Hi. I am sure this has been asked before, but can’t find easily. My child has applied to colleges and we will not qualify for financial aid, grants, loans, etc. They are trying for various merit based scholarships only. In some cases, I hear that the particular school may award one after review of application and others they have specifically applied for. Do we need to as parents file the FAFSA? I have contacted 3 of her colleges (and there are more that were applied to as well) and they say no - they don’t need a FAFSA. I just don’t want to go thru the hassle of filling it out, if truly not necessary. Thank you for your advice.
Some schools do require the FAFSA if you are applying for merit aid. If your schools are saying no, then don’t bother. You can also file it later if you do find you need it for merit aid.
It is also needed for any federal loans or grants.
Thank you. The 3 top schools said NO. Is that correct that if my child receives merit aid and college requires the FAFSA we could do it AFTER the March 2nd deadline? Thank you so much!!!
You can file the FAFSA up to the end of her freshmen year. What the school requires for its own merit aid is up to the school. I have one daughter in a school that requires FAFSA for any aid it grants, merit or need based. It will not process anything until it has it. The other daughter is at a school that doesn’t require it for non-need based aid, but it will not process the package until you either file FAFSA or tell them that you aren’t going to file it.
If the school requires FAFSA for merit aid, then the school will have its deadline for submitting the FAFSA. You need to check with each school about this.
You child can qualify for student loan by filing FAFSA.
You can still qualify for a loan thru FAFSA. It would either be a $5500 student loan…or you could do a Parent Plus Loan for the full cost of college.
@mommdc and @mom2collegekids I specifically stated that we do not need or qualify for financial aid. We don’t need a loan or student loan. This question is SPECIFICALLY about merit aid. Thank you.
@hcmom65 – actually, you stated in your original post only that you would not qualify for financial aid, not that you didn’t need it. @mom2collegekids was just letting you know that regardless of financial circumstances, your child can qualify for a student loan IF you have completed a FAFSA.
Regarding merit aid, you may either check with each school on your list now to determine if FAFSA filing is necessary or wait until your child has committed to a school and check at that time. You’ll still have plenty of time to get the FAFSA done before fall.
Thank you all for your help. Really appreciated!