<p>I apoligize for the double post. I would like to know if my daughter's W2's are needed for FAFSA? She is only a part time worker for the past year with very minimal hours.
Also on a seperate board I posted about financial aid. The people were kind enough to send me to this board. We did not save for college and my daughter will be going in the fall of 09'. I am aware that it is best to attend college in your home state to get aid if any. My concern is, Can I lump ALL our fees into loans? Can anyone help me with this? Her school counselor told us everything but books can go into loans, is this true? My daughter was looking into the astrive loans for her books but I just do not know if things like Astrive loans are a good thing? I have been a stay at home Mom while my husband worked. I always thought I was making the right choice. While I raised great kids, money wise it may have been a poor choice. I hope I am not throwing to much at everyone. Any advice that can be offered to ne will be greatly appreciated. I am so nervous about accoplishing this for my daughter and making this happen for her. Thank you in advance for your help!</p>
<p>There are so many questions in your post, a better place for you to start might be getting a good book that explains the financial aid process. One that is recommended often is "How To Pay For College Without Going Broke," published by Princeton Review, if I recall. It'll be available at most major bookstores.</p>
<p>I never bought it, but I did spend a lot of time in the bookstore reading it. It's very helpful and these things are very well explained.</p>
<p>Yes, in-state public univerisites are usually more affordable than out-of-state publics or than private colleges and universities. This is not always true, however, because of the financial aid awards at some of those more expensive schools. Need-based financial aid (meaning it's based on the student's/family's income and assets) comes in three basic catagories: grants or scholarships (don't need to be paid back), loans (must be repaid), and work-study (employment income during the school term).</p>
<p>There is also merit-based aid which can be based on any number of things, including high test scores, grades, achievements in art, sports, music, etc, and other criteria. Basically anything the student brings to the table that the school would like to reward. This will vary by school. Some schools offer no merit-based aid at all, and instead reserve their financial aid for students with financial need. Many have both need-based and merit aid available.</p>
<p>I can't imagine why your school counselor said books would not be covered by loans. Maybe someone else here has heard of something like that. I have not.</p>
<p>Schools generally expect the money to pay for college to come from student and parents' income and assets (property, investments, savings accounts, etc.) "Income" is often interpreted broadly to mean current income, as well as past income (savings) and future income (loans.)</p>
<p>There really isn't much for you to worry about with all this though. They will ask you to provide information about your financial circumstances and they will make a financial aid determination. You provide them this infomation by filing the FAFSA, and in the case of some schools (mostly private ones) also a form called the CSS Profile which asks for additional information. Some schools want the FAFSA and their own particular additional financial aid form instead of the Profile.</p>
<p>Really what you want is to apply widely to schools, apply for aid at all of them, and as the acceptance offers come in you'll compare financial aid offers and be able to make a more informed choice. You want to see more free money (grants and scholarships) than loans and work-study, ideally.</p>
<p>As to the W-2s, you'll need them in the sense that you'll need to report your daughter's income, but may or may not need the actual W-2s. My son's college required we send copies of all W-2s as well as copies of tax returns, but that will vary by school.</p>
<p>And lastly, don't feel bad for being a stay-at-home mom! Different people and different families function best in different ways. There are different gifts we give our kids and ourselves and they come in lots of different packages. Honor the choices you made because they deserve to be honored, as do the different choices other people make. When the time is right you'll maybe return to working, and that will be an honorable choice too.</p>
<p>For now, you can use the flexibility you have with you time to become an expert on college financial aid. ;) Get that book I cited above. I think the advice will be far more reliable than what you're getting from your high school counselor.</p>
<p>You have given me my first sigh of relief in two straight days of looking on the internet. I have been stressed out beyond belief. I know its not over, but I feel someone understood what I was looking for in some answers, Thank you you are a blessing!
