My son is a freshman. We filled out FAFSA last year. Because of tuition waivers and our own savings/529, we will not need loans, grants or federal aid. We DO get a partial merit scholarship which the university has said we do NOT need FAFSA filled out to continue receiving. However, they still recommend filling out the FAFSA. I’m not sure why. So do I really NEED to fill this out every year if I’m really certain we won’t 1) Even qualify for any aid and 2) Need it. Thanks in advance for your help – I’d like to save myself the hours it took me last year to fill this out if I can!
We were in a similar situation and opted not to fill it out this year.
If you are sure, even if you and your spouse both stop working, have massive medical expenses and your house burns down, that you can pay your child’s tuition, then no, no need to fill out FAFSA. But without it having been filled out, they won’t address a sudden change in your situation.
You don’t have to fill out the FAFSA now if you don’t want to…but I’m having trouble seeing a downside for yo doing so.
How long will it take? 30 minutes? It’s free…and really not hard to do.
In terms of financial crisis…you can file a FAFSA at that point if needed.
But you can fill it out any time during the school year, up until about 2 weeks before the the year ends (April/May/June). The school might be out of funds by then, but you can fill out the FAFSA and they will process it for any Pell grant or loans.