FAFSA - Adding Schools (again!)

Parents Forum
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<p>I apologize in advance ... I know that there have already been a few threads on this topic but I am still scratching my head here.</p>

<p>If your child has more than six schools ...</p>

<p>I know that you have to delete the first six and then put in the next six (or however many.) When do you do this? We received the SAR today so is it okay to do it now? How do you know if the first six schools have downloaded the info? (Does receipt of the SAR mean that the individual schools have what they need?)</p>

<p>Also, if the FAFSA (and/or SAR?) have to be amended when our 2005 taxes are completed - how do you get the amended information to the first six schools? Do you send the amended info to the second six schools, wait for a SAR again, and then delete and enter again the first six schools to resubmit to those?</p>

<p>I'd appreciate any clarification I can get on this. Keeping up with over twenty schools (between my two) has me over the edge.</p>

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<p>*We received the SAR today so is it okay to do it now? *</p>

<p>Yes, once you have the SAR you can go in and delete the first six and replace it with the others.</p>

<p>How do you know if the first six schools have downloaded the info? (Does receipt of the SAR mean that the individual schools have what they need?) </p>

<p>Yes, it means that they have it or can get it.</p>

<p>Also, if the FAFSA (and/or SAR?) have to be amended when our 2005 taxes are completed - how do you get the amended information to the first six schools? Do you send the amended info to the second six schools, wait for a SAR again, and then delete and enter again the first six schools to resubmit to those?</p>

<p>I think your first FAFSA is still there, and when you make corrections to it a third time around, you can pick and choose between the original FAFSA and the corrected one. So the original one will have the first 6 schools, the corrected one the second -- and you decide which to correct again. It depends on how many changes you need to make -- if there are only a few updates based on your tax returns, then it is easier to enter the new financial data twice (once for the FAFSA with the first list, once for the one with the second).... if you need to make a lot of changes to the money questions, you might find it easier to simply do that part once, and delete and reenter school information one more time.</p>

<p>It's a really stupid system, but I've now submitted to all 12 of my daughter's schools (ta da!) - plus there was a feature at the end of the first go-round that let me automatically transfer the parent data to a second FAFSA-- so I did that for my son and he can go in and fill out the rest, without me having to deal with it. So in the end it seems to all be working out.</p>

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<p>Thanks Calmom.
I followed your directions exactly.
Unfortunately, I did not see the automatic transfer of parent data to the second FAFSA until I completed the second child's FAFSA ... and then I couldn't get back to that option on the first one so had to do the second child's all over again. Oh well, at least I had all the numbers the second time around!
There is, however, a button on the end of the CSS Profile that matches their questions to many of the FAFSA questions. This was somewhat helpful.</p>

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<p>So fill out the Profile first (and it will automatically enter in some of the info on the FAFSA)?</p>

<p>I cannot EVEN imagine going through this twice at the same time (with twins!)</p>

<p>FresnoMom</p>

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<p>I thought the Profile was much more extensive, actually. I did do it first.</p>

<p>No, it doesn't actually enter some of the info onto the FAFSA. However, it creates a table that you can print which corresponds Profile questions to FAFSA questions. Thus, some of the information is right there for you to copy into the FAFSA.</p>

<p>After going through all of the financial aid websites, I had a list of what was due where. Yesterday, I went through all of them again, and realized I had totally missed a January 1 deadline for one of the schools. (I'm a really organized person, so this is out of character for me!) I called the school yesterday and they were actually fine with it ... said they had a pile of finaid apps so high it didn't even matter! Thank goodness!</p>

<p>Regarding two at a time .... I don't know what was worse - visiting all the schools, watching them (slowly) apply to all the schools, or doing the financial aid apps for all the schools!</p>

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<p>Now that I have done my daughter's first correction to add schools and received back a SAR, I can confirm that the system keeps both versions.</p>

<p>What happens is you go to the FAFSA site and select "View and Print Your Student Aid Report" </p>

<p>After you enter the identifying data, you come to a page that says "Transactions" which lists eash report you have filed, with the newest on top. So mine kind of looks like this:</p>

<h1>DATE EFC Source</h1>

<p>02 1/12/2006 $EFC Corrections on the Web
01 1/11/2006 $EFC FAFSA on the Web</p>

<p>If I wanted to make a further correction, I could click the transaction number for either one, which would take me to a page that lets me review more specific data for that SAR and choose either "Make Corrections" or "Exit". This page also has a menu that lets you go directly to the section of the report that you want to review. </p>

