<p>When we registered my D at school we used her middle name so all of her records are in in her middle name-last name format. So far so good.. we even applied to college that way so that her reco letters and transcript all matched up. Now... we hit the financial aid milestone and not sure what to do with the fact that her SSN reflects her first-middle-last name (typical I'm sure) but the FAFSA asks for first name. Still researching CSS Profile...</p>
<p>Anyone been in this situation before? How do colleges 'link' up their Applications to FinAid naming convention? </p>
<p>I am wondering … did you use that naming format for his college applications and financial aid processing as well. Sure helps to know what worked </p>
<p>As someone who uses only his middle name in informal situations and my initial and full middle name in formal writing, I sympathize with the problem. My birth certificate has my full name or course, but my Social Security card has my first name and shortened middle name. I have used cnp55’s method for some forms, but not all will allow “A.Middle”. Some will only allow “AMiddle”. My preferred version is “A Middle” or “A” and “M” for middle name. My drivers’ license has “A. Middle” and I was able to get my passport done with “A. Middle” (had to jump through hoops on that one though). Be aware that it can be a problem for airline reservations. My brother-in-law, who is also an “A. Middle” has given up at age 67 on “Middle” and on all formal matters signs as “A******”.</p>
<p>A lesson for all future parents who might be reading this board. Save your kid a lifetime of annoyances and choose a first name that you will actually USE. Do NOT choose some bizarre family name and plan that they can ‘go by’ their middle name. My husband has suffered this his whole life and it would have been SO easy just to switch his names on the original birth certificate!</p>
<p>My heart goes out to everyone with name problems. I have an uncommom spelling of a common name. My dad goes by “Buzz” but his full name makes Thurston Howell, III look like rif raf. The 2 of us have been plagued by mistakes our whole lives. This lead me to give the kids (what I thought were) nice, regular names. (If you try real hard you can guess what they are.) But it was no use. Even “easy” formal names and nicknames get screwed up. </p>
<p>I wish I had a good suggestion for you, OP. Perhaps cnp55 gave the most useful advice.</p>
<p>Seconding cnp55’s advice. That’s exactly what we do and only very rarely has a problem arisen (and it was easily solved). They’ll track everything by SSN anyway.</p>
<p>Re: #5 above - When my wife and I were trying to come up with names for our son, we tried to name him “A******* Middle” where “A******” was my first name and Middle would have been some other. In my wife’s family all of the first born sons going back at least four generations have been “Dad’s Middle Name” and “Middle” and then the sons go by “Middle” becoming “D. Middle”.</p>
<p>Is there a number you can call to ask the FAFSA people what people generally do? And you could also ask the individual schools, as I’m sure they run into this problem a lot. Maybe they just go by SS# or maybe they prefer a note explaining the situation.</p>
<p>I’m a parent and I used to always put “A. B******” on forms in the “first name” section, as though it was a two-part first name, like Mary Ann or something, and left the middle name section blank.</p>
<p>On a similar note: one of my son’s favorite schools is my alma mater (and they said they do count legacy) but my current name is not at all what my name was when I attended. (I’m sure lots of women have changes when they get married, and I dropped my first name as well, now using only my middle). Does anybody have past history with this - when there are name issues for students or parents - do people send a separate letter explaining it all, do they put the two different names on the application itself, or are schools good at figuring out everything by SS#?</p>