<p>so it's jan 1st, which is the date the fafsa form first comes out right?
i decided to fill in the form early, but i have several questions that i'm really confused about:
-i think i can transfer data from fafsa3caster to the real fafsa, how do i do this instead of filling everything out again?
-i think i'm supposed to be filling out the 2010-2011 form because i'm planning to attend college starting in 2010, but when i clicked that, it keeps saying 2009-2010 on the next page. what's up with that?
-and then they asked if i wanted to skip any questions. should i skip any questions at all? will this have any effect on how much aid i get?
-then they asked for which schools to send my results to. do i send it to all the schools i applied to, even if i don't know if i got accepted?
Any help is appreciated. thanks!=)</p>
<p>I think at the end of the forecaster there’s an option to submit the FAFSA now. And yeah, submit it to all of the colleges you applied to. Most college’s priority deadline for FAFSA submissions is before the notification date. It’s free - so go ahead.</p>
<p>I filled out my FAFSA first thing this morning and I didn’t have any problems with the 2010-2011 switching to 2009-2010. If you have your SS#, DOB and other information on your fafsa4caster, when you fill out the FAFSA for 2010-2011 and put in your SS#, it will automatically get all the information from your fafsa4caster. Do not skip questions. Fill in all the information and follow all the instructions given. Their system will determine whether you’re a dependent or independent students and it will skip some questions automatically if you fall at a certain category. For example, if you’re an independent student (if you’re married or above 24 yrs old), the system will automatically skip the parent information, unless you choose to provide it. Another example is if you’re elligible for the automatic 0 EFC. There are questions such as “are you or your spouse a dislocated worker?”, etc… the system will skip the questions about your assets information. Thererfore, do not skip any questions that are asked. If you’re unsure of any information, just don’t submit the application yet at the end. Just click on “Save” instead of “Submit”. Once you’ve verified and double-checked those information, then you can go back to fill them in the application. Except for the Income Tax Return. We have not filed our 2009 return yet (as most people don’t), I just chose “will file” in the income tax section of the application.</p>
<p>If you’re off by a certain amount of estimated income to what the official amount is when you file taxes, do you have to submit the form again?</p>
<p>If you are off by $1 you will have to correct and resubmit. Even if you are not off you will have to change tax status from ‘will file’ to ‘filed’ and resubmit.</p>
<p>Hmm so what’s the point of doing them now? Will the schools accept you (hopefully) but not put together a package until you resubmit?</p>
<p>Some schools will give you an estimated award based on the figures you submit now. Also some schools have early deadlines so you have to estimate to meet them.</p>
<p>My daughter’s school never makes any awards until the final figures are submitted and the FAFSA has been verified (when selected for verification - which she has been 2 out of 3 times).</p>
<p>So, I have a question about the deadlines. For example, Caltech has a FAFSA deadline on Feb. 1st. Does that mean that the final version must be submitted then, or can we resubmit even after Feb. 1st? </p>
<p>Also, I’m confused about the CSS Profile in relation to the FAFSA. Since I’ve already filled out the Profile in October, can I just transfer the estimates for 2009 directly or do they expect a new estimate? I mean, is it a good thing or bad thing if the estimates are the same? </p>
<p>Thanks everyone! I’m a first generation student so it all seems really complicated right now.</p>
<p>I would expect that a Feb 1st deadline would be for estimated numbers. Tax information such as 1099s and W2s are not legally required to be provided to you until January 31st so many people can not get their taxes finalized before that. </p>
<p>You know what the tax info we are always waiting for and it always comes last? The 1098s from the colleges that are wanting our FAFSAs filed early!!</p>