My Mom Wants Me to Be Deceitful on FAFSA

Paying for College
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<p>

This is true.

Only if the student had earned income in 2013 of $5000. You can not put more in an IRA than your earnings for the year.</p>

<p>

Not for FAFSA. Contributions to retirement accounts on the 2013 tax return will be added back to income in the EFC formula.</p>

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<p>I don’t think it’s that big of a deal.</p>

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<p>You don’t think WHAT is a big deal? </p>

<p>Being dishonest on the FAFSA IS a big deal.</p>

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<p>" The reason I ask is because all of this crazyness is probably for naught because your mom’s income (which will get pulled from the IRS) is probably already too high for aid at 99% of schools…especially since it sounds like you’re not applying to CSS Profile schools. "</p>

<p>Uh yeah, 99% of schools that have tuitions of $10,000 per year or less, right.</p>

<p>There are a few things going on here:

  1. FAFSA is filled out once, but people seem to imply that it is set in stone. Really? That’s why there are so many posts about “my EFC was $$ according to FAFSA, and my top choice college Y says it is $$$” and “I got a better package than expected from my second choice, what do I do?” Point being, if his family’s financial situation does change greatly, it’s not like the FAFSA would be the only point of reference. He can provide updates as well as special circumstances (for example, if the death of his uncle changed the family’s financial situation drastically and his mom is trying to adjust from that).
  2. The implication is that his mother does not own, rather she rents. Whether or not she pays rent, that will affect some schools decisions about financial aid.
  3. Deceitful? Yeah, lying about something that is easily proveable through tax and bank record searches is probably a bad idea.</p>

<p>Think about the worst outcomes:
a) Tell the truth to the best of your ability. Give the numbers that she gave you, and don’t listen to her advice to lie. Possibly be unable to attend your top choice due to financial reasons,
OR
Lie as she suggests.<br>
b) First possibility, it does get you additional financial aid. If it is loans, probably same difference for you, you’ll have to pay them back. If it is grants, well yeah, that is like stealing (getting free money under fall pretenses, like food stamps or welfare if you don’t need it).
c) Second possibility, it doesn’t matter and you still can’t attend. Realize that the numbers you are talking about are pretty low in general, especially with a single parent.</p>

<p>For both lying possibilities, you have to worry about getting caught. With electronic records, easy to get caught. Possibly it would be a warning and a chance to update info. But in scenario b) where you get the aid “you need” as a grant and therefore are “stealing”, the ramifications can be much worse.</p>

<p>This sounds like an unfortunate situation where you have an unsupportive parent and likely not enough funds to attend the school of your choice. That’s bad enough, but adding crime to the list will not help.</p>

<p>I suggest talking to an impartial party about this, and also running a bunch of NPC calculations. You can change the FAFSA before you submit it, you can change the numbers in the NPC. See if it will make a huge difference or not, then decide based on the risk.</p>

<p>I do not recommend it, I would rather go to a junior or community college than lie let alone the possibility of serious life-long consequences.</p>