<p>I apologize if some of these questions were answered elsewhere </p>
<p>Our EFC is high (this is the first child going to college) and hence we will not qualify for need based aid. S has applied to a mix of colleges and has been admitted into the two state schools (where he will qualify for some aid based on National Merit finalist status which we expect he will qualify), a top 10 school not known for aid and just yesterday a top 25 school. He has several applications pending in top 10 institutions and some leading LAC's and some out of state Public Universities. CC forums universally suggest filling out FSFA. Here are my questions</p>
<p>1) If we submit FSFA will it affect merit based aid? Will the committees looking at merit based aid (scholarships) look at the FSFA also and will that influence them? I know this is generic question but hopefully someone has some insights.</p>
<p>2) Does it make sense to fill out the CSS in our case when the FSFA will be high and my understanding is that CSS for example includes equity in the home and hence EFC from CSS will be higher.</p>
<p>3) Again FSFA will be based on approximate numbers at this stage as we will not have our tax returns done for some time. I assume we can update the FSFA when we get the real numbers?</p>
<p>4) FSFA appears to limit it 10 schools. Can we add more schools later or change schools (S has 12 schools on the list)</p>
<p>Thank you for the wonderful insights some of the regulars on this forum provide. It has been a great learning experience from the</p>
<p>Check your schools. Some actually REQUIRE the FAFSA be submitted even for merit aid. In addition, check to be sure that you can apply for financial aid in subsequent years if you don’t apply now. Some schools do not allow students to apply for institutional aid after their freshman year IF they don’t apply as incoming freshman (note…they don’t have to qualify or take aid…they have to APPLY).</p>
<p>There really isn’t any way to answer your question regarding If the school will look at the FAFSA before awarding merit aid. My understanding is that SOME schools will want to disperse FEDERAL need based aid before they use institutional funds (and that would include scholarships or grants). </p>
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<p>Again…make sure your kiddo can apply for aid in subsequent years if you do NOT apply this year. You know…if you don’t qualify, the school won’t award you aid. If you do, they will. Personally I would apply unless I were independently wealthy with a guarantee that I could support college expenses for all four years.</p>
<p>Also, by completing the FAFSA, your child would be eligible for a Stafford loan in his name. Some parents (we are included in this group) ask their kids to take these loans as the student “investment” in their college expenses.</p>
<p>There is no “Profile EFC”. The schools that use the Profile and FAFSA will take the Profile information, determine your aid, and tell you what you owe as a balance.</p>
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<p>You can do the FAFSA using estimates…your BEST estimates and then amend it and resubmit after completing your taxes. HOWEVER, you mentino that your tax returns will not be done for “some time”. You really should make every attempt to get these done ASAP after Feb 1. Any financial aid your child did receive would be an estimate only until you put in the final numbers from your tax returns (this goes for the Profile as well). This is NOT the year to file your taxes on the late side.</p>
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<p>You submit the first ten schools. Wait until that FAFSA is processed…go back into the FAFSA website, delete those schools and add the remainder of the schools and submit again. When you go to amend, you will do the same.</p>
<p>Repeat process until you have submitted to all schools (no limit really…just time consuming to delete/add/resubmit.</p>