<p>Last year, the first FAFSA, my husband and I had difficulty sharing our income information with our daughter. This year, she's filling it out again, but our family circumstances are different and I don't, at all, feel comfortable sharing that info with her.</p>
<p>With all of the privacy BS we have today between FERPA, HIPAA and banks, why would the government assume we should share this with our kids? Is there another way to do this?</p>
<p>I haven’t ever filled out a FAFSA, but isn’t there a way for YOU to input the info without your D seeing it?</p>
<p>Yes, there are parent info, and student info sections. I’m not sure a kid who REALLY wants to see it can’t, but if the student only completes THEIR part, and the parent does the rest, it doesn’t seem to be a problem.</p>
<p>I think a lot of people have trouble talking with their kids about money but I think it can be helpful in the long run. First, you can explain your financial philosophy (and tips or mistakes) to them and help them for when they are financial independent. Second (and I think this is more important although it seems far away now) it helps prepare them for when you get older. I know plenty of my friends who thought their parents were in a much different financial situation than they were, and didn’t find out the ugly truth until they were forced by age and illness make some changes. </p>
<p>Doesn’t make it pleasant but…</p>
<p>Actually, some don’t like sharing the ‘good news’ either, because sometimes when kids see that parents earn a high income, the kids mistakenly assume that more stuff should be bought for them.</p>
<p>Hopefully, there is a way to submit info w/o kids seeing.</p>
<p>I dont understand this for a couple of reasons. First, my kid would never be industrious enough to fill out the fafsa themselves!! Second, why is money a taboo subject with your children–I cant believe they have never inquired about your income before this-- my kids know that if they want the kind of life they have now–they better get cracking and do well in college!!!</p>
<p>We have the same concern. Our kids certainly have good ideas of our finanical situation. But we also don’t feel that we want to let them know exactly our net worth. We are still undecided about filling out the FAFSA also.</p>
<p>I do the FAFSA for both my kids. I don’t think they’ve ever even logged in to FAFSA on thier own. They did pick a PIN number once upon a time, but only because I ushered them to the PIN application site and made them. I collect their w-2s, 1098s, 1099s… whatever. Even their bank statements are sent here. They are away at college, for one thing, so they aren’t even here as the tax docs come in.</p>
<p>With their PIN numbers they could log on and check to see what’s entered on their FAFSAs… I just don’t think they care.</p>
<p>But to answer the OP’s question, this was asked a year or two ago by a parent who had a son with some psychiatric issues. That parent eventually went to the college financial aid office and called an upper-level person at the Dept. of Ed and the answer was – Yes, that information is available to the student if they are determined to get it. No, there is no way to shield it from them.</p>
<p>Same concern here. Like 'rentof2, I filled out the FAFSA for my son. He’ll find out this information eventually but I’m in no rush to reveal it.</p>
<p>From what I can tell, the goal of the government (as well as the academic and financial institutions involved) is to ensure that students pay their debt. Parental privacy is not an issue or concern. If it were, the CSS Profile would probably be outlawed ;-)</p>
<p>Like some of the parents above, I have always completed the FAFSA myself. The form in complex enough the first few times through that I did not think my HS kid needed to bother with it or to see our info. I have continued to complete the FAFSAs, even doing my DDs grad school form, simply because I was already doing it for her sisters and it was easy for me after 10 years and multiple kids & many verifications to do it. </p>
<p>I will probably do it for my med school bound kid as they want our info, at least this first year. I really don’t think my financial info should be forced to be shared with my kid, it’s way too much detail out of context on the FAFSA. I agree that one should be able to shield the data, though my kids don’t care, some may and it could cause family arguments.</p>
<p>I would volunteer to do the FAFSA for your DD each year.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>That’s what I would do…sounds like there’s no reason a child HAS to see the info.</p>
<p>I have always filled out the information on my FAFSA (mine, my parent’s, everything). Heck, I even filled out my sister’s. I can personally tell you as a kid that we just don’t CARE what our parent’s income is (usually). We just input the numbers at that’s that. Besides, kids have a pretty good idea of your income as it is. </p>
<p>I just personally don’t understand the secrecy (but then I grew up in a very open family). <em>shrugs</em></p>
