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This is incorrect. You can’t redo FAFSA when the money is gone. Assets must be reported as of the FAFSA is first filed. You can not change them unless the amount reported for that day was wrongly reported.</p>
<p>Minot State is pretty affordable. Check out Ripon College also, they seemed pretty generous on the NPC.</p>
<p>zinc, did you do the fafsa forecaster including the savings?</p>
<p>Alabama State U - 3.2 GPA and a 22 ACT = full tuition + fees + books.</p>
<p>Lmkh70…you are WRONG. The assets (money) MUST be reported as of the date of the initial FAFSA filing. The asset amount is NOT changed if the money gets spent, and the financial aid office does NOT redo your financial aid award just because you spend down your assets. </p>
<p>Assets are reported as of,the date of the initial FAFSA filing. They are NOT changed because the balances in those accounts change. The ONLY reason one would change the asset amount is if the asset was incorrectly reported on that initial filing. For example, we changed assets on a filing once time because we had inadvertently left an account OFF of our initial filing. We made a mistake so we had to correct it. </p>
<p>If one adds money to, or takes money away from any asset after the original filing of the FAFSA, the asset amount is NOT NOT NOT changed.</p>
<p>These threads always make me cringe as a career financial aid administrator…You definitely can’t update the asset information on the FAFSA. ANswer it as correct as of the date filed. People do this all the time, with zero success. </p>
<p>Think about it, for most people their bank balance changes daily. Can you imagine if people kept changing it? I have students every year whose parents pay their tuition, and sometimes for siblings too, and then update their FAFSA in hopes of getting more financial aid. </p>
<p>The truth is, for the VAST majority of families, assets play a minor role in the financial aid process. Most, but not all, families with large assets also have incomes that put their EFC outside of Pell grant eligibility just based on incomes. So these frequent updates to the assets usually changes their EFC from 12k to 10k or somthing along those lines. For a school that meets full need, this does make a small difference, but for most families it wont change anything.</p>
<p>You should just file with the correct information so that you can make decisions based on real information. UIC sounds like a decent option, if your home situation is one that you can stay in and still be successful in school. If not, there have been a few good suggestions about guaranteed merit schools. Your EC’s are excellent, and you sound like a very motivated student. I am confident you can find a situation that works.</p>
<p>Sorry for the question but should I just wait until the 2013 taxes are done to file or do I file right now? Whats the point of filing early if the app wont be completed until the 2013 taxes are done? How do kids submit the app in January if (from what my mother has told me) the earliest she can have the 2013 taxes done is Mid February?</p>
<p>@Edgar: Not all families file income taxes and the 1040A can be different from 1040EZ, etc. However it’s not “taxes done”, it’s “declared income verified by tax form”.</p>
<p>@Zinc: file on Feb 1st. Report the truth as is at that point.
There are few 100% need schools that you’re competitive for and they’d be reaches - look at St Olaf, Occidental, and Gettysburg. Since you’re a girl in the sciences, apply to some of the tech schools such as wpi, rpi, rit; if you’re not afraid to be in a minority (as a girl), you’d be likely to get a nice financial aid package as an “incentive” for you to attend. Apply to the women’s colleges, perhaps Mount Holyoke, Agnes Scott, and Mills. They tend to be good with financial aid. You might want to try Juniata, Muhlenberg, and Earlham.
[100%</a> Meet Need Colleges | CollegeGreenlight](<a href=“Colleges with Need-Blind Admission for U.S. Students”>Colleges with Need-Blind Admission for U.S. Students)</p>
<p>Since the OP’s parents are divorced, doesn’t FAFSA require the financial aid information of both parents?</p>
<p>No…only custodial parent’s info is used on FAFSA.</p>
<p>University of Alabama is good with FA. you can still apply. A good school and few of its programs like Chemical Engineering gives you xtra 2.5k per yr. Good for pre-med too…</p>
<p>University of Dayton is seriously looking for minority students and give good financial aid.</p>
<p>I hate this nightmare, doesn’t everyone else? Wouldn’t it be better to tax progressively 3x all people with children and 1x all people without, and provide college to everyone with the admission qualifications for $1000 or less per semester? (plus an optional $2000 or $10000 good performance deposit to help motivate students from wealthier backgrounds). That would be true equality without forcing people to play these horrible games to either prevent the mechanisms from assuming they’re rich when they’re poor or to hide their riches to get a better price.</p>
<p>RE: #49, above…If OP’s mom had remarried, then step parent’s income information, etc. would be required on FAFSA??</p>
<p>rutgersmamma -</p>
<p>Yes, if kid lives with Mom, and Mom is remarried, then the step-parent’s income is included></p>
<p>^And if you’re filing the CSS, the real treat is that some schools require the incomes of ALL THREE parents ;)</p>
<p>For colleges that use the Profile or their own financial aid form, there usually is a place to describe any unusual circumstances. If the downpayment money is not spent by the date of the form submittal, I would clearly state that $X of the funds in the Z account will be spent in the next month to put down the downpayment on my mother’s first purchase of a home. I’d state that the sale is currently pending. </p>
<p>You could also send that written explanation to individual colleges that only use the fafsa.</p>
<p>A realtor may also be willing to set up an escrow account to hold the downpayment money before settlement.</p>
<p>Edgarm116 many schools consider you as “in line” as of when you file FAFSA even with estimated numbers. So you go back and verify after your mom has filed taxes, but your “place in line” is high because you filled it out and submitted it early. If your mom has W2s or things are about the same as last year, then go ahead and estimate and submit it it as “Will File”.</p>
<p>Listen. The income you had filed for taxes is the only thing you cannot change. With that said, do what you want with the savings you are talking about. If you are straight up lying about something that is obvious, then you may be in trouble because it is false information. I’m pretty sure you can take out savings money and leave 4000 and say you have the 4000 that you can leave in savings you are talking about and it’s no problem…</p>
<p>But honestly I don’t think it’s necessary to do anything with the money or savings. People receive a fafsa for almost any income these days… People who have six figure incomes receive fafsa too… The only people that may receive the most is those who have an income of less than $22k which counts as poverty and since it seems you filed taxes with the reported income for 38k, it seems you aren’t eligible for that anyway.</p>
<p>Just file a fafsa with the information you have, you don’t need to lie about anything.</p>
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<p>FAFSA gives nothing but a number. People don’t get anything from it.</p>