I know this issue has been discussed in the past but I can’t find clarity on a couple of things.
I know that we will never qualify for need based aid. I don’t want my child to have any loans. Depending on where she goes, she would be eligible for merit aid which we would accept.
Is there any downside to foregoing the FAFSA? Same for the CCS Profile most of the schools we are looking at require and is more disadvantageous.
You will get no federal aid (to include direct loans) if you don’t file FAFSA. You will get no institutional need-based aid if you do not file Profile (for those schools that require it). If you don’t want federal loans and are sure that you won’t qualify for any need-based aid, there is no down side to not submitting FAFSA and Profile other than this: some schools require that FAFSA be filed in order to qualify for merit aid, so make sure you know what the policies are of the schools that offer your child merit aid.
Thanks. Will do.
You might check if there are any state scholarships that require FAFSA. Some do, some don’t.
There are schools that are not happy if you come back and apply for aid later. They don’t want students to bait & switch – get accepted and pay for one year, then come back and apply for aid later. Sometimes they state this policy on their website. Think about if you become disabled or your company goes under or we have another major recession – would you potentially want to apply then?
I told my kids, “If I get hit by a bus and killed, there is life insurance to pay for your college. But if I am alive but disabled, all bets are off.” My disability insurance is adequate, but not that generous. Knock on wood, only one more tuition payment for me. (And… my boss just warned me that my contract may end early… sheesh).
My main point is that a lot can happen in 4 years financially to any family. That is one reason my kids had one safety that was VERY affordable, and we kept it in play until May 1. And my kid was polite in declining the schools she turned down – you never know they might need to transfer for academic or family or financial reasons.
Are you looking for large merit? If so, and the school doesn’t require FA apps, then don’t worry UNLESS the school has a policy that if you don’t apply frosh year, you can never apply. I’ve never seen that for domestic students without the caveat of something like “significant change” (like death of parent).
We didn’t fill out FAFSA because we wouldn’t qualify and we were chasing big merit, which our kids got. If something happened that was really big, then filing FAFSA would have meant closing the gap with a Pell grant and loan.
The schools that don’t allow you to apply for FA in future years if you don’t apply as a freshman usually require the CSS (are there any that only require the FAFSA?)
Any qualified person (citizen, permanent resident) can file the FAFSA during the freshman year or for later years. They school may not award its own funds, but the student can get a loan or Pell grant if qualified. Not filing the FAFSA in any year will not preclude you from getting federal funds.
Bryn Mawr doesn’t have such a caveat. Students who do not apply as incoming freshman and who do not check the box on the Common App that they will be applying for need-based aid are ineligible for institutional aid for all four years. Smith College is not quite as harsh – students who do not apply for aid as incoming freshman will not be eligible to apply for institutional aid until they have earned 64 credits (typically junior year).
I appreciate the words of wisdom. I have emailed a couple of the schools where merit aid is possible. In the end, I will probably just submit to the process and do the FAFSA.
Also to consider: are your assets/savings sizable enough that even if you lost your job or died, your child probably stll wouldn’t qualify for FA?
That is the issue, especially with the CSS Profile. Can’t count on anything, but if financial disaster struck then changing to a cheaper college would be a simple decision.
Some more options if financial disaster struck:
Student actions:
Parent actions:
What I’m wondering is, what is the upside to not filling out the FAFSA?
The upside is your time spent doing something else.
The upside is my time, aggravation, and privacy.
Especially privacy.
Privacy!
I thought I was very ‘clever’ as my son was a few months into his first semester at college and had never provided his SSN to anyone. It is not needed by College Board to take the SAT, and it is not needed by Common App in order to apply to college, even though both organizations request it.
Well, apparently it is needed to issue the 1099 even though the school has not provided any aid. Son had to present his SS card to the bursar or someone on campus, once the university figured out that they did not have his SSN.
I have never been a victim of identity theft, but I see no upside in making it easy.
It is not a “simple solution” to just change to a cheaper college. We see students out here who have to do it, and it is painful. Sometimes they have to leave a school they love, leave their friends and mentors, take longer to finish, and maybe don’t find as good a fit for their major. Whenever I see someone with a cavalier attitude that a kid can just transfer if something doesn’t work out, I cringe. Yes, it certainly can be done. But treating it lightly is a mistake.
And it’s not just privacy from the school & government. It’s also privacy from your children. You have to share all your income & assets details with them.
I wasn’t being cavalier. My point was that if financial disaster were to strike (and I am certainly not rooting for that) then the choice would be simple because transferring would be the only choice. Of course I hope she goes to her full pay dream school but that is out the window if we should not have the money.