<p>If a family friend pays for my tuition directly, as in sends a check to the school or uses a credit or debit card, what happens?</p>
<p>Do I have to report this on the FAFSA or CSS? Is it considered a gift, if the money does not go to me ever? Can he only pay for the tuition or can he pay for room/board/etc?</p>
<p>Is there a way to do this such that schools do not lower the financial aid I currently receive?</p>
<p>If you guys can answer these questions or provide any other helpful suggestions / insights, I would be extremely grateful.</p>
<p>You would not have to report it on your first FAFSA – the one you submit prior to your freshman year – but you would for subsequent years. It doesn’t matter if it goes directly to the college or not. It is a “bill paid on the student’s behalf” and would be treated like untaxed income to you. That would hit your financial aid hard.</p>
<p>If you’re talking about ONLY how FAFSA would treat it, it would be better for the wealthy friend to gift it to your parents and then have them pay. That would not be reported on the FAFSA at all (although there may or may not be gift tax implications for the giver depending on the amount, but not for your parents.)</p>
<p>If you’re going to a school that requires the CSS Profile in addition to the FAFSA it would be less simple.</p>
<p>Just because you don’t actually touch the money/check doesn’t mean that “it doesn’t go to you ever” - it is benefitting you, and it is being given in your name, so it needs to be reported as a gift whether it goes directly to your school or into your bank account.</p>
<p>I agree with 'rent, better to have them gift it to your parents for use as they see fit, which is, of course, to pay your tuition. At least for FAFSA, you would not be reporting it.</p>
<p>Another alternative would be to ask the donor to wait until January of your Junior year. At that point, they can send the money directly to the college. You will not be reporting any more financial information for aid applications, so it won’t impact any of your FA packages.</p>
<p>That rule only applies to “boosters,” and does not apply if there is a pre-existing relationship between the athlete and the “Booster”. There are detailed NCAA interpretations that flesh this out; you can google ncaa pre-existing relationship for more info if you care.</p>
<p>The prohibition also does not apply to anyone who is not a “booster” of the college in question. Again, the NCAA defines who is considered a booster.</p>
<p>Despite the gray areas in the definitions, it is safe to say that the blanket statements in posts 7 and 9 are not correct.</p>
<p>This may have nothing to do with the OP, but I’m seeing this as Stemit does. This is the wording on several college sites (after googling NCAA pre-existing relationship):</p>
<p>//The subcommittee noted that the above mentioned interpretation does not apply to individuals who have no logical ties to the prospect. It also noted that a current student-athlete who, prior to initial full-time collegiate enrollment, has been receiving normal and reasonable living expenses from an individual with whom he or she has an established relationship may continue to receive occasional benefits (e.g., meals during campus visits, reasonable entertainment) from that individual or family that they have the established relationship with. Such expenses may not include educational expenses associated with a grant-in-aid (i.e., tuition and fees, room and board, and course related books).//</p>