<p>FYI: Anybody who knows a student's name, DOB and SSN can easily gain access to view and update said student's FAFSA information, even if they don't know their PIN.</p>
<p>One other thought: you could fill out the FAFSA and a few days later, after the school has received the information, you could "update it" removing all the "juicy" information, reducing its potential exposure to prying eyes. I'm not sure if this would cause any trouble in the FA process but it is worth checking with the FA office.</p>
<p>Re: the FAFSA...it is in the student's name and they have access using their PIN numbers. BUT they do not have access to your tax returns. Those do not get sent in with the FAFSA. As mentioned above, a percentage of FAFSA's are selected for verification each year and then the taxes (including ALL schedules, copies of W-2s and 1099s) will need to be submitted to the COLLEGE(s)....not to FAFSA. Also check each college website. Some schools require that copies of the tax returns be sent to the school as part of the finaid application process. We had to do this for several schools. Also if your child applies to a Profile school that uses IDOC, you will need to send the tax info to them.</p>
<p>I'm not sure I understand the OPs worry over what their child would blab. To be honest, I wouldn't care if my kid read every line of the FAFSA to someone...it's mighty boring stuff and only includes my income and assets. </p>
<p>I do not believe there is any way the FAFSA can be quarantined from the student. The reality is the FAFSA is filed in the STUDENT's name...not the parent's.</p>
<p>"Very confidential" items on the FAFSA include the answers to the question "Does your family receive Food Stamps/SSI/Free School Lunches/TANF/WIC?" Some family members may not be aware that the family receives such assistance, and the family might not want the information to be known outside of the household.</p>
<p>Is your son already aware of the college financial aid process? My kids have no clue about any of it, they are too busy doing their job, studying, ECs etc. If he is unaware of it all, what would lead him to pursue it?</p>
<p>I do think you might ask about the above idea to go back and update after the school has the form with all zeros or something obvious.</p>
<p>I have no interest in sharing my tax return with my kids or my parents, I have nothing to hide, but it is just personal info. I would be really leery to have a big mouth kid with the info, especially as things can get changed in the telling so he may convey some accurate and some inaccurate info. It is no one else's business.</p>
<p>I tell my kids not to discuss their aid with any one- if you tell some one you got this great scholarship, they can be jealous, ......there is no reason to share the info. That being said, I always share basics here, where I am helping some one. So, if kids applying for the same merit $ my DD gets at her school ask questions on CC, then I can share. There is no reason for my DD to tell her brand new freshman roommate that DD has scholarship XYZ,when it is time to reapply she can suggest her friends apply too, but in Sept when things are done, there is no reason to talk about it. </p>
<p>I can understand the OPs reluctance. She may have way more assets than she wants son to know, or she may be embarrassed to have smaller assets than one would think. It is not really her son's business, but can she keep it from him if he is determined to find it- for the next four years!</p>
<p>Even if the parent goes back in and changes the information, the original submission would still be visible to the student. Also, if the initial submission didn't raise any red flags, the correction definately could and would result in having to submit all tax documents to the school. FYI...if the child is listed as a dependent on the return, many schools would release a copy of the return to the student, should the student ask. Also, if a student really wanted the information from the tax returns, they could request a copy if they have the necessary information (parent(s) names, SS#'s, mailing address.</p>
<p>Again...I will say...the FAFSA is filed in the name of the STUDENT. In reality it is the student's form and it contains information from the parents. I can't see any way that this would not be available to a student who really wanted to have it. It is the student's form.</p>
<p>Not only are previous submissions of THIS year's FAFSA available when you log onto the site, but you can also access previous year's submissions...all of them.</p>
<p>Changes made to the FAFSA are not officially made until you submit...who would you be submitting these fabricated changes to?? Surely you would not be submitting them to the college(s).</p>