<p>I personally found it easiest in the past to change the income numbers for each rather than to do a new list of schools, simply because the enter-school routine is rather cumbersome - it would be different if there was a page where you could simply enter the identifying number for all six schools and indicate choice of housing for all at the same time -- and then after you click submit get a confirmation page that showed all six at once. </p>

<p>So, for me, with a set of 12 schools -- two FAFSA's, it will probably end up that I have a set of two for each correction -- odd transaction numbers for the first six schools, even numbers for the second set. Hopefully only 2 sets ... though the year my son first applied to college, I rushed to file my taxes early, then discovered an error and needed to file an amended return, resulting in a 3rd set. </p>

<p>Of course, with twins you are still going to to do things multiple times. My son is older, applying as a transfer - so I'm going to let him take care of his own FAFSA -- the thing I liked so much about the ability to transfer my data was that it eliminates the need for me to go over my numbers with him -- he can just log in and they will be there already.</p>

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<p>Thanks again CalMom. That makes sense to me. I will input the numbers twice for each child - as each child has more than six schools -amending four times when my 2005 taxes are ready.</p>

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<p>Calmom, Thank you for your clear step by step instructions. I have made the changes, keeping my fingers crossed that the first 6 schools will be able to access the info (a lot of conflicting info about how to do this). I got back the second email with sar, but have not yet gone back to check that both versions are on the fafsa site to view. It was comforting to read that it will be there.</p>

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<p>I've seen the conflicting information too about what colleges can access -- but this is the procedure I followed with my son (9 schools), and there was never any problem in terms-- all the colleges received the information they needed.</p>

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<p>calmom - thanks. Just curious, what method did you use to confirm that ALL the colleges received the information? Did you contact them individually? Or was there some information posted on the FAFSA site to somehow let you know that any or all of them received. I have input our first six (and since those first six are by far the most important, and most desired six), i have been hesistent to input the other two, until i am certain that the first six received them.</p>

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<p>First of all, I input all of the colleges in the order of their financial aid deadlines, not "importance" in terms of preference. That is, if the college has a January deadline, it was in the first batch. The second batch has the ones with the February deadlines. I just made a list in date order and that's the order they were entered. </p>

<p>With my son, I honestly don't remember checking or confirming that the colleges received the FAFSA, simply because I didn't need to. We received correspondence of some kind back from the financial aid departments of all the colleges we cared about - or else I ended up talking to the financial aid people by phone because of some other concern. I do remember that our FAFSA was one of those tagged for verification then, which may have been the reason for more communication. That didn't happen this time around. </p>

<p>I have no clue what the process is for each college to download or receive FAFSA's. Somehow it all works out. Since every FAFSA SAR is still available online, if you have a college that claims they are missing one, you can print out your own copy and fax it to them, or save it in PDF format (one of the options on the site) and email it. </p>

<p>I don't know. Five years ago I was stressed out over the whole thing and made sure to confirm receipt of everything. Now I'm feeling more relaxed and inclined to let my daughter have that responsibility. I figure that if the colleges don't have the FAFSA they will let me know. I do seem to remember one college at some point saying they didn't have it when they should have - I think I just told them to check again and the problem went away. </p>

<p>At least one time a new SAR was generated without my doing anything - apparently the colleges can go in on their own and do corrections. </p>

<p>One difference is that back in the year 2001, our house had one computer with internet access, which was my desktop - so everything was submitted via that computer and I could easily use whatever online utilities were at any college to check things on my own. All email came through that computer, too - so I saw all correspondence. Life is different now. We have a wireless network, more computers in the house than people, every family member has their own lap top, and half the time my daughter works from the school library computer or uses a computer at her boyfriend's house. She gives the colleges her hotmail or gmail email addresses, so I don't see most of the communication, although I do use a different shared email address when I submit information. I don't know the passwords to access any of the online accounts at colleges. </p>

<p>You'd think this lack of information would put me in panic mode, but it doesn't. It is more of an out-of-sight, out-of-mind thing for me. I made a list of "my job" items -- I think I've got to mail out the Business & Farm supplement to a few remaining colleges, and then I'm done with that step and my next job is to get stuff ready for my accountant to prepare my tax returns.</p>

<p>The big improvement this time around is that CSS Profile lets the noncustodial parent information be entered online. Daughter applied EA to Chicago -- we nagged and nagged and nagged and finally got her dad to enter his stuff sometime in December, about a month past Chicago's deadline.... but then it is there for all the other colleges. (Chicago helped by sending a sternly worded letter that d. could forward on to her father). But this is a heck of a lot better than having 6 colleges lined up in March saying they still haven't received that info.</p>