FAFSA question

[floridafam]

We are currently filling out the FAFSA. Obviously, we don't have any 2014 tax information yet so we are estimating until we can go back in and enter the correct information.

There is a question asking us what our total income tax was last year but the line they are asking for does not correspond correctly with the 2013 return. They are asking for our total income tax or line 56. Line 56 on the 2013 return is self employment income.

Do I just enter the income tax we paid in 2013 and enter 2014 information after we have it?

Thanks

 

[eeyorethegreat]

We are currently filling out the FAFSA. Obviously, we don't have any 2014 tax information yet so we are estimating until we can go back in and enter the correct information.

There is a question asking us what our total income tax was last year but the line they are asking for does not correspond correctly with the 2013 return. They are asking for our total income tax or line 56. Line 56 on the 2013 return is self employment income.

Do I just enter the income tax we paid in 2013 and enter 2014 information after we have it?

Thanks

I think I used line 55 That was my guess on what that number should be

 

[a1tinkfans]

Isn't there a link that will go directly to ur tax form when filed? It's been a while for me.. Haven't filled that out since it was required freshman year..thank goodness. I hated all the forms....

 

[HeatherC]

There isn't a link to the IRS site if you check "will file". that is because 2014 taxes are not filed yet. So confusing!

I guess it doesn't let you link to IRS to use 2013 taxes?

 

[tvguy]

We are currently filling out the FAFSA. Obviously, we don't have any 2014 tax information yet so we are estimating until we can go back in and enter the correct information.

There is a question asking us what our total income tax was last year but the line they are asking for does not correspond correctly with the 2013 return. They are asking for our total income tax or line 56. Line 56 on the 2013 return is self employment income.

Do I just enter the income tax we paid in 2013 and enter 2014 information after we have it?

Thanks

You probably already have access to almost all of the information already. Your last paycheck stub will have all the current information on pay. Your final bank statements for the year should have been available online beginning yesterday.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

You probably already have access to almost all of the information already. Your last paycheck stub will have all the current information on pay. Your final bank statements for the year should have been available online beginning yesterday.

Our paystubs have gone paperless and ever since a hacker sent an email to the entire hospital claiming to confirm our campus key & password, they shut down at-home access to our paystubs. So I've been good about printing them out while at work but I never did the last one. Will have to remember to do that tomorrow.




What is the benefit to filling it out now instead of just waiting until the end of the month after we file?

Are there any cons to filling it out now? Other than having to go back and edit with exact numbers later?

This is our first year with this.

 

[GAN]

Our paystubs have gone paperless and ever since a hacker sent an email to the entire hospital claiming to confirm our campus key & password, they shut down at-home access to our paystubs. So I've been good about printing them out while at work but I never did the last one. Will have to remember to do that tomorrow.




What is the benefit to filling it out now instead of just waiting until the end of the month after we file?

Are there any cons to filling it out now? Other than having to go back and edit with exact numbers later?

This is our first year with this.

I've been through it with my oldest and now starting with my youngest -it is a total pain. When asking for info I had, I provided.... For things like 2014 I estimated. I don't know that it would make much difference as long things are relatively the same. In my case it doesn't make much difference at all because both qualify for tuition exchange since my ex-wife works for a partner University ...which is a HUGE benefit.

 

[eeyorethegreat]

Our paystubs have gone paperless and ever since a hacker sent an email to the entire hospital claiming to confirm our campus key & password, they shut down at-home access to our paystubs. So I've been good about printing them out while at work but I never did the last one. Will have to remember to do that tomorrow.




What is the benefit to filling it out now instead of just waiting until the end of the month after we file?

Are there any cons to filling it out now? Other than having to go back and edit with exact numbers later?

This is our first year with this.

Think of filling it out early as booking your fast passes...the fast passed hold your space in line and those that book them earliest get the better/choice of times. Filling out the FAFSA at the earliest point in time puts you in line ahead of those who wait to fill out the FAFSA so the people further at the head of the line have the greater opportunity for greater financial aid.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Thanks! Will start on it tomorrow. Great analogy with the fast passes.

 

[4shinystars]

Even if you haven't filed, use only 2014 income, not 2013.
This is the best website for info I have found in understanding the FAFSA:
http://www.finaid.org/fafsa/

 

[bcbmommy]

I don't mean to hijack this thread at all, but I've been trying to find an answer for months.. I understand that if we want government loans, grants, or any type of need-based help, we should fill out the fafsa. But...if we KNOW we would never qualify for need-based assistance, do we still need to fill it out? We're hoping our daughter will get some merit-based scholarships, but is that tied to the fafsa? Honestly, I'm a little nervous that giving them our financial information could hinder her chances of a merit-based scholarship, even though it SHOULD only be based on merit, not financial status.

