<p>I filled out a FAFSA last weekend, then made two seperate changes on Feb 1, Feb 2 that only alter school codes and order.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Apparantly Harvard has many codes and I used the wrong one, so I changed it to the one described on the Harvard finaid web </p></li>
<li><p>After looking at last year's info regarding my daughter I realized that U Mich should be the first school listed (as per instructions from UM financial aid office). So I changed that, creating a gap at the third position. Will they report the FAFSA info to schools after this gap?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Today (Jan/6) we get a blue form in the mail saying there are things that need to be checked on the SAR and that our FAFSA has been selected for validation. The FAFSA information they sent is describing the <em>first</em> form not the forms with the re-numbered and re-ordered schools. Should I wait and see if they send this letter again using the more recent form?</p>
<p>Also FAFSA asks about Selective Service Registration (mandatory for 18 year olds). My son had dual-citizenship and is only 16. Should I just check that box that says "register me"?</p>
<p>Any help or guidance is greatly appreciated.
Thanks!</p>
<p>
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<p>Are you saying that UMich insists that their school be listed FIRST on the FAFSA? Sorry…but I can’t see why that would be the case. They will get your FAFSA at the same time REGARDLESS of whether you list them first or tenth.</p>
<p>My son is 16 also…
When i didn’t check the box, warning messages popped up on that phase of the process…and after reading some threads here earlier in January …I was prepared…
So I decided…what-the-heck…check the box…since they cannot come after him until April of his freshman year when he turns 18… it was worth less trouble to check the boxes than the trouble it might create to have avoiding checking that box…
(I make a bold political statement- but if we need to find able bodied 18 year olds…they will find them regardless…it’s not 1964!)</p>
<p>I asked him first if he had any objection to me checking the box…being the politically-apathetic 16 year old that he is (I shudder at this) he said he didn’t care (perhaps if I mentioned that there was a EFC windfall to students playing excessive video games I might have sparked his interest and a conversation…)</p>
<p>@Thumper,
Yes, UM Financial aid told me that the most expensive public school on your list should be listed first. With very few exceptions, UMich wins the most expensive public university contest. MSU is not that far behind.</p>
<p>That’s nonsense. I don’t know why UM would tell you that. It makes no difference what order you put the schools in on FAFSA. When a school goes to upload FAFSAs that have their code it uploads the data whether they are listed 1st or 10th.</p>
<p>I just have to ask…who did you talk to at UMich about having to put that school FIRST on your FAFSA? Perhaps others can chime in…I have NEVER heard that the order on your FAFSA matters in any way…not at all. </p>
<p>My own kiddos applied to OOS public universities…and they were not listed first on the FAFSA. The schools still received the FAFSA info.</p>
<p>I’d love some verification that this is true. Has any other person on this board ever heard of the requirement to list a specific school FIRST on the FAFSA (or Proflie)?</p>
<p>I have heard that in some states you need to put an in-state school first in order to be considered for state-based aid. Don’t know whether it’s true, but I’ve heard it before. I think it triggers something in a state database or something???</p>
<p>This is a copy/paste of the response I received from the Associate Director of Financial Aid at UM.</p>
<p>“The reason for listing The University of Michigan first is that the State of Michigan, for their programs, will pull in the first institution listed on the FAFSA to determine you daughter’s eligibility for the State of Michigan programs. Doing this, or not doing this, will not impact her Federal or Institutional aid eligibility at either private colleges or the University of Michigan - it is solely a State of Michigan issue.” </p>
<p>“Because the UofM is the most expensive public institution in Michigan, you want to list us first so that our cost of attendance budget is used in the State of Michigan’s calculations. If you list a non-resident institution first, you do run the list of being deemed totally ineligible.”</p>
<p>So this is a State issue only. Sorry if my message implied it had something to do with federal aid.</p>