<p>My son is bipolar and is going to a private college that he can only attend with substantial financial aid.</p>
<p>I have been advised by FAFSA that the only way he can get financial aid is if my financial information including tax returns are submitted under a student account to which he will have access.</p>
<p>I don not feel comfortable with him having access to this information as he can fly off the handle and would start blabbing his mouth about information I consider very confidential.</p>
<p>Are there any options whereby I can submit information to FAFSA without my son having access to it?</p>
<p>You can get pins for both your son and yourself and put in all of your and his information. I've done this the past 2 years (not because I don't want my son to know how much I make) because my son is busy with other things and it's just easier for me to do because I do all the tax filing.</p>
<p>But if he is so inclined he would be able to go online to the FAFSA site and see that information. However if he is anything like my 2 kids he would be quite unaware that he can do that.</p>
<p>I called FAFSA on this issue and was told that there was no way to secure the information as my son could get my PIN number from them. Does that make sense?</p>
<p>Surely I can't be the only parent who doesn't feel like having an 18 year old with a big mouth being able to access a complicated tax return.</p>
<p>Your advice is most appreciated. I will call FAFSA again re: the separate PIN numbers.</p>
<p>Like SCM, my son has absolutely no idea of the web site address or his PIN and is oblivious to the existence of FAFSA. When I first began the FAFSA process, I used my email address for both his and the parent's PIN and I will continue to input all the info each year for both parts. It's just easier that way. Likewise, my husband would have no idea how to access the forms as he doesn't know the PINs either.</p>
<p>You might want to set up an alternative email address for him through Yahoo or Google or something that he doesn't know about, use a new password for that email, and of course get a PIN number for him. Don't give him any information about either the PIN or the alternative email address, and then I don't see how he could access the FAFSA information. .....Unless there's a way to get access with <em>only</em> a name and SSN, which doesn't seem likely.</p>
<p>Oh, and do all of this on a computer he does not have access to.</p>
<p>I guess I have to be the dissenting voice here. You are all talking about putting the adult child's information in without his knowledge also. He has rights too. If the school awards him loans are you going to take them out in his name? You have every right not to enter your private information into a site that your son has access to if you don't want to. But the price you pay is not to be awarded Federal student aid.</p>
<p>Where do we draw the line? Having accounts in our kids' names without their knowledge? Do we file their income tax returns without having them sign them?</p>
<p>The first couple of years my kids attended school, I filled out the FAFSA for them, but with their knowledge and consent. The last two years I asked them to. Last year for grad school, my son asked me for his pin :)</p>
<p>Thanks to all of you for your instant answers. I love this forum already! :)</p>
<p>I just got off the phone with FAFSA and was told that all of the information has to go in under his name, that there is no separate account for the parent. I asked them about having a "secret" e-mail address and they said that if the student wanted to, they could just call FAFSA and after answering a few questions, they would be given the information necessary to assign a new student PIN and password.</p>
<p>I asked the agent if she received any other calls about this issue, and she said she gets them all the time, and that there is no alternative. :(</p>
<p>To those of you who are submitting your tax returns, are you submitting all of the schedules and sub-schedules, or just the front page?</p>
<p>hmm - he can access the site with just his PIN number - doesn't need yours. (you have to have 2 PINs anyway - 1 for student and 1 for parent) He would not be able to see your tax return but FAFSA does require your income and asset information. My kids are somewhat oblivious about the whole financial aid process - it is like pulling teeth to get them to sit down so I can explain how it works. </p>
<p>Like archiemom I have taken care of all the financial aid stuff - if I dropped dead tomorrow my kids and my husband would have no clue.</p>
<p>You do not submit your tax return to FAFSA. You enter the required information (usually AGI, taxes paid, some asset information).About 1/3 of FAFSAs are selected for verification and you then have to submit your tax returns to the school. We have had to do that twice. The verification forms including tax returns go to the school and our kids do not see them.</p>
<p>Gosh, FAFSA Parent, I'm sorry to hear that. I also am close to a family with a bi-polar (adult) child, and while he's a wonderful, wonderful guy, there have been times when the family has been utterly up-ended in very serious ways by his actions. I am appalled there is no way to secure your information.</p>
