FAFSA question/ doubts

Paying for College
1

Hi - I have couple of FAFSA related questions. For my D22, I do not believe we would qualify for need-based aid.

  1. We heard it is better to submit FAFSA whether we qualify for need-based aid or not in year 1 so that down the road in year 2 or 3 or 4 , if needed FAFSA is in place. Is that the case?
  2. Is FAFSA something you submit right away while applying or is it something you submit every year?
  3. if you submit FAFSA, do you have the option of not checking the " are you applying for financial aid" box on common app? Does it hurt or help the chances one way or the other?

Thanks in advance for your pointers.

2

First, you should run the NPC at a couple of schools on her current list. That should give you an approximate idea of what you should expect to pay (unless there is divorce/remarriage, owning a business or real estate other than a primary residence as those all make the NPC less reliable). Then you should determine if those amounts are in line with what you can and are willing to pay. Some schools with large endowments are far more generous than others and offer aid for higher incomes than you might think.

In addressing your questions specifically:

  1. This depends on the policies at individual schools. Some say if you don’t apply for year 1, you are unable to apply for subsequent years. Some also require it for merit awards (not many, but some).
  2. FAFSA applications are submitted each year, using the appropriate (prior-prior year’s taxes) data.
  3. You can choose to file the FAFSA or not and likewise check off on the application whether you are seeking aid or not. For need-blind schools it will not matter, since they review financial aid and admissions independently. For need-aware schools, it may make a difference but then you really can’t go back to the school after acceptance and ask for financial aid.

The FAFSA is really just to determine Pell Grant eligibility and to obtain the federal student loans that each applicant can get. Private colleges will also have either the CSS Profile or an institutional form and they use the more detailed information collected to calculate any institutional aid (which is where most financial aid money comes from). As with FAFSA, some schools require the other applications for merit aid consideration.

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3

Here are some answers.

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4

Thank you. yes, if there is a separate forum for these questions, would like to take this query there. Appreciate the pointers and info @helpingmom40 @thumper1

5

I moved this to the financial aid section. I’m guessing you will get more responses here!

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6

Hi. I have a HS junior, freshman, and a 4th grader. Just starting to explore schools. I am thinking about retiring soon at age 58 and have the following assets:
Paid house $900k
Savings $2,500,000
529 $900k
401k/IRA $1.5 mil
Pension $1 mil
My question is simply… Even if my income in retirement drops from $250-300k to say $60k, is there any reason to fill out a FAFSA application? I’ve played around with calculators and it doesn’t seem like it… Thank you

7

You won’t qualify for need based aid, so the only reasons to file FAFSA would be if you want your student to take the Federal Direct Student Loans, or if they attend a school that requires the student to file FAFSA in order to qualify for merit aid (not many schools left which do this, but check).

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8

Your issue is not your income…it’s your $3.5 million in assets (home equity and savings. That 2.5 million savings will be assessed at 5.6% f it’s value and that will be added to your parent contribution… isn’t that about $140,000?

And private schools that use primary home equity…that will add more.

Your $60,000 income will be considered, but your assets will be way more considered.

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