<p>I will certainly celebrate when 2 FAFSA's and Profile's are done! On question 76 and 77 they ask for father's income and then mother's income. The book we have says that we should include deferred comp and 401K info in this-that this is really an expense question to see how much social security tax is paid so the higher the number the better, From reading the FAFSA itself this doesn't seem to be what they are asking. Is my Princeton Review book accurate? I have the Paying for College Without Going Broke book that goes step by step? Sorry for such a boring question!</p>
<p>I don't understand the book saying that "this is really an expense question to see how much social security tax is paid so the higher the number, the better". I can tell you that deductible IRA and 401k payments during the year are INCLUDED in your income. The accumulated values in the account are NOT included in your assets. The question that asks your income from work which is "how much did your parents earn from working" is the one that is used to calculate your social security allowance. </p>
<p>The FAFSA is a real pain, and the PROFILE worse.</p>
<p>No kidding, Jamimon - we spent a good chunk of the day pulling the numbers together. And the sad part is that it is all an estimate and will need to be redone and resubmitted once we do our 2004 taxes. The best part about my D's merit money at Grinnell some years ago was that we didn't have to do a FAFSA again. Until now, that is. But at least the worksheets are completed. I hope that once I go online to enter it all, that the sites behave....</p>
<p>FAFSA is easier after the first year but still draining!
I actually require our now college freshman son to participate with filling out his FAFSA online. He gets to be the gofer, retrieving bank statments, savings bonds, etc. He fills in his info; then I fill in the parents' section. It would be simpler to just do it myself but I want him to have some sense of what it takes to send him to school and not be totally disconnected from the process.</p>
<p>I literally got a 'thanks, Mom' from him after we submitted it yesterday (with estimated numbers, of course) so I'm thinking he 'got' it!</p>
<p>Ah, but the glory of being able to take your time filling it out. Returning students at DD's U have until April to fill it out. This is a far cry from our frantic attempts to get it done by the end of January last year!!!!</p>
<p>If sending to more then 6 schools for the FAFSA, how long do you wait before changing the names ie deleting 1st 6 schools and adding more? Do you have to first make sure the 1st six recieved them or can you immediatly delete and resend?</p>
<p>Arizonamom,</p>
<p>I called the FAFSA office the other day with this question and they said that once you receive the SAR after sending in the first one (if you're doing it online it shouldn't take more than 2-3 days) you can then go in and delete the six schools, add the others, and resend.</p>
<p>Thanks momofonly, you saved me a phone call!</p>