<p>Thank you, rentolof2. I love my son very much. He is a wonderful and exceptionally bright young man. It is very hard for people to understand how a bipolar student who is 18 going on 35 can wreak damage on an entire family with his loose lips and an inability to weigh all of the consequences and potential harm to others before taking an action or saying something to someone.</p>
<p>I am finding myself between a rock and a hard place and don't know what to do. Thanks to all of you for your advice.</p>
<p>I also e-mailed the financial aid office at his school to find out if what I send them is technically in "HIS" file versus a confidential file to which he would have no access. I will let you know what I hear from them. Thanks again, everyone.</p>
<p>Welcome to CC. Whether or not your son actually accesses the information, you must remember that he along with you are responsible for the information that is filed in his name. Has you son raised the question to you or are you just trying to be proactive when it comes to what information he may or may not have access to?</p>
<p>I will tell you from our experience, my D was like swimcat's kids, as long as I filed everything, she was all good. However, he school stop mailing award letters home and I had to constantly remind her to pull the award letters and e-mail me a copy so I would know how much we would have to pay :rolleyes:</p>
<p>To add a bit to what Sybbie wrote, your son has to 'sign' the forms (either manually or electroically) saying that the information is correct. While I can see an uncaring child signing the forms without reading them, I can't see a very curious child doing so. If you 'hide' his pin and sign for him, you are commiting fraud.</p>
<p>I hope you do figure out a way to get this done without impacting your privacy.</p>
<p>"My son is bipolar and is going to a private college that he can only attend with substantial financial aid."</p>
<p>Has your son already been accepted, or are you certain that he will be accepted at this school?</p>
<p>The whole FAFSA thing may be moot if he can't get in in the first place. </p>
<p>Do you have any other reasonable options, such as a local public U, or two years of community college that could give him time to develop some more maturity about the money issue? If you can get time on your side, you may be able to do something about your finances so that even if he gets hold of them and goes public with them the information that is revealed won't be so disturbing for you.</p>
<p>I'm also thinking that the information gained from the FAFSA really isn't that private. He won't know your bank account numbers or even the places where you invest. All he will know is your wages, gross income, other income and amount of assets. People generally have an idea of what that is anyway. What's he going to do with that info? He wouldn't even know the value of your house or mortgage amount. Which, by the way, is a matter of public record.</p>
<p>It is now August and you are now thinking of applying for fin aid for a school. This is unusual for posters on this site. Is he already accepted to the school and you are now going for financial aid? Are you working with the fin aid office at the school? Is he commuting? Can you go to the school and meet with the fin aid counselor? </p>
<p>Though I don't know much about your situation, it is a big problem if you have a child who is not trustworthy with your financial info and you have to reveal it for financial aid. He is entitled to the info as he may have to discuss it with the FA officers. I can tell you that all FAFSA really will guarantee you is PELL money and subsidized Stafford loans in terms of need based aid, and all kids can borrow non subsidized Stafford monies as well. The rest is given at the discretion of the school, and some states have additional funds for kids who qualify. There are also a number of other programs that your son may qualify for if you have a low EFC (expected family contribution). Do you have any idea what your EFC is going to be?</p>
<p>The bottom line is that if you are paying for your son, he is going to have to be trusted with the info. If he is not trustworthy or able to keep it under the lid, he is not ready for you to go to college. Though you can do everything behind his back and make it difficult for him to find the info, the bottom line is that he can get it if he so chooses to do so. I am curious as to why you think he will aggressively go after the info. Most kids are not that interested in going into that file if parents are doing the forms. </p>
<p>What I suggest you do, is to do an on line FAFSA and see what your EFC is. Are you even eligible for anything? If you are or are not, you need to have a talk with your son and decide what you can afford for college and what the government says you can afford. This is one of the sometimes unpleasant and difficult talks we have to have with our kids when they move on to college where we are considered responsible for payment, but they are responsible for everything else. It is a highly unusual predicament, but unfortunately the case in this country.</p>