<p>Sorry I don't have the line numbers handy - but both forms ask how much will your parents pay for the coming year? And you don't include any amounts you plan to borrow. I have leeway here - I could pay more and borrow less, or pay less and borrow more. How does my answer to this effect my son's FA package? If I want to maximize the amount of FA he receives (don't we all) is it better to put we are paying less and borrowing more? Or vice versa?</p>
<p>R’mom, FAFSA does not ask that question at all.</p>
<p>Sorry - it must just be on the Profile then - I worked on both of them on the same day - have not submitted them yet. So, assuming it is just on the Profile - it asks how much your parents paid towards your education this year (not counting borrowed funds) and how much they will contribute next year (again, not counting borrowed funds), So - how does my answer to this question affect the FA he gets for next year?</p>
<p>No way to know how this will affect the aid. We were honest and put down the minimum we hoped to contribute…we actually used a number close to our FAFSA EFC.</p>
<p>Ok - it’s question SD115A - asks how much your parents paid towards your college in 2010-11 and SR160A - asks how much they will be able to pay for 2011-12. I would like to understand why this is being asked - the college knows how much our bill was - so the question seems redundant. But it says don’t include money that you borrowed or plan to borrow - so I’m wondering how my answer will affect the FA for next year.</p>