Fafsa

Parent Cafe
1

<p>If my daughter is a junior and plans to start college Fall of 2013, do we need to fill out a baseline Fafsa this year?</p>

2

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<p>NO…what would you do with a FAFSA this year? Your daughter isn’t applying to colleges yet. You will complete the 2012-2013 FAFSA for a student as an entering freshman in fall 2013…and you will use income data from your 2012 taxes.</p>

<p>The FAFSA is completed when your kiddo is going to enroll in college…not before. There are some online financial aid calculators YOU can use to get a GUESTIMATE of what your family contribution will be.</p>

<p>You can also post this query in the financial aid section of this forum…but I think you will get the same answer.</p>

3

<p>You will need to submit the FAFSA as soon after January 1, 2013, as you have your taxes completed. Don’t wait until April 15 to figure your taxes (although you can wait to submit to the IRS if you have to pay) as you will need income data from the tax return for the FAFSA. Many schools have deadlines for FAFSA submission in order to be eligible for scholarships and other financial aid. Be sure to check with the financial aid office of each school to which she is applying.</p>

4

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<p>Well…sort of.</p>

<p>The 2012-2013 FAFSA will become available for online submission on January 1, 2013. You should do it in keeping with the deadline for the schools to which you are applying. If the school has a January or early February deadline (where you might NOT have your 2012 taxes yet completed)…here’s what you do.</p>

<p>File your FAFSA using a “will file” status which means you WILL file your taxes but have not yet done so. Use the BEST possible estimates for 2012 based on your end of year pay stubs, interest statements etc. Then submit it to the school(s).</p>

<p>Do your taxes as soon as reasonably possible after Feb 1, 2013 when you have all of your 2012 documentation. Go back IN to the FAFSA website and amend your FAFSA to reflect the figures from your 2012 completed tax return and resubmit to the college(s). Change your status to “taxes completed”. </p>

<p>The year your child is a college freshman, you want to get your taxes done as soon as possible. It is NOT the year to wait until April 15th to complete your taxes.</p>

<p>Important thing to remember…there are some forms of federally funded need based aid that have limited amounts of money for each school. These include the Federal Work Study monies, and things like the Perkins loans, and SEOG (if your child’s college has it). This means that these funds are awarded on a first come/first served basis. The date of your initial FAFSA filing (using that “will file” status) gets your child in the queue for these. If you wait, you may find that the school will use up these funds…so get your FAFSA done as close to Jan 1 as possible using the “will file” status and EXCELLENT estimates. Then get those taxes done and amend the FAFSA ASAP after Feb 1.</p>

5

<p>What is the income limit this year?</p>