Should we bother with FAFSA?

Paying for College
1

<p>My daughter will be going to college next year and has been accepted to UNC-Chapel Hill and other colleges in our state, some of which are private colleges costing 25 to 30 thousand dollars a year. UNC-Chapel Hill is only 15K though. Our annual income was at it’s height last year and was over 130K between me and her father. I hate to even put that figure on here, but I need to know if I even need to bother filling out the FAFSA. I know we don’t qualify for financial aid, but do we have to fill it out in order to be eligible for merit scholarships that she is in the running for? </p>

<p>Or should I just ask the colleges"</p>

<p>Thanks for any help!</p>

2

<p>I think it varies with colleges. I know that in California, some schools require you to fill out fafsa no matter what.</p>

<p>Also, filling out fafsa you might get options to finance her education such as loans. It also does not take long to fill out fafsa.</p>

3

<p>There was a thread on this a few weeks ago. The premise was that you need to look at the finances for all four years - not just the first year. It is best to establish a baseline.</p>

4

<p>File. For a lot of schools if you don’t do it the first year you are out of luck for subsequent years. If your income level changes or you add another kid in college down the road, you will be glad you did. </p>

<p>For some schools you have to do it for merit consideration, for others you do not.</p>