We haven’t started FAFSA yet. The twins had their first marching band competition yesterday (our band took first place and also received best visuals, best music and best overall effect!!!)…we left the house at 8:30 am and got back home at 1:00 am.
FAFSA can wait another day or two lol.
None of the colleges D23 is applying to use the CSS, D19’s doesn’t, and D17’s recently (
cue joyous trumpets:tada:) dropped it.
I hate, hate, hate the CSS.
Good point! This opens my mind up to taking loans!
Thing 2 has one college that needs CSS…I’m pawning all that off on the Mr. lol.
I finished the FAFSA with both kids last night. It went very smoothly, thank goodness! How long do we need to wait to delete schools and add the new ones? I figured it takes a few days for those schools to get the info, so I’m afraid to delete any too soon. Or is it automatic that those schools get the FAFSA info and we can add schools right away? Or maybe there is a way to check that a school received the FAFSA info? My son has 4 more to add.
5 of my kiddo’s require the CSS. Annoying since there is a fee for that too.
It usually took 24-36 hours for us in 2019 for my S20. You’ll receive an email that says something like “your schools/FAFSA/whatever has been processed.” I then went to the FAFSA application and it was also noted there that the form had been processed. At that point, you can delete every school you’ve already entered, enter the new schools, and click the button to process the application again.
We applied to dozens of schools, so I had to do this several times and every time it went through without a hitch.
There are so many government relief programs that we can “what if?” about or be bitter that someone else got relief when we didn’t. For example, we qualified for the first Covid relief check but were literally $1000 too high in income when they changed the cut-off. It was disappointing, but I was very happy for friends and family who qualified after the change. We all make choices without knowing the pros and cons. Who could have ever predicted such generous help with student loans? Usually the poor and middle class are left behind, but this time they were actually helped. Just keep in mind that Republican states are now suing to stop this college debt relief from going into effect, so it’s possible nobody gets a dime of relief if they get their way. I’m sure they wish they could just send anyone who has college debt a $10K or $20K check, depending on Pell grant status and what they owe, but since it’s a government program, legally only government entities can be targeted (like Stafford loans that are still held and paid through a government student loan program.)
Thank you so much-very helpful!
Do you all have suggestions for resources to learn more about loans? I would consider it for a low amount to complement merit aid or TE.
My older daughter took out the Stafford loans and we did a parent plus loan to cover some of the cost. You can definitely find lower rates with some banks but there are some nice perks to a PP loan. Here is a loan calculator so you can get an idea of total cost.
It is October! The early app deadlines are so close!!! Yikes!
We didn’t fill out FAFSA or CSS when my daughter applied and she got very good merit scholarships from all schools that offered non-need merit aid.
Soccer, today she got her official notice of acceptance and was given a top merit award. She loved the coach, likes the competitiveness of the NEWMAC, has a chance to earn playing time as a freshman, loves the progressive nature of the campus, the social justice and activism focus, the urban setting, the history they have placing political science majors in grad school programs she is interested in, and that she can study abroad and play abroad as soon as her junior year.
Thanks! I started filling out the CSS Profile and it is super slow. Maybe I will wait until I get the student aid report.
This is great! My D23 is not a soccer player but she shares all the other same interests and priorities as your daughter. Plus Biology which Clark seems to do well.
Question: Has your daughter visited? (You might have already said so before but I find this forum difficult to navigate). If so, was she OK with the immediate surroundings? I keep reading over and over again that South Main is the one possible downside. We are going to visit in November, I think.
Yes we both visited over the summer with my mom. None of us felt uneasy with the surrounding area. The town of Worcester has undergone a massive reviatlization and has a lot of great resturants and shops and lots of college kids. The new baseball stadium is bringing money into the city. The area of Clark is not yet gentrified, and some of the houses aren’t newly renovated, and there are some corner stores, but it didn’t look unsafe and we talked with both the soccer coach, the students in the admissions office, current players, and our tour guide and non felt unsafe. They have their own police, shuttles, and transportation (although my daughter will likely have a car). My daughter really liked that it was fenced off from the community and rather integrates into the community and works with the school system, parks and recs, and community centers to connect the school to the community. I found the area less concerning then the area around Trinity in CT or Fordham in the Bronx or UChicago, but it is an urban campus and it isn’t always easy to tell where the campus ends and where the city community begins
Homecoming weekend. I did not focus on it being the “last.” I do have a D25 who dances but the whole vibe surrounding football players is just different. They won the game and will have a winning season overall. My son has been very fortunate to play on a team of this caliber and I will definitely miss it.
Both kids had a nice night out. D23 went to dinner with his gf then met up with buddies to go to the dance (he is dating a girl in college so she wasn’t allowed at the dance). D25 went with friends to dinner and to the dance. I did my mom duty and got some cute pre dance photos.
S23 currently has all A’s but admittedly his schedule is light this year. He is taking AP Lit, a technical college level Leadership class, autos, and top levels of band and choir. He is not taking a math course or a true science. He took precalc then a tech college math in previous years. And took through Physics. I tried to get him to take another science as he scored a 36 in that section of the ACT but alas, he is too stubborn.
Now hopefully I can really push him to finish essays and complete the college apps!
oh - not bitter about loan forgiveness - but just being $ savvy. and trying to figure out if it might happen again with the loans and maybe if my D23 and S20 should take some out.??
We’ve very much limited their choices to what we can pay for through savings, cash-rolling, summer jobs, merit, kids savings, taking another job and my IRA. (we’ve had 11.5 yrs undergrad and 1.5 grad school). And we are close to being out of steam; and have 5.5 more years 
. If there is loan forgiveness going forward i might just have the kids consider it . . . why not?
It depends entirely on the individual college.
Some require filling out the FAFSA for merit aid, some don’t. And for CSS schools, some require the CSS and FAFSA, some require only one, and some require neither.
It’s a mess, and you can only tell by checking the policies of each individual place your kid is applying to.