My opinion, check with the school, some require FAFSA even with merit.
My D has full tuition, and merit exceeds EFC, but we still qualified for a state grant and subsidized loan, so if you hope for any FA I would file FAFSA.
Also earlier is better than later especially for students who might qualify for FSEOG grant, Perkins loan, federal work study. Schools have limited supply of these to give out. Also some state grants are first come first served.
I know we will not qualify for FAFSA this year but might in two years when we have two kids in college, even if we donât qualify one or both kids might want to take out a student loan at that point. Is there any penalty for not submitting FAFSA the first two years of college?
@fretfulmother I think you are wonderful for trying to help that student (even if he did not seem receptive)! You have done your best to help another and that is a wonderful mentality (and one I would have tried myself). I have offered assistance and the benefit of my knowledge from going through the process and from what I have learned from all you on this forum. Some have accepted, some have politely thanked me and went on their own, etc. It doesnât matter to me either way because I feel that by offering to âpay it forwardâ sort of speak, when anyone does that they will receive assistance (when they need it or could use it) from another sourceâŠits almost like banking a âPay It Forwardâ coupon. The snarky co-workerâŠwell lets just say that person has a lot to learn about giving. I have found that when you have a giving nature you generally receive just as much if not more in return. Giving is the fuel of the soul!
@fretfulmother This student did not apply EA and no rolling admissions either. And his 1st choice is UMich!
@Mysonsdad @lvmjac Thank you so much!! 
I totally agree about paying it forward. (Two students just found me in the library and asked to come this afternoon LOL - kids I didnât have since freshman year in physics. I said sure. I figure itâs the least I can do since Iâm not celebrating Christmas or cooking etc., and probably their parents are!)
@RyanG1207 - oh dear. Well, good luck; UMich was so so so competitive this year and I sense it is getting more so every year.
About the FAFSA - we knew we wouldnât qualify for any financial aid (too high of an EFC). D had a great merit scholarship. H talked to the financial aid office while we were at the accepted students day - and she suggested that we file the FAFSA anyway. I did tell her what our EFC would be if we did, She asked us to go ahead and file anyway - and they ended up giving D a 2500$ grant each year. Was blown away by that - but hey, if a few minutes of my time filling out the FAFSA netted 2500$ each year, I was willing to do it So, in general, yes, FAFSA is not needed for merit aid, but please check with the school âŠ
Oh - and for timing - we ended up filing this in April of that yearâŠthen received reminders to file it each year after (usually deadline was in April).
@3scoutsmom when I went over this very question for my S last year, I was told by a number of colleges that if you donât apply for finaid as a freshman, you canât apply later even if you situation changes. I was told to fill out the FASFA knowing I wonât get anything. I canât make a sweeping statement that says every school is like this, but I emailed 8 and got nearly identical answers from all. I would suggest contacting your schools and see what their specific policy is on it.
Thanks @MuggleMom and @arisamp Iâll let DH know that he has another task to do!
I plan to fill FAFSA at the end of January when all the tax documents are available. I wish it is easier than CSS which took a lot of my time.
DD felt much better on her acceptance to Binghamton than UMich due to price tag.
Many students applied to UMich from DDâs school and DD felt a guilty when she see few deferred kids who consider UMich their first choice and there are many accepted kids who considered UMich as a safety. I had to tell her whether she applied or not, the competition is the same and UMich will accept more students based on expected yield change.
We can only count on merit aid this year. Will filing FAFSA and CSS profile put DD at disadvantage as seeking FA and not qualifying for it?
The writing teachers are not right for college essays. By all accounts, very few teachers really know what works for top college essays since how kids are expected to write for school has zero bearing on their college essays. The one area where the writing teachers can help is with precis writing skills. i.e., how do you convey the most with 150 words or worse, 150 characters.
My personal view is that the best people to help with lottery school essays are those who were involved in reading the essays of kids who got into top colleges. In many cases those are heavily involved parents whose kids got into top schools.
I concur with everyone saying to fill out FAFSA anyway. Every info session Iâve ever attended has said to fill it out, because you never know what you may qualify for.
@Ballerina016 With DD we filed the FAFSA/CSS with all her schools but marked on the applications that we were not seeking financial aid.
