"will file" status on FAFSA

thumper1
Sat, 07 Jan 2012 09:56:50 +0000

Actually most schools WILL prepare a financial aid award for your child (our kid had THREE EA financial aid awards prepared based on “will file” estimated FAFSA).

HOWEVER…any financial aid award you get using the will file status, and estimates will not be finalized by the college until you actually amend and resubmit the FAFSA using the REAL numbers from your 2011 tax return. So get that done ASAP.

And yes, your awards can go DOWN…if your income goes UP.

Filing the FAFSA using the “will file” status gets your child’s application in the queue so to speak. This is especially important for limited funding awards like the Perkins, SEOG and Work Study which have limited amounts of money allocated to schools and are awarded on a first filed first served basis.