@palm715 I do that research too. Reddit is a good place to find out where students live after freshman year and what they usually pay. And I get stuff on Facebook from each of my son’s schools because he doesn’t want to display any favoritism until after acceptance.
Haven’t done the FAFSA. We are only doing it to have the option of borrowing $5500. It’s not due until March 1 and I think I will have my taxes done by then. I don’t really want to have to change it after it’s submitted so I think I’ll wait. I haven’t received any tax documents yet. This seems like this year will be tax forms on steroids.
My son turned 18 very recently and registered to vote and for the draft. There’s a window to register; if they don’t register by age 26 they can’t register and can never get government backed loans or jobs. I’m feeling very weird about having my 6’ snowflake available to the military with all the all that is going on in the world.
We are not filing FAFSA. We don’t qualify for any need-based aid and none of the schools that D is looking at require it for merit. I know people say to do it anyway but we had an identity theft issue last year that we are still working our way out of and the last thing I want to do is enter a lot of personal financial information onto a website.
@indsfolax I think that the key word in your post is “expecting” any need based aide. Would your child be able to attend school if you experienced a catastrophic loss such as a large hospital bill, fire, loss of a job, etc. Our state offers grants which almost everyone qualifies for , I can’t speak about California. Even if my son receives several thousands of dollars and the opportunity to take out a small federal loan if he needs it. It’s worth filling out. It’s not that difficult or different than the CSS profile.
@palm715 Fellow research junkie here too! I’m on Twitter and Reddit solely for the purpose of college research… I think we’re all junkies to some extent since we’re all here on CC! I don’t know any people in real life that know what it is.
We started the FAFSA last night. Got all the demographics entered. This Saturday is suppose to be cold & rainy. I’m thinking that’s a good day for all the nitty-gritty stuff.
Several of the schools DS applied to use the CSS - although it would be highly unlikely he would attend. I think I am in denial about having to complete that too! [-(
@me29034 I have the same issue with filing the FAFSA just in case. DD had pretty much every type of identifying data possible to steal taken last summer when she was employed by the government. We have no hope of getting any financial aid and I feel like putting all the financial info out into the world is just asking for more trouble. These organizations, from the government to the banks, seem to have no ability to keep information safe and no real plan to clean up the mess left in the wake of identity theft.
@carolinamom2boys and @MostlyDolores are there at least some additional scholarships where being a dependent of a vet is a requirement at the schools your DCs are looking ? It doesn’t seem right that after all those years of service the college bound benefit would be just out of reach.
@bookmom7 We polished both of them off in an evening. Just waiting for W2s now to finish taxes so last year’s data will populate. It’s my understanding that next year will also use 2015 data for FAFSA and it will be available in Oct. has anyone else heard this?
@Themommymommy I’ve researched and I’ve not found any available for students whose veteran service member is still living. Open to any new info though if anyone else has any.
@LKnomad Exactly about the stats. Even the basics, like “graduation rate” is based on freshmen who start and finish at the same school. It doesn’t include undergrad students who transfer in and then finish. Plus, then there is the interpretation of any stats. What’s it mean if students leave? What are the stats pushing colleges to do? Etc. It’s a real rat’s nest for the lay person to attempt to derive meaning from raw stats. But, there they are…at the bottom of our SAR.
FWIW, I think it’s a good idea for everyone to do a FAFSA this year. All the reasons have been mentioned upstream and on CC. But, it’s a personal decision, of course.
@bookmom7 lol if only that were true just logged on to CB and got soph D18’s PSAT score…girlfriend needs to start studying! D16 told me last night to leave her sister alone about the test scores when they come out.
Cute: HD responded to our SAR this morning. He was sputtering about our EFC of about $19K and huffing about how families can’t afford that. Yes, hubby. (Where have you been thear past two years? NPCs had predicted such a number.) Good thing the kid’s tuition grant covers full tuition up to $34K. So, EFC is ultimately irrelevant for us. We need to come up with room, board, fees, books, and travel.
