<p>I'm a second semester sophomore and transferred from BU to the UM after first semester freshman year. So this is my third semester at UM. I never applied for grants or anything because my parents told me to not worry that much and our income bracket seemed sufficient. Well now I'm worried it's become more of a burden for them than they originally anticipated... long story short, they can probably still afford tuition but it's certainly a bit more of a burden than I want to impose for them. On paper however it probably seems like we're covered for tuition until I graduate.</p>
<p>Can I, at this point, apply through FAFSA (Free Application For Federal Student Aid) and have the chance of getting some kind of grants through my school that cut tuition costs that are merit based?</p>
<p>I've always gotten great grades in high school and same with college so far... i think I deserve some kind of merit based grant. But is it too late or what? And how much does the federal government look into everything related to your family, or do they mostly just forward it to the university to inspect (Seeing as how you have to enter your school code)? </p>
<p>My family is freaked out by anything associated with the federal government and finances especially after they erroneously said we didn't pay taxes for a certain year dated years back that we in fact did and had to resolve with invoices and such (amongst many other tedious brushups) -- they are always apprehensive of federal government scrutiny and being inconvenienced..</p>
<p>Deadline for FAFSA priority consideration for University of Miami is today, February 1st. However, don't worry. You have to remember that aid comes from a finite pool and so they want the FAFSA filed as soon as possible, even if you use estimated income. It's in your best interests to get in line sooner than later. Understood? My oldest son is a sophomore at UM and he wasn't even accepted at UM until March/April in 2007 and received a great financial aid package. But we got his FAFSA filled out in January 2007. You can log onto the FAFSA website right now and at least start the process.
FAFSA</a> - Free Application for Federal Student Aid<br>
There are some tricky websites out there so be sure to go to the authentic one. Don't go to fafsa.com for example. It looks right but it's not where you want to be so be careful as they ask for personal details.
Once you get to the fafsa.ed.gov website you will need to apply for a PIN if it's your first time applying and that may take a day or two to verify. Your parents will also have to apply for a pin and at least sign the form with their pin. But you'll need social security numbers to do that, so get them on board helping you. </p>
<p>You will need your 2008 tax returns and your parents will need to reference theirs. Most people haven't even filed for 2008 so you can apply with an estimate of your 2008 income and your parents' estimated 2008 income but you MUST update with the actual numbers or it'll hold up your aid package. Don't just make something up. And don't delay. Get the numbers as close as possible. Go talk to your Financial Aid office tomorrow. I've heard of several UM students who have had their financial aid packages revised. They will probably walk you through the FAFSA process too. Good luck.</p>
<p>Although the FAFSA deadline for UM was Feb. 1, this is a preferred deadline, not an absolute. You can file it later. I called the finance office because ours would be filed on the same day or the following week, and they told me that they accept FAFSAs filed after that date - so I don't think it's to late to file. Hope this helps. =)</p>