<p>As I have been submitting applications to schools, they all ask if I would like to be considered for need-based FA. Somehow, I don't know the answer to this very simple question, and my parents seem clueless. We are definitely upper-middle class. My dad's accountant (the fact that my dad has an accountant basically answers this question) says that filling out the FAFSA and CSS Profile is a waste of our time - we're not getting anything. I actually believe that our EFC will probably end up exceeding the COA at most schools, but any time I ask my parents to sit down and calculate it, they brush me off and say they already know we're not getting anything. </p>
<p>Despite all of this, my mom believes for some reason (no clue where she got this information) that you are required to fill out the FAFSA in order to be considered for merit-based scholarships, and that it is required as part of admission materials (she thinks it has something to do with collecting demographic information), just as a transcript or letter of rec is required. I don't think that's true - it doesn't sound right to me, why would I need to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid when I'm not interested in getting FA?</p>
<p>So, for the 8 schools I've already applied to, I've just been checking the "yes" box, saying that we are applying for FA because my mom thinks that it's somehow required. Is what she saying correct? Are there any schools that require students to fill out the FAFSA and/or CSS Profile in order to be considered for admission or merit aid? Is it worth filling out even though I think our EFC is going to be much too high? Could checking the "yes" box and asking for FA unnecessarily be hurting my chances at need aware schools? Could checking the "yes" box and not sending in FA materials cause the school to mark my application as incomplete, and not process it? How did my family possibly make it to the upper middle class without understanding any of this? </p>
<p>Thank you in advance. </p>
<p>If you ever plan on getting loans or getting any kind of funding, always check the FA box even if you don’t think you will qualify.</p>
<p>Some merit scholarships require you to file FAFSA.</p>
<p>Depends on the school.</p>
<p>@PurpleTitan Would that info be available on the school’s website? Or would I have to email the office of financial aid for each school I’m applying to and inquire specifically? Or does it vary by school?</p>
<p>Have you shown your parents the net price calculators? It seems like they would find that interesting, and perhaps would stimulate their interest in sitting down and filling out the FAFSA if needed for merit aid.</p>
<p>More importantly, have your parents told you how much they are willing to pay toward your college costs?</p>
<p>Best to ask each school.</p>
<p>Some schools do give merit money only if the FAFSA is filed. Some give a bonus of $1000 if you just fill out the fafsa, so do it.</p>
<p>@CheddarcheeseMN No, but I’m thinking I’m going to have to do that with them today - I really don’t think it can wait any longer.</p>
<p>@ucbalumnus Yes, they have told me they are willing and able to pay full freight at any school (I have shown them tuition and room and board at schools where COA is $60,000+)</p>
<p>most schools do NOT require you to fill out FAFSA or CSS for merit consideration. My kids were offered merit from all their schools that gave merit and we’ve never filled out either FA form.</p>
<p>BUT…there are some schools that require those forms for consideration.</p>
<p>THERE IS NO school that requires a family to fill out FAFSA as part of the application materials. NONE. And no, it’s not req’d to gather demographic info…again, no on must fill it out. No school can require anyone to provide their private info.</p>
<p>But, if you want aid or merit consideration from the few schools that REQUIRE those forms, then you have to fill them out.</p>
<p>Do you think Bill Gates filled out FAFSA and CSS when his kids went to college? lol</p>
<p>It’ll say on the school’s website whether submitting a FAFSA is required for consideration for merit aid. Off the top of my head, I recall that UMich, Northwestern, WUSTL, Carnegie Mellon required it. UNC Chapelhill too, I think. </p>
<p>Ok, thank you very much @mom2collegekids and @GMTplus7 (and everyone else!) I’ll have to check the websites of the schools I am applying to see if they require FAFSA for merit aid. If I’m applying to schools that don’t offer merit aid (e.g. Ivies) is there any benefit to filling it out? Or if I end up filling it out for merit consideration at some schools is it just worth it to send it to all of the schools, even if they won’t give me a nickel in merit aid or need-based aid?</p>
<p>Wait! You cannot fill out the 2015-2016 FAFSA until January 1, 2015. It is NOT yet available. You can do the new proce calculators on the college websites, however.</p>