 

[floridafam]

You are not hijacking at all. We were told that it was a good idea to fill out the FAFSA no matter what because circumstances can change in an instant.

My son is hoping for merit based scholarships, too.

 

[HopperFan]

I don't mean to hijack this thread at all, but I've been trying to find an answer for months.. I understand that if we want government loans, grants, or any type of need-based help, we should fill out the fafsa. But...if we KNOW we would never qualify for need-based assistance, do we still need to fill it out? We're hoping our daughter will get some merit-based scholarships, but is that tied to the fafsa? Honestly, I'm a little nervous that giving them our financial information could hinder her chances of a merit-based scholarship, even though it SHOULD only be based on merit, not financial status.

Talk to the colleges directly that you are looking at and ask for their requirement. DD was looking at several schools including some small private. We knew she would not qualify for any need assistance. They required that the FAFSA be filled out because it helped them offer a complete package. Packages came back with Merit Scholarships, Grants, Loans to her (based on her income) and Loans to us (based on our income) with the difference being interest rates. We had one school increase her Merit Scholarship after we told them we didn't think the amount was enough for her to attend.

How they explained it to us was that the FAFSA is the go to calculation to figure out how much the parents are able to contribute to the education since your taxes should be fact of income, and then they use that amount to determine how much money they can get for you from all different sources in their normal channels to make up the difference. Each college handles different. On top of that my DS's current one has one application the student must fill out and initiate for application to their huge list of non-institution scholarships. And as we found out, you can still negotiate for more money from some colleges who handle their scholarships more personally. Best bet is be pro-active in applying for as much as you can, many forms might be necessary at the school but leave no stone unturned because there is lots of money out there.

My DD graduated high school at 16, applied to 8 schools because she didn't know if her age would factor. She was an average student. She got accepted at all of them, offered scholarships at all of them and overall over $300,000 was offered to her. She graduated last summer completely debt free and has her entire college fund still in bank for grad school. There is money there if you are proactive.

 

[pryncess527]

I don't mean to hijack this thread at all, but I've been trying to find an answer for months.. I understand that if we want government loans, grants, or any type of need-based help, we should fill out the fafsa. But...if we KNOW we would never qualify for need-based assistance, do we still need to fill it out? We're hoping our daughter will get some merit-based scholarships, but is that tied to the fafsa? Honestly, I'm a little nervous that giving them our financial information could hinder her chances of a merit-based scholarship, even though it SHOULD only be based on merit, not financial status.

I can only speak for one department at one University, but we do not access any FAFSA or financial info in awarding our merit based scholarships. We pull our own internal reports of students, rank them by GPA, and begin examining the academic/service records of those in the top group. Several of the other merit based scholarships on campus are application based, requiring the student to submit an essay, letters of rec, etc. Since the student submits an application for that, I'd be shocked if FAFSA data were used at all.

However, I have *heard* that some scholarship committees start the process with a report of students who filled out FAFSA. While I don't really think your daughter would miss out on a scholarship for not being on that report, I suppose one could take the better safe than sorry approach. I found the process to be fairly easy if I waited until we had our entire tax return in hand, and since you aren't racing for loans you could easily wait and submit in March or April and still get any benefit you'd likely derive.

 

[bcbmommy]

Talk to the colleges directly that you are looking at and ask for their requirement. DD was looking at several schools including some small private. We knew she would not qualify for any need assistance. They required that the FAFSA be filled out because it helped them offer a complete package. Packages came back with Merit Scholarships, Grants, Loans to her (based on her income) and Loans to us (based on our income) with the difference being interest rates. We had one school increase her Merit Scholarship after we told them we didn't think the amount was enough for her to attend.

How they explained it to us was that the FAFSA is the go to calculation to figure out how much the parents are able to contribute to the education since your taxes should be fact of income, and then they use that amount to determine how much money they can get for you from all different sources in their normal channels to make up the difference. Each college handles different. On top of that my DS's current one has one application the student must fill out and initiate for application to their huge list of non-institution scholarships. And as we found out, you can still negotiate for more money from some colleges who handle their scholarships more personally. Best bet is be pro-active in applying for as much as you can, many forms might be necessary at the school but leave no stone unturned because there is lots of money out there.

