<p>I need some help....We have been fortunate enough to have been able to save a great deal of money toward tuition for our 3 children (20, 17,17) We don't need any aid, but I do want them to have a loan they are responsible for. </p>
<p>Can I get a loan in their name without filing the FASFA?</p>
<p>You can probably get them a loan but you will need to cosign it. The Stafford is the only loan I know of that doesn’t require a cosigner for someone without collateral.</p>
<p>The interest on stafford’s is pretty low, and if I’m not mistaken, you can only get them filing a fafsa. I know someone who was well-off and didn’t want to put down his income or bother with the forms, but was considering it because he wanted his son to take a little bit of the burden.</p>
<p>Agree, if you shop around there are many options. With the amount of “borrowing” going on these days for college education I suspect the govenment will be keeping an eagle eye on Staffords. Personally filling out a FAFSA is pretty simple in the grand scheme of things and all it requires is filling out the FAFSA each year.</p>
<p>Even if you don’t qualify for aid and have a very high EFC, you can still fill out a FAFSA and your kids can still take out a Stafford loan.</p>
<p>Since you want them to have a loan, a Stafford loan is probably the best way to go.</p>
<p>The Stafford Loan is in the student’s name only. No cosigner needed. If you want your kiddo to have one, file a FAFSA. if you don’t have need, it will be an unsubsidized loan. We actually required our kids to take out that loan…it was their “investment” in their college educations. We will help pay these loans back if we can…but them taking out these loans certainly helped OUR cash flow while they were in college.</p>
<p>Yes, and when I meant “shopping around” I was referencing the Stafford options. For example some how declining interest rates based on on-time payments, different fee structures etc.</p>
<p>How does NOT flling out a FAFSA help you?</p>
<p>How does filling out the FAFSA hurt you?</p>
<p>So . . . fill it out in order to give you the option of being able to qualify for federal loans.</p>
<p>Can’t hurt; might help.</p>
<p>Kei</p>
<p>My understanding (perhaps Kelsmom can pipe in) is that there is going to be no “shopping around” for Stafford loans any longer. These are all going to be Direct Loans. OR maybe I’m hallucinating that.</p>
<p>In any event…to get a Stafford loan…you must complete a FAFSA.</p>
<p>Don’t want a loan, expected contribution via the estimate worksheets at Amherst something like $53k. So, why file a FAFSA?</p>
<p>^^did you read the responses ? If you would like a Stafford loan which has generally lower rates than conventional loans you need to fill out a FAFSA. If you don’t want a loan and don’t need a loan don’t fill it out. Pretty simple concept.</p>
<p>Do you want your kids to be eligible for merit money? Some schools require FAFSA for that. So if you’re as interested in scholarships as you are in loans, check with the schools on their policies.</p>
<p>There’s no downside to filing FAFSA, and even in your case, some possible upside.</p>