan 1 to begin filling out.
S got the acceptance from Mississippi today. There was nothing about scholarships, even though itās supposed to be automatic tuition and room for NMSF.
@GoodGrief16 @lvmjac1 Itās just so he will have 4 years of foreign language, plus he wonāt have to take it in college, and it only costs $10 for a 5 unit course
@GoodGrief16, it never ends does it. Itās just one stressful headache after another. I was so caught up in S college apps that I forgot Christmas shopping until I saw a post on here about missing the holidays due to college apps. Iām done now.
@mstomper, congratulations to your S
You really need all your tax forms to fill out the FAFSA properly so I have to wait until after Jan 31st to do ours. The soonest I saw any schools (on our list) requiring the info back is Feb 15th.
The big rush for filing taxes and FAFSA is only for the application year. For my older kid in college the paperwork isnāt due until after April 15th. But maybe that is just her school because they promise to meet 100% need? Does anyone have a different experience with Financial Aid deadlines for currently enrolled students?
@Mysonsdad Oh thatās a great idea to the 4th year of language issue recently discussed on here!
@mstomper Super Congrats to your S! Keep the great news rolling inā¦I love to hear it!
Funny, DD didnāt want to apply ED b/c she couldnāt choose 1 fav. She already had 2 acceptances, one with $$ under her belt. Then all her friends EDās came through & she was quite sad that they were SO happy & she was still waiting to hear from 10 schools. Yesterday she received another acceptance with almost 1/2 the tuition covered each yr. Now she is happy she has choices & can weight her options & is looking forward to seeing what else comes her way. This acceptance couldnāt have come at a better time. Phew!
Actually, you can fill them out early in January using last years numbers and then as soon as your tax returns are prepared for 2015 you can go in an adjust the original information to agree with you 2015 Form 1040. You can even set it up so that FAFSA can upload your Form 1040 directly from the IRS. This is supposed to minimize the necessity for verifications but that is not always the case.
How do prepaid college tuition programs impact EFC?
Our schoolās counselors advised not waiting until the end of January to fill out the FAFSA (unless the tax situation is super complicated).
Their position was that you can get very close estimates for most values from the last paychecks of the year, bank statements, 4th quarter results on your investment from your financial advisor, and such.
And that those can be verified through IRS data retrieval after you file your 1040.
Pitfalls? Newbie to this so a bit confusing.
ETA: thanks @lvmjac1 , your post went up as I was composing mine.
If you are in the situation where you know the merit award is above the EFC, are you considering bagging the FAFSA if you know you donāt want a student loan next year? Or, Iām wondering if we should do it just in case. Thinking out loudā¦ Or typing out loud.