My DD graduated high school at 16, applied to 8 schools because she didn't know if her age would factor. She was an average student. She got accepted at all of them, offered scholarships at all of them and overall over $300,000 was offered to her. She graduated last summer completely debt free and has her entire college fund still in bank for grad school. There is money there if you are proactive.

Wow, that is quite impressive about your dd! When you say "average student", though, may I ask what you consider average? My dd currently has a 3.4 gpa, with ACT score of 24. Do you think she will be considered in any merit based scholarships? She has has thousands of hours of community service.

 

[bcbmommy]

I can only speak for one department at one University, but we do not access any FAFSA or financial info in awarding our merit based scholarships. We pull our own internal reports of students, rank them by GPA, and begin examining the academic/service records of those in the top group. Several of the other merit based scholarships on campus are application based, requiring the student to submit an essay, letters of rec, etc. Since the student submits an application for that, I'd be shocked if FAFSA data were used at all.

However, I have *heard* that some scholarship committees start the process with a report of students who filled out FAFSA. While I don't really think your daughter would miss out on a scholarship for not being on that report, I suppose one could take the better safe than sorry approach. I found the process to be fairly easy if I waited until we had our entire tax return in hand, and since you aren't racing for loans you could easily wait and submit in March or April and still get any benefit you'd likely derive.

Thank you for your information. This entire experience in college preparation has been exhausting, so I really do appreciate any advice in this area. My dd has only applied to 2 colleges, and has been accepted at both. When do you think we may hear about any scholarships they may award her? We haven't been asked for any other information except the application, her transcript, and references.

 

[HopperFan]

Wow, that is quite impressive about your dd! When you say "average student", though, may I ask what you consider average? My dd currently has a 3.4 gpa, with ACT score of 24. Do you think she will be considered in any merit based scholarships? She has has thousands of hours of community service.

Thank you. I didn't mean to sound like I was bragging (although I am extremely proud of her) but to let you know there is money out there for everyone. She was in the same range as your DD. Some community service but most of her time was tied up in athletics and the extra classes she was taking to graduate early. A couple colleges she applied to are very academic but they looked at her whole person, work ethic, goals etc and one was the school that upped their offer to get her to come.

Every school is different in terms of merit scholarships and a good place to start is their website. Financial Aid and Scholarships will often list their wide reaching merit scholarships based on grades/test scores. Those are the more straight forward ones, then there is the other money that committees decide. Also look to see if there are any forms that you need to be proactive to fill out. I have helped some athletes find their college home and money so I have been on many scholarship pages. Always look to see if you need to pursue the money or if they automatically put every student in the pool. Where my DS goes, there is NO automatic scholarship consideration or offers. Students have to submit the application that will be used for all scholarships.

 

[bcbmommy]

Thank you. I didn't mean to sound like I was bragging (although I am extremely proud of her) but to let you know there is money out there for everyone. She was in the same range as your DD. Some community service but most of her time was tied up in athletics and the extra classes she was taking to graduate early. A couple colleges she applied to are very academic but they looked at her whole person, work ethic, goals etc and one was the school that upped their offer to get her to come.

Every school is different in terms of merit scholarships and a good place to start is their website. Financial Aid and Scholarships will often list their wide reaching merit scholarships based on grades/test scores. Those are the more straight forward ones, then there is the other money that committees decide. Also look to see if there are any forms that you need to be proactive to fill out. I have helped some athletes find their college home and money so I have been on many scholarship pages. Always look to see if you need to pursue the money or if they automatically put every student in the pool. Where my DS goes, there is NO automatic scholarship consideration or offers. Students have to submit the application that will be used for all scholarships.[/

Thank you so much! I will definitely look further on their website. I've thought about calling her top choice college, and asking them for additional guidance, but am wondering if it would be better for my dd to call.
You've given me a lot to think about, so thank you !! I'm going to get on the ball today!

 

[danygirl]

Most schools require fafsa for merit aid too

 

[HopperFan]

Thank you so much! I will definitely look further on their website. I've thought about calling her top choice college, and asking them for additional guidance, but am wondering if it would be better for my dd to call.
You've given me a lot to think about, so thank you !! I'm going to get on the ball today!

Have her call, they might not even talk to you as a one on one conversation. The one thing the schools all impressed to us is that they can't talk to parents. Even if you are paying every cent of their education, they will not discuss anything with parents. Not finances, not health issues, not housing issues, not grades. It's tough to let go like that but I understood and my kids knew that they needed to keep open communication with me.

Because my DD was a minor in college I had to sign extra permission forms for health services etc. But they said once I gave permission, they wouldn't talk to me about anything.