<p>I am in process of completing fafsa. I have 11k worth of income from investments and 21k in child support (half of which is ending). When I submit the fafsa it allows me to do simplified needs and therefore ignores the rest of the assets. I have about 750k in mutual funds and my child has 80k (half in prepaid college trust and 1/2 in money market). There is nowhere to put this on fafsa so it is going to look like we have a lot of need. I called fafsa and they said don't put it down...they will just assume I am simplified needs and not know that my child has 20k a year to pay. Most of the schools are profile too so do I do this? Do I contact the schools that are fafsa only and telll them we have 20k plus to pay? My assets are high but I have nothing in retirement and am unable to work so I live off of assets. We are also expecting an additional 12k from ex husband (father) so we really have 32k without me paying anything. I was only completing fafsa so that we could get loans if we need them at one of the crazy expensive schools.....I can still file 1040a. Not trying to be dishonest here and I know profile schools will see other info but what about fafsa only schools?</p>
<p>You are not being dishonest. You qualify for the simplified needs test. In the end, if your child gets aid at a FAFSA only school, YOU can decide whether or not to accept that aid. </p>
<p>Re: the Profile Schools…they WILL calculate your need using the asset information. There are others who have differences between the FAFSA and the Profile…you won’t be the only one. </p>
<p>Just put accurate information on both forms…and you will be fine. That is all that matters. The Profile schools will likely compute a higher family contribution than what the FAFSA alone computes.</p>
<p>welcome to the world of college financial aid. as long as you fill out the fafsa correctly you will be okay. Fafsa doesn’t ask for this information because of the situation with the loans. Keeping the asset numbers low allows to you to qualify for a higher dollar value in loans. so if your situation changes drastically some time soon, they can increase the loans and patch the situation.</p>
<p>In your particular case, it is extremely important that you answered correctly the question that allowed you to skip the assets. Are you a dislocated worker? If so, you are fine. Same if you or someone in your family received federal means tested benefits within the last two years. The sticky one … the one many people answer incorrectly … is if you answered “are you eligible to file a 1040A or 1040EZ?” If this was the qualifying question, did you actually file a 1040A or 1040EZ? If so, you are set. If not … make very, very certain that everything you put on your 1040 could have been put on a 1040A or a 1040EZ … this means EVERYTHING. If you had anything on your return that could not have gone on one of those forms, then you were NOT eligible to file a 1040A or 1040EZ. The FAFSA instructions are misleading on this question.</p>
<p>The sticky one … the one many people answer incorrectly … is if you answered “are you eligible to file a 1040A or 1040EZ?” If this was the qualifying question, did you actually file a 1040A or 1040EZ? If so, you are set. If not … make very, very certain that everything you put on your 1040 could have been put on a 1040A or a 1040EZ … this means EVERYTHING.</p>
<p>I just looked up the qualifications for the different forms and yes I do qualify for a 1040A, BUT I still filed the long form. Gee, maybe I answered this question wrong.</p>
<p>Will CSS Profile ignore those assets? </p>
<p>Honestly, to think this child is going to get full Pell is an example of how wacko the FAFSA system is. It’s one thing to ignore - say - $100k in assets for low income people, but to ignore 3/4 of a million. Just nuts.</p>
<p>holly, look at your 1040. If there is nothing on that 1040 that couldn’t be on a 1040A, you are okay to answer that question yes. However, if even one thing is on that form that couldn’t be on the 1040A, it should be answered no. Examples: anything on lines 10, 11, 12, possibly line 13, line 14, 17, 18, 24-31, 35, itemized deductions, line 47, 54, … and there might be others but you get what I mean. If it’s on your 1040 but there is no place to put it on a 1040A, you could NOT file a 1040A.</p>
<p>Mamwich, are you and your daughter using the same account? More than half your posts are about “you” getting into colleges or your chances. That being said, I’m unclear on who has what income now and whether the parent can file a 1040A.</p>