<p>Just keep on mind…if your parents are self employed, own a business, have real estate other than your primary residence, or are divorced, the NPCs won’t be accurate.</p>
<p>Have your parents and you discussed college funding? If not, time to do this. </p>
<p>Look, they are sure with their accountant that you won’t get aid, so likely they make 200k+ So if you apply at need blind it is not a big deal. If you fill FAFSA, which they don’t seem to object to, then just send it everywhere. For need aware, withdraw your request for aid as that is where it might make a big difference. This whole thing is not a big deal.</p>
<p>Um…accountants are not usually knowledgable about college financial aid. I know ours is not. </p>
<p>Then if they are wrong she is in good shape because mom wants to check yes and supply fafsa. Great. </p>
<p>I don’t expect all accountants to know about financial aid, but I don’t expect them to tell you you don’t qualify if they have no clue. They are not supposed to opine and give wrong advice that cost people money. Out of area of expertise, or should just say they don’t know. If they actively give wrong advice I hope they get fired. So OP, if you think your parents accountant is giving unqualified advice, for some reason, keep nagging. Or better yet, get a fafsa worksheet filled out so you can run the NPC. maybe you should print off an article of moderate to high income people getting aid.</p>
<p>@Thumper1 Ok, thanks for the heads up! We do own real estate other than our primary residence (just land, no structure on it), and while my dad is not self-employed, he is paid by commission, so from what my parents have said, I think his income tends to fluctuate from year to year more than the average person’s income. They have been saving for a long time for college though, so I think the bulk (if not all) of what they will need to pay towards tuition is in a savings account. </p>
<p>And ok, @BrownParent sorry if I came across as panicked, that wasn’t what I was intending. So requesting need at a need aware school even if I am not awarded anything could potentially hurt me? </p>
<p>No clue about my parents’ accountant. I wasn’t even aware they had one until a month or so ago. My dad is usually pretty good about vetting things out, so I would think he is qualified, but I really don’t know.</p>
Hey guys! Just an update, I’m pretty sure I know the way forward, but I just wanted to run it by the FA experts on this board.
My parents finally got around to filling out the FA forms. My parents’ accountant said that they weren’t getting anything, and any questions about his qualifications should definitely be cast aside - he was very much right. My mom filled out the FAFSA today and it said at the end that our EFC is >120k. I nearly fell out of my chair when she told me.
With that in mind, I’m guessing it probably makes sense to withdraw my request for FA from all of my schools, even the need-blind ones? I know there is talk on the other boards about whether schools are truly need-blind, and I am slightly concerned that colleges are going to expect mammoth accomplishments from me if they see the FAFSA and CSS Profile and think I come from this extravagant background. At least just not applying for FA kind of obscures how privileged I am. Plus, we get to save on sending out the CSS Profile, which is nice lol.
Is there anything I’m missing? Any sort of disadvantage not applying for FA confers on me, other than the aforementioned expectation of lots of accomplishments?
Filing the FAFSA is a good idea because it makes YOU eligible to take out Direct Student Loans ($5500 freshman year) and your parents can have the option to apply for PLUS (parent Direct Loans) if they want to do so. As for the PROFILE, that is up to you. You can say you are not applying for fin aid and still file the FAFSA because the loans I’ve mentioned do not coem from the school funds, but from the fed sources.
For some schools applying for fin aid does confer some advantages, even if you don’t qualify, such as waiver of app fee, referal to non federal work study jobs, etc. For schools that are not need blind in admissions, yes, it can be a disadvantage in getting accepted.
I talked to my parents, and I believe they said that they will probably not get PLUS loans. Is there any benefit to being able to take out Direct Student Loans? My parents have told me they are willing and able to pay for everything, so is there a reason I may need to take out loans? (even something like building credit?)
What do you mean by referral to non-federal work-study jobs? Are there private organizations that provide work-study where the money isn’t just put towards paying down tuition? I always just thought that was like, a part-time job lol… And if I’m not applying for federal aid from a school, but still want to file FAFSA, would I just send it to them anyway and they would just put it in their files, but not evaluate it? Sorry if these questions are kind of basic, I don’t have any experience with FA.