Received scholarship - any reason to finish FAFSA?

Paying for College
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<p>I'm a high school senior. I filled out the FAFSA earlier this year before my parents and I had filled out our taxes. Since then, I've decided to go to a college that's offering me a nearly full ride scholarship. My expenses for the whole four years will be close to nothing so there's no way I could receive financial aid, and I wouldn't need it even if I could get it. I got an email today reminding me to submit my updated tax returns and finish the FAFSA, but is there any reason to bother doing that if I don't need the money? Is there any penalty for not doing it? </p>

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<p>Call the school and ask them if you need to fill out and submit the FAFSA to receive the merit scholarship. A handful of schools require the FAFSA for merit scholarships. Don’t lose the scholarship on a technicality. </p>

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<p>finish the FAFSA, it’s what the university will use to distribute your scholarship.</p>

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<p>^^^</p>

<p>???</p>

<p>If so, that is rare. In most cases, you dont need FAFSA to get your scholarship and your school wont use it for any sort of distribution of that scholarship.</p>

<p>hatebeing… your full ride may not include travel costs, personal expenses, etc. If your parents will pay for all that then you dont need to do FAFSA. My kids got near full rides and we never filled out fafsa.</p>

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<p>

Huh? The OP has already said that this is a merit scholarship, and it apparently does not consider need. How would FAFSA be used to “distribute” the scholarship?</p>

<p>As noted above, the OP should check with the school to find out if they need the FAFSA.</p>

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<p>Maybe they use it for statistical purposes, maybe they have other reasons, but my kids’ university requires the FAFSA for merit aid, though the award is independent of need. ( In practice, however, rumor is that they don’t enforce their “requirement.”) In any event, I’d agree with those who say ask, if you can reach someone at this busy, busy, time. </p>

<p>I just completed our FAFSA with the click of a button, using the option to download tax filing info from the IRS. Piece of cake! So, if you can’t get an answer right away, you might just do what they ask, out of an abundance of caution.</p>