<p>My Thought...
I filled out the FAFSA for my first kid 2 years ago...found it totally invasive, made me uncomfortable putting out my financial status for the world to see.</p>
<p>Well, of course it was a waste of time. He qualified for nothing, and I simply decided to pay for his first 2 years from cash flow. We have a HELOC we use to smooth out our finances, so that really helps. NO, I'm not complaining about having to pay. YES, I feel lucky that I CAN pay.</p>
<p>Now, kid 2 will be going to another school on a full-ride (sports). Again, I do NOT intend to go the FAFSA route, because I still think we make too much for kid 1 to benefit at all. </p>
<p>Tell me if I'm wrong: his (kid 1) main option is to get an unsecured Stafford loan, correct?? Am I screwed in that I have to fill out the FAFSA to get that??</p>
<p>And in case you wonder...we want kid 1 to be responsible for his last 2 years because he needs to learn about burdens a bit. We (spouse and I) grew up poor, our kids have not. And, no, I'm not comfortable 'lending' him the money as I know my spouse will bend in to him and forgive it.</p>
<p>He will have to file FAFSA to be eligible for Stafford loans. The max Stafford for 3rd year and up students is $7500 a year.</p>
<p>If he files a FAFSA he can put 2 in college as the other sib will be in college. Any part of the EFC generated by parent income/assets will be divided by the number of students in college at the same time.</p>
<p>Any loans outside of federal loans (such as Stafford loans) will probably require you to be a cosigner. Not something I would choose to do, especially if there is a felling the student needs to learn responsibility (because ultimately the cosigner - you - is responsible for the loan).</p>
<p>FAFSA is a federal form. They already know all about you. It is your choice of course, but no FAFSA = no federal student loans.</p>
<p>If you complete the FAFSA, your son will be eligible for the Stafford loans as noted above. It sounds like you want him to be fully responsible for paying for the last two years of college. I have to tell you…unless he receives a departmental scholarship from his school, it is unlikely he will find funding for college other than loans. Because he is a student, he has no collaterol and will need a cosigner for all but the Stafford loans. You can choose to cosign loans for him for the balance above the Stafford loan (if you decide to file the FAFSA). OR you can take out other kinds of personal loans. BUT the reality is your son isn’t going to qualify for loans in his own name. </p>
<p>I don’t know your family finances, nor do I want to know…but I hope you do know that with two kiddos in college, your total family contribution is split between them…not equally but almost so. So…if your family contribution for kiddo 1 was $30,000, it would now be about $15000. BOTH kids would qualify for Stafford loans at the very least. It is possible they might get work study (depending on the school) and it is possible they might get additional aid depending on the college and whether (or not) it meets full need.</p>
<p>I’m not sure where you think the FAFSA info is going “out there”. The site itself is secure and the colleges keep the info in a confidential manner. Of course, it’s up to you whether you want to do this while BOTH of your kiddos are in college.</p>
<p>Are you able and willing to pay the full costs for both of your kiddos to go to college? If so, then don’t fret. If not, you will need to figure out how to help that older son get $24K in money. He likely will not be able to get it without you as a cosigner.</p>
<p>No, you don’t have to include kid 2’s scholarship money on FAFSA. </p>
<p>Any scholarship money in excess of tuition and fees will be taxable income. But it will taxable to kid 2 and would be reported on his/her own FAFSA (but would not affect the EFC), but would not be reported anywhere on kid 1’s FAFSA.</p>
<p>Isn’t there something new this year where a kid can file FAFSA without Parent info if all they want is a fed loan?</p>
<p>BTW…do you mean that you expect S1 to cover all $50k of his last 2 years of school? I can understand wanting him to be responsible for some costs, but to expect him to take on large loans is burdening him debt that could ruin his life. </p>
<p>If he borrows the $15k max for his jr and sr years, he’ll feel some pain for many years after graduation. His payments will be about $175 per month for 10 years.</p>
<p>**However, it’s not too late to have him take out a student loan for THIS CURRENT school year…which if he’s a soph, would be $6500. ** </p>
<p>So, if you add $6500 + $15,000…his total debt will be $21,500. Then his monthly payments will be about $250 per month for 10 years.</p>