FAFSA & PLUS question

Paying for College
1

<p>Okay.
First:</p>

<p>Can someone link me to exactly HOW you determine who goes on the FAFSA? Does it deal with who is on taxes?? I know I'll have to use my dad this year because I live with him and he supports me.. but he's moving to Georgia this summer and I'll mainly be visiting my mom, etc. How would I be able to get my mom to fill out the FAFSA?</p>

<p>Second:</p>

<p>I see that you can get an additional $4,000 unsubsidized stafford if a parent is rejected. Does 'parent' mean who you're dependent on (dad) or can my mom apply and if she's rejected I get it? (My dad doesn't want anything to do with paying for my schooling, I'll have to use my mom for everything :|)</p>

2

<p>First of all, you will have to use the parent with whom you lived the most in the past 12 months as the parent listed on your FAFSA. It doesn’t matter who claims you on their taxes. You will be using the 12 months prior to the date on which you file the FAFSA, which is anytime after January 1 of the school year (that is, January 2009 for fall 2009). If you live with dad most during that 12 months, that’s who you use. However, NEXT year you will be able to use mom’s info if you’ve lived with her the most during the 12 months preceding the date on which you file the FAFSA for the 2010 school year.</p>

<p>Here is a link to the FAFSA forecaster, which is a real FAFSA simulator: <a href=“https://fafsa4caster.ed.gov/FOTWWebApp/fotw0708/FFOTWServlet[/url]”>https://fafsa4caster.ed.gov/FOTWWebApp/fotw0708/FFOTWServlet&lt;/a&gt; All the info you need to fill out the FAFSA is on that website.</p>

<p>The additional amount you can borrow when a PLUS borrower is turned down is based on the parent info you used on the FAFSA. It’s federal aid, so you have to follow federal rules.</p>

3

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<p>The financial aid formulas do not take into consideration whether your dad “wants anything to do with paying” for your college education. They only consider whether he can…and how much the EFC will be. Since it sounds like your dad is your custodial parent, you would need to use his information on the FAFSA form. Your EFC will be based on his income and assets for next year.</p>

<p>If you move in with your mom, that could change for the following year.</p>

4

<p>Okay, I understand about the FAFSA question.. what about the PLUS loan? Is that only for who I’m dependent on or can my mom fill that out?</p>

5

<p>Either parent (or both, as long as your limit is not exceeded) can borrow the PLUS loan.</p>

6

<p>You can read about PLUS loans here:
studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/parentloans.jsp</p>

<p>It looks to me like your mom can fill it out and actually get a loan for you, but your question is different - you want to know if it will matter to the college financial aid office if <em>she</em> gets turned down instead of your dad. I think the only people who can answer that question are the ones at your college financial aid office.</p>

7

<p>Well … technically, a FAFSA isn’t required to borrow a PLUS loan (although many schools do require it before they’ll certify a PLUS loan application). BUT … if the parent is turned down for a PLUS loan, the student is then eligible to borrow a larger Stafford. That means the student MUST file a FAFSA. And when the student files the FAFSA, the father will come up as the parent of record. In that case, the financial aid administrator will require that the father be the one who is turned down for the PLUS in order for the student to borrow more Stafford. So, no … you can’t get it in that roundabout way.</p>