<p>I don’t understand the secrecy, either. The only reasons I can think of are that you’re afraid the kid will tell other people, or you’re making boatloads of money but you’ve told the kid you can only afford to pay $3000 a year. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>I just completed the FAFSA for the first time and got the SAR today…much faster than I thought! I did the entire thing as my S has no patience nor the time for these types of things and I know the info will be entered correctly if I do it.</p>
<p>We also do not share our what our income is with our children. They both like to tell their friends everything, especially our younger one, and that is info we like to keep to ourselves. When they are older and more mature, we may not feel the same way.</p>
<p>I think this is one of those things where different families have their own opinions and no one opinion is right or wrong. It seems to come up every year. My own parents now in their 80’s never shared their financial situation. I have everything I need as executor but no $$ information…still don’t. My H and I built our financial plan without any consideration to possible inheritance and continue to live our lives that way. We don’t “share” our fiannces with our kids either. They do not have any possible level of comphrehension yet what it takes financially to support a household and family and they don’t “need to know” in our opinion. I cannot imagine them desiring to “know” it enough to go in and look at the info in our section of the FAFSA. I’m sure they have some of picture in their minds but they don’t need to know the detail. They do their “own part” of the FAFSA with their part-time job infor and filling out the form is a good learning lesson and they do their own taxes which is also part of the learning and understanding. But they have no real need to know how our financial life is structured or what the absolute dollars are.</p>
<p>or you’re making boatloads of money but you’ve told the kid you can only afford to pay $3000 a year.</p>
<p>LOL…there are kids on CC that have that issue.</p>
<p>I think it’s more of…some kids think certain incomes sound super high, and therefore think parents should buy them new fancy cars, designer purses, or other pricey things.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>yes or super low…doesn’t matter because kids really don’t have the context to understand what it is they are looking at. They are starting to understand if they are buying their own gas, working part-time and having taxes taken out, going out to eat with friends, maybe contributing to the cost of a car, perhaps cell phone, but they are babies in terms of financial adulthood. I think it’s fine if parents want to use the FAFSA or some other event to educate and share with their kids that type of information, but conversely I see no problem if a family feels that information is better shared at another point in time.</p>
<p>I find this witholding of family financial information from young adults fascinating and unimaginable in our family. I do not understand how 17 year olds can not want to, need to, and benefit from knowing the family income and what decisions are made - and how. I have found it natural to convey our incomes, savings, retirement, etc. easy to convey to our children from the time they were quite young- possibly in elementary school. They also knew not to ask other people though- they knew that family income numbers aren’t something necessarily others want to share. ( nor were they interested in their friend’s parental incomes) I don’t recall any issues arising from this and I wouldn’t have cared if they had shared our modest numbers with friends, either .</p>
<p>Talking family finances has helped set the stage for many discussions about colleges, careers, and choices. </p>
<p>Perhaps the non- disclosure of income is something more relevant to the mind set of wealthier families?</p>
<p>Perhaps glimmeringirl. We are very low income and my parents have always showed me where our money goes- to explain to us why vacations, new cars, etc were not possible. </p>
<p>My parents showed me very early on how much everything costs. They showed me our rent, mortgage payment, car payments, etc so I always knew (from as young as I could remember) why I couldn’t do what other kids did- ie nice birthday parties, why we didn’t eat popcorn at the movies, etc. From my personal experience, I am much, MUCH thriftier than almost anyone I know because I know how expensive everything is and how far a dollar has to stretch. Therefore, I will disclose to my children exactly where everything goes in the hopes that too will handle money responsibly. </p>
<p>Sorry, that was OT, but I guess I just cannot truly understand why someone wouldn’t want to disclose income. Just different life experiences is all :).</p>
<p>I agree with m2ck, in that certain kids have the entitlement mentality. … " wow! you have all that money and refused to buy me X last year?"</p>