<p>This is just a general question (but if it's different from school to school, I'm asking about UVa, NYU, and BU specifically:)</p>
<p>When we first submitted our FAFSA, my father had included information about his business tax return when calculating his estimates. However, when we resubmitted our FAFSA after receiving our 2010 tax return from our preparer, we found that business income should not be reported on the FAFSA; this shot our EFC down significantly, qualifying me for the max Pell Grant as well as other school-specific need-based aid. Some schools acknowledged the resubmission and gave me Pell Grants and the like, while others did not. We contacted the ones that didn't and they asked that we resubmit the FAFSA; however, upon doing so, nothing has changed in my aid packages.</p>
<p>Do I need to accept my preliminary award first before my package can be updated?</p>
<p>Call the FA offices of the schools that didn’t change your package and explain your situation. I would not advise accepting any award that doesn’t seem to be correct.</p>
<p>You should only accept financial aid awards at the school you plan to attend. It becomes confusing if you accept, for example, a Pell grant or a Perkins loan or some form of aid that is federally funded but school awarded…and then decide NOT to attend that school…and then accept the same awards elsewhere.</p>
<p>Just get your final financial aid awards from everywhere and THEN make your decision.</p>
<p>On what line of the 1040 is your dad’s business income reported? Is it on line 12 or line 17? If it’s line 12, that income IS reported — that is, the amount listed on line 12 is what is reported as your dad’s income from work (considered 0 if that line is actually a negative number). It is added to line 7 (if there is also an amount on that line) and entered as income from work on the FAFSA. If your dad’s income is reported on Schedule E, there is no income from work reported for him … unless he also files a Schedule K & there is an amount in Box 14(code a) form 1065 … if there is an amount there (box 14, code a), then that is reported as his income from work. Again, if there is an amount on line 7, dad’s income is added to that. Make sure you did this correctly before assuming dad “doesn’t report business income.”</p>
<p>It is the WORTH of the business that isn’t reported if there are fewer than 100 employees. That doesn’t mean that income isn’t reported.</p>
<p>@thumper1: Are you sure about this? I am asking because, ‘Paying for college without going broke’ says the following:</p>
<p>“Accepting an award does not commit a student to attending that school. It merely locks in the award package in the event the student decides to attend that school. If you haven’t decided between two schools, accept both packages. This will keep your options open for a little longer”. </p>
<p>When DD got a financial aid package BEFORE she was ready to make a college choice, she called the school and asked if she REALLY had to commit to the scholarships. In all cases, the answer was a resounding NO. </p>
<p>Your financial aid is not going to go away if you don’t commit to IT before you commit to attending a college.</p>
<p>It’s reported on line 17, but the value on there is a relatively low number. The rest of the business’ income is reported separately on the corresponding 1120S, and is higher. The 1120S itself does not factor into the FAFSA – that’s what I meant to say in the OP.</p>