So happy (and jealous!) of all of you who have the last apps in! We still have at least 4 more to do. All the rest are RD, but would like to have them done sooner rather than later. It is nice having the few in that we have done. And so glad fafsa and css are done
Hey moms and dads! I donât currently work in a school. But I wanted to remind you that this is a great time to show our appreciation to our schoolâs guidance department. They work as hard as we do (or more) to keep these kids moving in the right direction during this busy season. They bear a lot of responsibility in making sure our kids applications are complete. And well, I think that itâs important to use positive reinforcement to keep them going. The guidance department really is the motor that keeps the school, and our kids, running. An unsolicited thank you email goes a long way!
Anyone just not doing CSS or FAFSA? Confident that we wonât get anything based on experience with D17, although she has one more year. Not applying to any meets needs schools. Only one that takes CSS, which is even more discriminating to those in our situation. Mostly state schools. No, none require FAFSA for merit scholarships.
Talk me into itâŠ
I have started but not finished FAFSA. I may finish it in case we decide we need loans, but right now not planning to take them. So far I donât think the schools heâs applied to require it for merit. Def not doing CSS. Only one in college now so fairly certain there will be no need based aid coming his way.
We arenât doing FAFSA anymore. It was highly suggested for our oldest DD16 at OU to get departmental scholarships even though we made too much for any aid. UTD does not require FAFSA for NM and since their NM covers 100% of tuition and fees plus stipends, departmental aid wonât be needed. DD16 is graduating this December and getting married in on New Yearâs Day so no more FAFSA for us:-)
@Momofmanytoo
Thank you for your reminder. Just sent thank you emails to DSâ GC and other teachers! They really deserve our appreciations.
We are not doing FAFSA nor CSS. DSâ GC recommended us to at least do the FAFSA as he thinks some schools might ask for it for their merit aid considerations. We will have to do some research to see whether the three schools that DS will apply in RD round will require FAFSA for merit-aid.
We are not doing FAFSA or CSS with the caveat that my D20 is suppose to contact all merit possible schools to see if they require it for merit only which she hasnât finished. Iâve heard that some require it, but none so far have for merit only.
Weâll do it this year because we will have two in college next year. Not expecting anything but it is worth a try.
I was pleasantly surprised by our FAFSA result. It was definitely worth the 15 or so minutes it took to fill it out.
About FAFSA - if you are not planning to complete it - how is your student answering the question âare you seeking need-based financial assistanceâ.
(we answered that âyesâ - yet to do FAFSA; leaning towards not doing it but wondering if colleges deem app incomplete if we are asking for assistance but not providing the details through FAFSA? any thoughts?)
@hs2020dad
DS selected ânoâ in his CA application for FA but provided his social security number.
We are doing both, even though CSS is a real pain, because we actually do qualify for some aid (however small the amount may be). Also, we will have 2 in college next year.
We did the same. But we were thinking that quite a few schools require the FAFSA even for consideration of merit aid. Is this no longer true, do you know? Or should I look up each school?
We got burned (just for $8K, but it hurt) when we skipped a year doing FAFSA for my daughter (who is a senior in college). One of her merit scholarships was dropped.
@mom2jgd
I would definitely check for all the schools that offer merit to see whether they require FAFSA.
My son has already applied to a couple of EA schools and after running the calculators we do not seem to qualify for FA however I completed FAFSA but have not submitted yet. If we submit, would the schools think that we made a mistake on checking the no box? I donât mind submitting just in case there may be merit that requires completion of FAFSA but at the same time I donât know how this would look when we are not asking for FA. Any thoughts? Thank you!
No FAFSA or CSS here. We wonât qualify for aid and none of my kidsâ colleges require it for merit. They answer âNoâ when asked if we are applying for need-based assistance.
@califmom23 The box is for need-based aid, so youâre good. My son put his SS# in because we do intend to complete the FAFSA just in case itâs required for merit.
Happy Halloween all! D20 will be at home tonight finishing up the last 2 EA apps.
I would like to share the scare I got this morning when I got my Informed Delivery digest email and it showed a letter from the IRS!
I am new to the game of college applications so I panicked. I turned the letter was just telling me that information on my tax return was used to complete the FAFSA. What a relieveâŠ
@mom2jgd - we checked with DSâs ED/EA colleges, they donât require FAFSA for any merit aids. Think its better to check with individual colleges (in our case they responded pretty quickly).