FAFSA Help please

[DisnyMama]

Please wait until you fill out the Fafsa and get an offer from the school's Fin aid dept before you take money out of your house to pay for your child,s college. This is one time that the worse off in the finance area the parents are, the better the child will benefit. My DH was laid off in 2008, and frankly it was the best thing that could have happened to us. (as far paying for college - not anything else, lol)

I think there is a misconception about the Fafsa. It isn't reeeaally.....an application. It's more of a gathering of information that is required by law for your child to receive Federal Or State funds. But a lot of schools also use it for them to decide how the funds will be allotted, As well as scholarships merit and need based. You never know, and your child may miss out.

There is also a Feb 1 deadline for a reason - all the money gets allotted fast. There have also been hefty budget cuts on both the federal and state level for financial aid. As well loan programs disapearing as we speak because of the economy problems. Be your child's advocate and get all paperwork quickly.

Ok, off the soapbox now. Sorry, got carried away. Everything will work out, I have gone through 3 kids in college and the two girls are now in grad school.....

I 100% agree! I have been unemployed off and on the last few years which has been the only blessing as far as fin aid for DS. FAFSA is no big deal. Bottom line....if you have filed your income taxes then you have the info. to fill in and as said by previous poster the form is just gathering information. DS filled in his portion then called me to the computer and I filled in mine and then we did the electronic sig. and done. No biggy and definatley worth doing.

Shannon

 

[sammielynn]

I totally agree on the necessary evil, but I am absolutely convinced that we will get nothing. I wish there was a place that said if your college cost is ___% of your adjusted gross income, then you will receive aid.

What kind of payout did you get? State, Fed? (I am not asking amount - I am not that nosey)

I guess I really don't understand how it works too.

I live in Tennessee, to get the lottery scholarship for my sons I had to fill out a FAFSA. DS22 received $7000 in four years and DS20 has received $4000 in three years because I filled out the form. Before I changed jobs and got a huge raise, and while both of my sons were in college at the same time they got $1000 per semester in Pell. I made around $35000 a year then. DS20 also got an academic scholarship of $1000 his freshman year because i filled out the form. Now DS22 is out of school and my salary has doubled so there is no more Pell.
In short my sons have received around $18000 in aid in the past 6 years because I filled out the form.

 

[Trishtack]

I am a Director of Financial Aid for a private college. To address several of the questions/posts:

A FAFSA is required in order to receive any Federal or State grants or loans. Although you may not be eligible for grants, you may choose to take out a Parent PLUS loan or your child may choose to take out student loans from the Dept. of Edu. A FAFSA is required to do this.

You can complete a FAFSA up til June 30, 2013 for the 2012-2013 school year. However, many state grants are awarded based on financial need and the date the FAFSA is completed. For example, a $1900 state grant is available in KY for students pursuing at least an Associate Degreee. The funds ususally run out mid-February and are expected to run out earlier this year.

Most colleges require a FAFSA on file. Unless you are a straight cash pay, most will require the FAFSA.

The EFC is calculated using a number of pieces of data: income, household size, number of students in college, etc. It can be adjusted by schools under certain circumstances such as a parent being laid off, terminated, or being notified that their job is going away.

For the first poster: the $950 (I believe) should be reported for Question 38. This is for the 2011-2012 FAFSA. I have to run to a meeting but I'll post the actual question # for 2012-2012 in a little bit.

I am happy to answer any questions you may have about FAFSAs and Financial Aid. You can PM me or post here. I will subscribe to the thread.

Patricia

 

[DebMcDonald]

February 1 is the deadline for filling out the FAFSA? I think I had to wait until my taxes were done and then could fill out the FAFSA? Would I then fill it out on last year's taxes and then mid February go back in and update it?

I'm so confused right now.

OUr DD also is going to a state school and we're sure she's not going to get anything but were planning on doing as soon as our taxes were done.

 

[stacielee]

February 1 is the deadline for filling out the FAFSA? I think I had to wait until my taxes were done and then could fill out the FAFSA? Would I then fill it out on last year's taxes and then mid February go back in and update it?

I'm so confused right now.

OUr DD also is going to a state school and we're sure she's not going to get anything but were planning on doing as soon as our taxes were done.

I'm on my 5th year of filling out the FAFSA, now have one who's a Jr in college and one in grad school. I always try to get an estimated 1040 filled out by the end of January, working on it now. You check a box that says you will file, then once you get your final tax numbers, you can go in and check that you have filed and change any numbers that were wrong. I have NEVER just guessed, but always gone back in and updated it by mid-February. I think you get a better "place in line" by filing earlier. The other thing too is that once you've filled it out, a lot of the information is imported in from previous years' information so there's not as much to fill out in successive years. Good luck!!

 

[Sadie22]

I remember attending financial aid information nights at my sons' high schools early in junior year and again in senior year. Fill out the FAFSA. Fill out the FAFSA as early as you can estimate your tax information, but definitely before the February 1 deadline (ths is what it was over ten years ago, at least) for filing for Maryland state aid was drilled into us. Go back and correct any estimates after the tax forms are complete was drilled into us. The Maryland State Scholarship Board published a bound booklet which covered these deadlines as well as scholarship programs offered in the state. Do other states not have programs like this?? Has the picture changed so much since my boys were in college?

I filled out the FAFSA every year for each one of my children, and it was well worth it even though we were only eligible for one small need-based amount once for the year I wasn't working to speak of.

 

[Jeninindy]

Fill out the Fafsa form......even if you think your EFC is going to be high and you don't "qualify" for need based aid.

Why - your kids will need to apply for scholarships. Also, have them apply for scholarships even if you don't meet the EFC requirements of them. DS got several scholarships that had a need based component that we did not meet. One of them paid for almost all of his tuition for two semesters.


Fill out the form......