FAFSA form for college

[FourBees]

Has anyone had two children in school at the same time and if so have you had to fill out a separate form for each child or is there a place on one for a second child. Thanks

 

[dhuba]

Yes, you do have to fill a different fafsa for each child in school.

 

[pat fan]

Yes, a form for each child and as soon as you can. I always filled mine out in January then adjusted them once we had our taxes done.

When our DS was in his senior yr of HS, they had a little class to show parents how ti fill them out for the first time, they said the most important thing was to have a bottle of wine with you and maybe a box of chocolates! True stuff. It is a major pain in the rear!

and I don't have to do it this year

 

[punkin]

Yuk. Don't remind me. I have to fill one out for DD this year again and I hated it last year. All it got us was a lousy $2K and a whole bunch of loans. I am not looking forward to it this year either. We have no tax stuff yet, so everything will have to be an estimate.

 

[FourBees]

Thank you for your replies. I know about filling them out as I had to fill it out last year for my oldest daughter and now I guess I get the pleasure of filling it out twice. I thought there might be a place to transfer the information from one to the other but I guess no such luck. Oh well I know where I will spend a good deal of my day tomorrow

 

[linnylu]

First timer here- what is the advantage to filling them out now and then adjusting later? Is it okay to wait until the end of January when our tax stuff is all in? I have heard about estimating, but I'm not sure why this would be done.

 

[disneyfan007]

Last year their was a space for the parent to apply all of their information to each student they have enrolled in college. It is at the very end of the electronic application. There is a section for the student to do and those will need to be done seperately.

 

[pat fan]

what is the advantage to filling them out now and then adjusting later?

We were told that the sooner you send it in, the better chance you have for the most money. The later you send it in, there may not be as much to divvy out. Don't know if it's true or not, but that's what we were told.

 

[Disneybuckeye]

We alway try and do it early and adjust. We have 3 kids in college so we get the joy of doing it 3 times.

 

[pat fan]

We have 3 kids in college so we get the joy of doing it 3 times.

 

[bdcp]

The two years our boys were in college at the same time, we got lots of loan offers and my youngest son was in a private school that cost a heck of a lot more than public so he got like 2K in "scholarships" per year for those two years. Problem was, tuition alone was 11K/semester. Everytime we did the form it told us we could afford like 40K/year for college or something like that. I said yeah, if we sold our house and rented an efficiency apt.

We just used home equity after the first two years for our oldest. We could easily swing in state college for one, but that was about it. Oh well, we invested in their futures and they've promised if they win the lottery or become wealthy, they'll pay us back.

And yes, the FAFSA is a major PITA.

 

[Sadie22]

First timer here- what is the advantage to filling them out now and then adjusting later? Is it okay to wait until the end of January when our tax stuff is all in? I have heard about estimating, but I'm not sure why this would be done.

Deadlines for some programs occur very early. It's best to get your information in to all the colleges and scholarship programs as far in advance as possible. If you miss a deadline, you miss out. You can update the information once submitted but if you miss the deadline to submit your child may not qualify for anything at that school.

 

[Debbie7452]

My DD is a freshman in college, so I did it last year early. We were not eligible for any real "aid" meaning grants or actual money, but we were offered loans which we didn't use. The interest rate was awful and accrued immediately!

So, this year I mentioned to DH about needing to fill it out again and he asked why since we didn't get any help anyway...I didn't really have an answer. Do I really HAVE to do it? She gets a scholarship from a private foundation(not full, we are still struggling to pay), but I don't think they require it. I told him I don't know why but I think I have to do it no matter what....Does anyone know? In 2012 we will have two in college and then we will be eligible for some help. Luckily DD #2 is looking at a full ride scholarship, but I think we will still get more help from FAFSA just based on having two in school. I have my W2 already isn't that all that's needed?

 

[linnylu]

I also don't know if we should bother to fill out the FAFSA. I know we won't get any aid since this is our first child in college and we make too much money I am also worried that a school might look at how much dh made in 2010 and think that we could afford the college without merit scholarships. Yes, 2010 was good but the last 4 were awful and we are just recovering financially from those years. I don't see anywhere on the college website that it says you must fill out the FAFSA to be eligible for the presidential scholarship.

 

[bdcp]

My DD is a freshman in college, so I did it last year early. We were not eligible for any real "aid" meaning grants or actual money, but we were offered loans which we didn't use. The interest rate was awful and accrued immediately!

So, this year I mentioned to DH about needing to fill it out again and he asked why since we didn't get any help anyway...I didn't really have an answer. Do I really HAVE to do it? She gets a scholarship from a private foundation(not full, we are still struggling to pay), but I don't think they require it. I told him I don't know why but I think I have to do it no matter what....Does anyone know? In 2012 we will have two in college and then we will be eligible for some help. Luckily DD #2 is looking at a full ride scholarship, but I think we will still get more help from FAFSA just based on having two in school. I have my W2 already isn't that all that's needed?

W2 isn't enough. You need your filed income tax pkg. They ask all kinds of whack questions and want all kinds of info on your assets. If you do too good a job saving money, it actually hurts you.

 

[Skatermom23]

I also don't know if we should bother to fill out the FAFSA. I know we won't get any aid since this is our first child in college and we make too much money I am also worried that a school might look at how much dh made in 2010 and think that we could afford the college without merit scholarships. Yes, 2010 was good but the last 4 were awful and we are just recovering financially from those years. I don't see anywhere on the college website that it says you must fill out the FAFSA to be eligible for the presidential scholarship.

We get no aid either but still fill out the FAFSA so that DS can qualify for the Stafford loan in just his name. This year I will fill the form out for DD as well, who we are hoping with qualify for merit money as well. I guess they could look at the income amount and say "heck no," but I don't think it works that way.

 

[Marionnette]

File even if you think you wont get anything. Our daughter got nearly $3K in grant money from her school (not federal or state) and we never expected anything. Alot of people dont file fafsa thinking that they dont qualify for any aid. Colleges can only disperse the grants to people who filed.

For those who want to file fafsa early, use your previous tax forms to fill it out. The ammend it when you file your 2010 taxes.

 

[prncess674]

Yuk. Don't remind me. I have to fill one out for DD this year again and I hated it last year. All it got us was a lousy $2K and a whole bunch of loans. I am not looking forward to it this year either. We have no tax stuff yet, so everything will have to be an estimate.

Well $2K is WAY more than a lot of people get. Apparently a few hours of your time isn't worth $2k in FREE MONEY?!?!?!

 

[cruisnfamily]

Well $2K is WAY more than a lot of people get. Apparently a few hours of your time isn't worth $2k in FREE MONEY?!?!?!

I was also thinking $2000 would be great!
There are all these little scholarships out there that dd is applying for that are only $250 or $500. I'd love to get $2000!

 

[herdtoDisney]

Oh wow, this thread made me remember that I need to fill out Ds' FAFSA today! He goes back to school tomorrow. Ugh Ugh Ugh.

Some have asked should they fill this out? We took a class on this financial stuff last year (ds was a HS senior then) and they said, it can't hurt and might help. So we decided to go ahead and do it.