applying for college financial aide?

[jerseygirl81]

My ds will be going to college in the fall so its time to apply for financial aide. Since this is our first child going to college this is all new to us. I applied for a pin code and thats as far as I've gotten so far. The person that does our taxes said we need to wait till we get our W-2's in the mail but my sisters friend who is an accountant as well says we can use our last paychecks and approximate and apply now both said the sooner we can do it the better. Any advice from others more experienced than us would be appreciated. Thanks, Linda

 

[martikus]

You want to file the FAFSA before any college priority deadlines. If you qualify for any type of grant aid, it is first come first serve so you don't want to miss the priority deadline. You can call the financial aid offices of the colleges she is considering to find their deadline. SOme are 2/1, some 3/1, etc.

Definiteley estimate your figures by using last year's 2009 tax return and your last paystub. The first time you "submit" your FAFSA is the submit date that is used for priority deadlines.

Then go back as soon as your 2010 taxes are done and update your FAFSA with actual figures.

Make sure to keep watch for emails & mail from the colleges - they will come to your student - not you. You don't want to miss any requirements (e.g. approx 30% of all FAFSAs are selected for verification where you have to mail copies of your tax return to the college).

Good luck - you are welcome to PM with any specific questions.

 

[sameyeyam]

Yes, make estimates and then when you have the actual you can go back and correct it. Don't expect much though unless you have a fairly low income. The only thing we qualified for was to take out student loans. Something that I refuse to do.

Our DD decided on a private college though and they give an automatic $1,000 scholarship to all students that even bother to fill out the FAFSA, so I guess it did get us a little something.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Be prepared to be shocked at the amount of money FAFSA thinks you should have available to pay for college.

 

[jerseygirl81]

Thanks for the advice I guess a little financial aide is better than nothing. Linda

 

[java]

I really have found this site useful
http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/funding.jsp

 

[Leajess99]

Fill it out now and then you can provide corrections if needed later. I know I often have been selected for verification (no taxable income so no tax returns filed) and expect to again when my son goes off to college in the fall. In Kentucky the CAP grants are now a first come first get deal so it is important to file ASAP or one may lose out. This info came from my college.

 

[Green Tea]

Your tax preparer is wrong. (Which would make me reconsider if that is who I wanted to doing my taxes) You need to fill out whatever each college is asking for with the application process. Estimate. If you wait until the taxes are prepared, you might miss individual college deadlines and be out of luck.

 

[Sadie22]

There is more to financial aid than federal funding. Make sure the FAFSA results go to any state scholarship programs as well as every college under consideration and any private scholarship programs for which your child may be eiligible. The deadlines for many of these are well before the FAFSA deadline and as some have said, first come, first served. As an example, our eldest received free tuition through the Maryland Distinguished Scholar program but was eligible for additional merit scholarship funding from several schools good toward room, board, and books which he would not have been offered had we skipped the FAFSA. The FAFSA was required even though financial need was not considered for these merit awards.