<p>Does anyone know if there's a way to protect Parents' financial information on the FAFSA so that the student does not have access to it? Is the Parents' financial information accessible using the student's PIN? Is the student's portion of the FAFSA "merged" with the parents' information to become a new document that both the student and the parents have access to?</p>
<p>Check Princeton's financial aid "FAQ's".. it explains how to do it.</p>
<p>Well...in truth...the FAFSA is the STUDENT's document. It is submitted in the student's name containing info from both parent and student. They both sign with the PIN to verify that the info is accurate.</p>
<p>I suppose if the parent didn't give the student the student's PIN number, the student wouldn't have access to the FAFSA at all. My guess is that some families do this. It just doesn't seem honest to me to do so...as truthfully, the student should be holding that PIN number. We chose to have the student read all the info on the FAFSA because they were signing it also.</p>
<p>Can you send me the URL or post it? I'm having difficulty finding it in Princeton' FAQs. Thanks!</p>
<p>OK...I posted this on your other thread, but this one seems to be the "active" one.</p>
<p>Well...in truth...the FAFSA is the STUDENT's document. It is submitted in the student's name containing info from both parent and student. They both sign with the PIN to verify that the info is accurate.</p>
<p>I suppose if the parent didn't give the student the student's PIN number, the student wouldn't have access to the FAFSA at all. My guess is that some families do this. It just doesn't seem honest to me to do so...as truthfully, the student should be holding that PIN number. We chose to have the student read all the info on the FAFSA because they were signing it also.</p>
<p>Thumper, I dont think it is a matter of honesty, it is more that children are not entitled to information about parents finances. Are you a school administrator? Not to be too judgemental (although you brought honesty into the fray), I don't think you are being fair to parents. As to it being the student's document -- if students can not get aid without parents financial info, I think it may related to the student, but I wouldn't say it is the students form.</p>
<p>I have always been really upfront with my son about how much money I make (Here is my Gross pay - see how my net pay is 1/2 of that?) and how much things cost (here is my mortgage payment, car insurance, etc) and how much I have in the bank (see what living frugal means to my bank account).</p>
<p>I WANTED him to know what it took to for me to earn a living, pay a bill and save for college.</p>
<p>I guess the OP has alot of money and income and doesn't want the kid to know that. I'm not sure how I would feel in that circumstance (since it's very different from my reality)</p>
<p>I think that is too judgemental. Different families have different ways of dealing with what they tell their children about their money, income,etc. I was brought up in a home where that was NEVER discussed. I only really found out about my parent's finances recently after they were unable to take care of it themselves. I am more open with my daughters but not entirely open. I am just not comfortable sharing this with them completely.</p>
<p>I'm not trying to be judgemental...and I realize some families prefer not to share the financial information with their students. That is their decision. My only point...the parents AND the student both sign that the information is accurate. I don't let my kids sign anything that they don't read and understand...but that is MY decision as a parent. To be honest, I've had my kids read the FAFSA (and Profile) but I'm not sure they actually "read" either. In the case of the FAFSA, they simply put their PIN number in. I'm not sure they cared what was on it...as long as the document got submitted in a timely fashion.</p>
<p>When my son was a junior, I made him sit with me when I did the FAFSA. It was torture for him. BUT it sure made it easier for him the following year when he had to do it alone as in independent grad student.</p>
<p>Look...each family has their own way of dealing with finances. I'm not here to pass judgement on anyone. These are personal family decisions. We wanted our kids to understand our finances...especially with two of them in college. We have a decent income but we don't have a money tree. We thought they needed to understand that. But if others don't want to share, that is their business.</p>
<p>Now...the question is...can the student gain access to a completed FAFSA using their PIN number only. The answer to that is YES. The only way I can think of to keep this information private to the parents...parent gets student PIN and does NOT give it to the student. When the time comes the Parent enters the student PIN to sign the FAFSA...but, it's supposed to be the student doing the signing. But in the end, this is a personal family decision.</p>
<p>My apologies, Thumper, I was not calling you judgemental. There was a poster that said the OP must have a lot of money to not want to share the financial information. I was trying to say that you don't have to be wealthy to not want to share this kind of personal information.</p>
<p>AT son's college they specifically mentioned it was his responsibility to do the fafsa and not the parents.</p>
<p>I let my sons fill out the first one. When they could see the whole picture they quit asking for a car. Best decision I ever made :)</p>
<p>Well...some parents do not share financial info with their kids. BUT I guess I view this in the same light as having that frank discussion about what your family WILL pay for college BEFORE the kids send their applications. Some families won't do that either. Again...personal family decision.</p>
<p>Maybe I am the only one, but I do the FAFSA for my student and myself. We both have pins and it feeds my type a personality to get it done. With that said, my student does know what our finances are, so there are no secrets.</p>
<p>I also complete the FAFSA for my son(s). Yeah they have access to the info and when they were pre-college I could have had them sit down with me while I filled in the blanks. But now with S1 in college across the country, it's just more expedient for me to fill out the form using our financial info. If he had to fill it out, I'm not even sure how that would work...I would have to go through the entire form; figure out what info he needed; send those numbers, or links to statements to him; send him a copy of my tax return, etc. It's just easier for me to do the paperwork because I have all the information required, including his tax return (which our local preparer completes).</p>
<p>Just to clarify...I also fill the thing out getting the info from my kid. BUT the kid has to read it ALL before the PIN gets entered. Nothing to hide...hey, after spending the last seven years paying college tuition, there's NOTHING to hide.</p>
<p>But back to the original question...I'm almost positive that IF the student has THEIR PIN ONLY, they can open up the FAFSA and read everything on it...including both their parents' info and their own. I do not believe that the parents can enter their info and have this somehow excluded from view by their kids IF the kids have their (the kids') own PIN numbers.</p>
<p>^That is true, but I keep everything together, our pin and our students pin, so she doesn't even look at the stuff. You really could keep your kid out of the loop if you really wanted to.</p>
<p>I remember the first time I showed my son my paystub. He was more than a little surprised that my net pay was HALF of my gross pay.</p>
<p>My parents never discussed finances with me. That is one reason I am adamant about being the opposite way with my son.</p>
<p>that said, I do the fafsa, but he knows what I make and have to spend on college. it's the little things....like telling him he wasn't allowed to get a driver's license because it would cost an extra $900 a year to add him to my policy (current rate is $400). Buy a laptop for him or pay for car insurance... not hard to make that choice</p>
<p>Another issue is for divorced parents and the fafsa. Maybe the custodial parent has the non custodial parent file the fafsa because they pay more than 50% and it's more beneficial to file that way. But then the other parent has access to the fafsa and amounts through the student's pin. The CSS profile protects the non custodial parent against this with a separate pin.</p>
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<blockquote> <p>Maybe the custodial parent has the non custodial parent file the fafsa because they pay more than 50% and it's more beneficial to file that way.>></p> </blockquote>
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<p>Can you really do this?</p>
<p>Reading the difficulties that parents with various financial experience have filling out the FAFSA, how does the government expect students, many who haven't even filed a tax return to fill out a FAFSA form accurately?</p>