P. S. I printed out your post as a reference. I am going to the book store for the book.</p>
<p>It is an excellent book - I used it last year, and plan to buy the most recent edition for this year's forms.</p>
<p>You don't say if your daughter files taxes - she may not make enough to HAVE to file, but if she has had taxes withheld, she is very likely due a refund - so it might be a good idea to file. (Disregard this note if she already does!)</p>
<p>And you are WAY ahead of most parents at this point! You will be the one dispensing calm advice next Spring when all the parents who were not as on-the-ball as you start looking at all this!</p>
<p>You're welcome. As you learn more you will have more questions. They kind of come in tiers. But you only have to find answers as the questions arise, you don't need to know all the answers at the very beginning. There are a lot of highly-informed people on College Confidential, so as the next round of questions arise you can post them here and probably find lots of help, or at least some ideas on where to go to find out.</p>
<p>It's actually kind of interesting once you get your legs under you and have some basic orientation. Good luck!</p>
<p>Look for the links to the financial aid calculators on some of the other threads. If I knew how to link I would point it out.</p>
<p>Talk with your daughter, realistically. Let her know now you encourage to apply to many schools, safeties, matches, and reaches. Also let her know that the financial aid offers will dictate her acceptance. A serious illness led to much of our savings going elsewhere and not to our daughter's education. We were fortunate as many schools offered her great packages of merit aid and financial need aid. Some times, smaller, third tier privates offer great aid packages to students that might look at more well known institutes. She applied to an Ivy, many well known state schools, and lessor known privates. Most offered her great financial aid packages. A state public was our best financial option and the best education for her. Good luck! Raising your children has great merit!!!</p>
<p>As stated by anothermom2, a good place to start is with the financial aid calculator to determine if you may be eligible for financial aid. Here is the link</p>
<p>FinAid</a> | Calculators | Expected Family Contribution (EFC) and Financial Aid</p>
<p>Federal Methodology will give you an idea of what your estimated family contribution will be. This is used to determine eligibilty for federal aid. In January the FASFA will be available to input your information and you will get an EFC (estimated family contribution) Remember that even if this number is low, it does not mean that your need will be met. Even though state schools are less costly, with a few exceptions they do not meet full need. Penn State happens to be notorious for not giving good financial aid. </p>
<p>Many private schools require that you fill out their own financial aid form or the profile, or both in addition to the FASFA While the FASFA does not include the equity in your home in their calculations, the Profile does. You can get an estimate of what your EFC will be using the profile by using the institutional methodology on the link above. However, how each school determines "need" based on the Profile varies. For us, it came pretty close to the estimate. </p>
<p>I found that subscribing to USNEWS' online Best Colleges was a good investment ($15) You are able to see how well each school meets need, and
helps avoid applying to schools that you know will not provide adequate aid. However, I think you can also get this info on Peterson's website as well. </p>
<p>Also, as previously mentioned, cast a wide net in looking for merit aid. A safety school may provide merit aid. </p>
<p>Good Luck, and don't forget to apply for your FASFA pin number before January so you have it available when you are ready to fill out.</p>
<br>
<blockquote> <p>I would like to know if my daughter's W2's are needed for FAFSA? She is only a part time worker for the past year with very minimal hours. >></p> </blockquote>
<br>
<p>If your daughter earned income at a job, and has a W-2, you must report that income on the FAFSA regardless of the amount. It doesn't matter if it's a small amount or a large amount...you include it. And if you daughters colleges want the W-2 forms and tax returns (if she files one), you must send those along as well.</p>
<p>I won't repeat the good advice you have gotten from others regarding your other questions.</p>
<p>My only additional piece of advice is...your school counselor may be helpful in the college search and selection process, but is likely woefully ill informed or prepared to give information regarding financial aid. That is usually not the job of the GC at the high school. They deal with admissions, not how the bills will be paid.</p>
<p>Re: your JOB as stay at home parent...I agree, don't apologize. If your children are leaving the nest, you can consider entering the workforce at any time if you want or need to. </p>
<p>And lastly, my mantra is "deadlines deadlines deadlines...don't miss them". You will need to check the deadlines for financial aid applications on each college website, and those dates do vary wildly. DO NOT MISS A DEADLINE.</p>