<p>If household income exceeds 170K? I'm new, sorry if this is a dumb question and thanks in advance for the help.</p>
<p>Some colleges require that you file the FAFSA to be eligible to receive any merit aid…</p>
<p>OK, thank you. Son has received some merit awards, so I’ll check with the individual colleges. As a side note, that’s kind of annoying. Why would they need that for merit aid?</p>
<p>my understanding is that if you do not file FAFSA when starting college you can not apply for aid even if your circumstances change later during undergrad years</p>
<p>Most schools do not require FAFSA for merit consideration, but look at your schools’ websites to make sure.</p>
<p>You can fill out FAFSA if you want a student loan.</p>
<p>my understanding is that if you do not file FAFSA when starting college you can not apply for aid even if your circumstances change later during undergrad years</p>
<p>that’s true for some schools, but not many schools. And, even schools that do have that rule, usually make exceptions for “life changes” such as death of the breadwinner or loss of job. They don’t want people pretending to have the money for an admissions boost, paying for one year, and then asking for aid…with no life changes.</p>
<p>One reason to submit FAFSA is if you want your child to have skin in the game by taking a Stafford loan.</p>
<p>Here’s a true story: A family member asked my advice on whether to fill out a FAFSA several years ago. I ran their numbers through several FA calculators and said that their EFC was so high that it wasn’t worth it. Luckily, they didn’t listen to me, filed a FAFSA, and the student got a $7000 renewable scholarship that required a submitted FAFSA regardless of the EFC outcome. So now my advice to anyone is to file the FAFSA, especially if the college recommends doing so.</p>
<p>Thank you all for your input - this is very helpful. We will go ahead and fill out the form and see what happens.</p>
<p>It’s almost certainly a waste of time, unless you want a very expensive loan. </p>
<p>But do check with your target college, be a very critical reader/listener, and ask probing questions. You may find the proverbial needle in the haystack, although the odds are quite a bit worse.</p>
<p>*It’s almost certainly a waste of time unless you want a very expensive loan. *</p>
<p>do you have a source of less expensive loans that don’t require co-signer?</p>
<p>Actually, you CAN file a FAFSA in subsequent years for federally funded aid even if you do not do so as an incoming freshman.
Some schools not allow you to apply for INSTITUTIONAL aid in subsequent years if you do not apply as an incoming freshman.</p>
<p>I was told that some schools require the FAFSA even for merit aid because the school wants to use federally funded need based aid if you qualify for it before using their own merit funds</p>
<p>I do not happen to agree with mister k regarding the Stafford
Loans. By completing the FAFSA, your STUDENT will be eligible for the stafford loan in their name. I’d like to know what loan for a student without a cosigner is less expensive?</p>
<p>^ We had to fill out a FAFSA to get DS’s very modest merit scholarship at his public university (we did not have need), but based on the number of appeals for donations I get from the school, I wouldn’t be surprised if our financial info made it over to the development office.</p>
<p>*do you have a source of less expensive loans that don’t require co-signer? *</p>
<p>Nope. This is a really scary time to take out loans. Look at the unsubsidized loan rate vs. the rate of return on conservative investments. Good options are tough to find. For a $170k/yr family, my suggestion would be to look for merit dollars.</p>
<p>Of course, it all depends on your own values.</p>
<p>^ We had to fill out a FAFSA to get DS’s very modest merit scholarship at his public university (we did not have need),</p>
<p>What public university required FAFSA for pure merit?</p>
<p>Mister K we have been through this before. Our FAFSA efc was well in excess of the cost of attendance at DSs school. He received a music performance scholarship that was based on his audition and was A merit award only. We did not qualify for a nickel of need based aid. The school required all incoming freshmen to complete both the FAFSA and the PROFILE for all awards including merit awards. If we had not completed these forms DS would NOT have had his MERIT award disbursed to him. It was a purely merit award.</p>
<p>^ I have to fill it out every year for him to keep the scholarship, too.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t be surprised if our financial info made it over to the development office</p>
<p>I guess this is what I find disturbing about this. I doubt son will qualify for any need-based aid, so I hate distributing such personal information out there. I guess I don’t care that much about the development office - I can always say yea or nay - but I hate giving this type of info out to public institutions. If there is no/very little likelihood that it will mean additional $ over merit (assuming it’s not required for merit) then I really don’t want to do it.</p>
<p>Same here - I really don’t want to disclose personal information unless absolutely necessary, and I am not convinced that in my case it is necessary. My D school does not award merit scholarships, and we clearly do not qualify for need-based FA. I called FA office and was inform that we can apply next year if we decide to do it. They do not prohibit it if the student is US citizen.</p>
<p>We get appeals for donations as well, and we receive a significant amount of financial aid. So I don’t think it is because your information was released to other departments. (although I do agree that it really is none of their business in your case)</p>
<p>I think all parents receive those appeals, regardless of income level. If I had written a check for an additional $25, it would be $25 more raised…</p>