We filed the forms because at least at that point, both Grinnell and Brandeis required you to file the forms to be considered for merit aid. That may have changed for those schools, but the point is to carefully check each schoolâs website.
What about the question on college application asking if your are going to apply for FA? It will be disconnect if one will say ânoâ on application and then fills FAFSA. I am just thinking out loud. This is our first experience so I donât know.
@Ballerina016 I pondered the same question last year. My conclusion is that itâs not going to hurt to ask for fin aid even if youâre not qualified. 1. You never know what school has what criteria 2. Some merit aid depends on filling fin aid forms 3. In case your situation changes, you have a form on file to revise, otherwise you have to wait till next year 4. In need aware schools it might even help for them to see that you have money to pay tuition I.e. It might boost your DK chances. 5. Itâs not like they are going to say: they have money to pay but asking for aid - letâs not admit.
6. For the schools that it would matter, they will have access to your forms to see if they actually do need to put money aside for you and base their decision on that. For other schools it wonât matter
Apparently not all school handle financial aid the same. We donât qualify for anything now but expect that we will when our younger son starts college. After reading posts here I called the Financial Aid office at Tulane (the most expensive option on Dâs list) to see what their policy was. They said you did not need to file the FAFSA and CSS as a freshman in order to receive aid in later years.
Depending on how many NPCâs you ran, if you filled out a NPC for one or more of the several hundred schools that use the Cegment platform http://www.cegment.com/our-clients (such as Rice, Tulane, Drexel, WUSTL), or the ones on the College Board platform, you likely have already answered most or all of the questions from the FAFSA.
Unless entries were randomly estimated or major factors have changed, a lot of that work is already done.
Same if you already filed CSS Profile.
I just read that congress made the American Opportunity Tax Credit permanent.
We are facing another 8 years of kids in college (with some overlaps) so this is welcome news.
Regarding the Financial Aid questions, I would definitely fill them out and submit, even if you do not believe or definitely know that you wonât qualify. I am not sure if it is a fact that if you do not submit for students first year that you cannot submit for subsequent years, that does not make sense to me but then again its the federal governmentâŠso who knows. I would call FAFSA and ask them. I have had to call a few times and they have been so helpful and nice that I would not hesitate to call again if need be.
I really feel for many of these students who either did it on their own or do not have any sage adults in their life who can help guide them (or like many of us read, researched or asked others for information and advice). This is a very adult process that many think 16, 17 and 18 year old students can or should to handle on their own? I do believe that they should be intricately involved in the process but to leave entirely to their own devices is or can have extremely upsetting and potentially costly results! Even with all my research and learning from others (especially on this forum) that there are many things we could have possibly done differently. Its a learning process but we know many kids who are handling it totally on their own (which breaks my heart). My D tells me almost daily about how this one or that one has done it alone and now is not receiving the results they hoped or expected. She knows to offer my assistance but some are not comfortable with that and some I suspect think its no big deal. All any of us can do is offer and be available - you cannot make the horse drink
My FinAid 2 cents.
Schools have said outright that if you do not apply for FA the 1st year, they will not award FA the following years. The only exception is if a family situation changes like loss of job or death.
âCan applying for aid hurt you?â Well that depends. SLAC like Union, F&M, DIckinson, etc, DO look at need when deciding whether or not to admit. Yes, some like F&M and Bucknell say they are need blind - it is simply not true. Over the years they have come right out & said to the HS Guidance Counselors, when pushed as to why they did not accept a certain well qualified applicant, it is because their financial need was too great. Which is why they also say if you do not apply for FA the 1st year, you will not be given the next years. It is all a game⊠It is not the government saying you cannot apply for FAFSA.
FAFSA does not give students money. FAFSA gives the money to the schools (not earmarked for any particular student, but in a lump sum) & the schools decides who gets & how much they get (which is why your FA package is different from college to college).
Please note, I am only speaking about SLAC as these are the schools my kids have applied to so they are the only ones I have researched. I have spoken with Admission Counselors, HS Guidance Counselors & Financial Aid Officials to get this info. This may apply to State schools & larger schools, I just do not know.