<p>I have a question about how the university deals with students who weren't eligible for FAFSA. Do they sometimes provide grants or scholarships in these cases? I have a feeling I won't be receiving any aid due to my parents making a good amount of money, but at the same time the tuition is a lot of money for anyone ha. Thanks.</p>
<p>If your EFC based upon FAFSA is greater than the COA at IU I would not anticipate any aid except for an unsubsidized Stafford loan. You’ve should have already received any automatic scholarships.</p>
<p>I have read that IU likes everyone to have a FASFA on file. Does everyone file even if you will not be granted anything? Please advise. Thanks!</p>
<p>patio–Our D isn’t eligible for FA, except unsubsidized Stafford loans. We completed the FAFSA anyway. Our parental thought was that if there was a change in financial circumstances, it would be one less worry. We’re fortunate that she didn’t need to take out a loan this year, but if something should change, the paper work is in place for her to do so quickly. Given the still rocky economy it just makes sense to us to have a backup plan in place. It takes about 30 minutes or less to fill it out. Cheap insurance in my opinion.</p>
<p>We’ve never filed the FAFSA and my son still got his automatic scholarship. You don’t need to if you’re not eligible for financial aid.</p>
<p>If you want to participate in the Stafford loan program, whether subsidized or not, you have to fill out the FAFSA form. </p>
<p>The automatic scholarships are not need based, so filling out the FAFSA is not necessary to receive them.</p>
<p>Our son’s (his income and his parent’s income) didn’t qualify him for any regular financial aid–but he did get one small automatic scholarship–and the Stafford loans came in handy, even though we didn’t have him take out too much in loans throughout his 4 years. (I think he ends up owing about $11,000 at graduation–and we’ll help him out a bit with that so that he can save up his own money for graduate school.)</p>
<p>Taking out Stafford loans as opposed to regular loans can be a good thing, since they are easier to get and the payments are deferred (although the interest is not) until after the student graduates.</p>
<p>Calcruzer and All,</p>
<p>It is a good idea to let the kid take out some loan. They can have a sense of responsibility for paying it back. Parents can always help if thing goes out of control.</p>
<p>You have mentioned that the interest is not deferred. When the payment of interest has to start?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>They give you the option of paying the interest each year or deferring it until you graduate, and rolling it into the loan.</p>
<p>In our case, I paid the interest to date (which was $251) last summer when the bill came (and, of course, deducted it on this year’s tax return).</p>
<p>Calcruzer,</p>
<p>Thanks for tip. Since you mentioned tax, I got another question. Is the “automatic scholarship” taxable?</p>
<p>The answer as to whether the automatic scholarship is taxable depends. If the entire amount was used for qualified expenses, (tuition, books NOT room/board) then it’s not taxable. If any part of it is used for other expenses then that portion is taxable at the student’s rate. DD had some portion of her scholarships that was not used for qualified expenses since she is instate, BUT she didn’t make enough in wages to file a return so it’s not taxable for her.</p>
<p>rrah,</p>
<p>Thanks for the helpful details.</p>
<p>Oh no, is this another deduction I could have taken? Calcruzer, my understanding of the tax code was that you can only deduct interest paid on those educational loans for which you are legally responsible. Since parents don’t co-sign Stafford loans, it seemed to me that I couldn’t claim the interest paid.</p>
<p>^^^that is what the tax rules say</p>
<p>from IRS 970</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Thanks swimcatsmom! After days of numbercrunching and rereading tax guides and finally filing last week, the thought that I missed a deduction was not a great way to start my day.</p>