<p>It’s not going to matter for for many students in 11-12. The FAFSA no longer automatically asks for a number. Instead, it asks if the total assets are greater than $X. If no, no amount is requested. If yes, you will be prompted to enter an amount. What happens is that the asset net worth threshold is automatically computed using the income info (more reason to make sure questions are correctly answered - or to use the IRS data retrieval tool). The prompt will ask if your assets are > your threshold number (that number is provided for you), and you answer yes or no. If yes, you will be prompted for your asset info. If you answer no, you will not be required to enter any numbers.</p>