Is there an income where you don't even bother with the FAFSA?

Paying for College
1

<p>I just went to my first FA meeting and these are the questions that are coming up because I'm in an affluent town. (Unfortunately, we're on the "little less affluent" end...lol...)</p>

<p>But at the meeting, the counselors keep saying everyone should file the FAFSA no matter what...and that seems to conflict with what I am reading here.</p>

<p>So, is there a certain income level where you should just not bother, assuming that will help with admission for your child?</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>I would say that it is a good bit of advice to file the FAFSA regardless of income, because there are many schools and scholarships that award money not based on need, but on merit, but they use the FAFSA (for reasons that I don’t know).</p>

3

<p>No. If you want your kids to get their own loans, the Stafford is the best way to go, in my opinion. You need FAFSA for this option. Also you never know if a merit award may pop up that needs a FAFSA on file.</p>

4

<p>the fafsa doesn’t just determine financial need, it also it just a record for the college to have on file, kinda shows you exist and are on record at the school</p>

<p>sometimes they don’t even look at it, depending on the award you get</p>

5

<p>NYU (fafsa only private that is not know for meeting full need) says that you need to submit a fafsa to be considered for ANY scholarship.</p>

<p>No reason not to file fafsa unless you have $250K+ sitting in a locked box
and you 100% sure you are going to pay for everything for 4 years</p>

6

<p>D applied to three FAFSA private schools; all of them award merit scholarships but require FAFSA in order to be eligible for them. Merit awards ranged from 13K to 19K at these schools (plus the need-based grants).</p>

<p>Plus the other reasons mentioned above-- I’d recommend filing FAFSA regardless of income.</p>

<p>As a practical matter, though, if the question is “Above what income is need-based aid unlikely,” it really depends on so many factors that there’s no simple answer. Having 2 kids in college can make a family making 150K eligible for need-based aid at many schools, while a family making 75K may not be eligible for any need-based aid if they have significant assets (particularly if those assets are in the student’s name).</p>

7

<p>If you have a million in cash and two or fewer kids I wouldn’t bother. All you’re doing is putting a lot of personal information out in databases which various and sundry people have access to. I would guess that your information would immediately go into the fundraising database of the school where your child will be attending. That’s the asset-based story. I don’t know the pattern of where the income cutoff is.</p>

8

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<p>If your parents are Bill Gates or Warren Buffet, it would be safe to say that you don’t have to bother with the FAFSA since they can pay for their kids college education without thinking even once about the cost.</p>

9

<p>I think that the poster was looking for the least upper bound; not infinity.</p>

10

<p>^^Yes BCEagle…thanks…lol…</p>

<p>If I were Bill Gates I would just donate a wing or something and get my kid into the college of his choice…</p>

11

<p>Okay…so if you are going to check off the box that says “not applying for financial aid”…that would mean you aren’t filing a FAFSA?</p>