<p>Why is the student supposed to complete the FAFSA? When I went to college, my father did the FAFSA since he was the one knowledgeable about his income, taxes, assets, etc. Sure, he taught me along the way, but didn't divulge all the financial details to me. Now, kids who have never even filed a 1040EZ are expected to fill the thing out accurately. I filed for the pin numbers, and filed the FAFSA because my daughter has no clue about our financial information, mortgage, taxes, etc. Her job is to study, my job is to worry about the financial part of college. I think there is probably a huge amount of fraudulent/unknowingly wrong info on many FAFSAs that are filed by children who can't even drink a beer yet legally. Why has the government set it up this way, that technically, if a parent files for the student, they are committing fraud? I would rather file and have it be correct, then leave it to my D who may not have all the info/knowledge necessary! ARe they hoping kids will just get confused/frustrated and not bother?</p>
<p>Legally, the student is responsible for records related to her education … even though parents are responsible financially from the standpoint of how financial aid is determined, the parent is not actually allowed to receive any student information without his/her express consent. It has to do with privacy laws.</p>
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<p>If so, most parents are probably guilty ;). It’s hard enough for a parent to understand FA information, no less the student.</p>
<p>It’s the crazy dichotomy that has resulted since students are legally adults and holdable to contract and have most all rights of adults…EXCEPT being independent for college aid and residency requirements, .and of course, having a drink with alcohol. I would love to see a challenge of that exception. If struck down, it would have far reaching effects on the way financial aid and college funding is run. It makes no sense whatsoever,except financially for the colleges.</p>
<p>It doesn’t matter who fills out a form. ANyone can fill it out–your neighbor, your accountant, a bum off the streets. The signatures attesting the accuracy of the material is what counts, just as they do in filing a tax form. </p>
<p>I know kids who have to fill out the form. THey get their parents tax forms, ask about the assets as of the date, and they do it. Most of the kids of forum members have parents who take care of these things. I also know kids who get zip because their parents refuse to fill out the form or release the info needed to have it completed.</p>
<p>I don’t know why you assume it’s the students who are unknowledgable. How many clueless parents do we get on here? My own parents wouldn’t be able to make heads or tails of FAFSA. </p>
<p>For most students that are own their own with filing FAFSA, they have rather simple financial situations. It takes me less than a half hour to fill out FAFSA considering I get to skip most of the questions. </p>
<p>Ideally, students and parents should fill it out together. However, many parents don’t want to do that because for some reason they’re militantly against their children knowing x, y, or z. However, both pins are signing it saying it’s truthful and therefore both should be involved and KNOW that it’s truthful.</p>
<p>kels, is the student legally required to fill out the parent’s information or JUST the student info?</p>
<p>The parent signs for the accuracy of the parents’ info, and the student for the student info. Both are required to get PINs both have to sign. Really, anyone can fill out anything for you. It’s signing for the accuracy and veracity where you are on the hook and it is not legal for someone to sign for another, though I am willing to bet it is done all of the time for convenience sake. When you are filling out the form and want to get the danged thing done and your kid or whoever, is not available and the clock is ticking, what do you think often happens?</p>
<p>At my house I look them in the eyes and say, “Hey, I’m doing the FAFSA and taxes today. That OK with you guys?” </p>
<p>No one ever has replied, “Heck no! I’ve gotta do that myself.”</p>
<p>I sign all kinds of stuff for everyone all the time.</p>
<p>^^Yup…ditto. Militant is what I would be if I had to sit down my H and the boys and make them fill out on-line forms. It would be a gigantic whine fest with a high probability of failure (wrong numbers in wrong slots, incomplete or worse.) I don’t see it as fraud. When all the numbers are in all the slots my pin goes in and the kid’s pin goes in…really no different than have a tax preparer do your taxes for you. As someone says by signing it the person is attesting that the information is correct.</p>
<p>I make mine fill out their part and I fill out the parents’ part. I make them “sign”. I want them to understand the process.</p>
<p>Whew… I thought I was the only one here doing it for my kid.
I figure since I’m the one who will be paying the lion’s share, I want to make sure it’s right! If he screws it up and gets too little aid, I’ll be stuck between a rock and a hard place.</p>
<p>cpt, I’d love them to understand the process and I’m holding out hope for Happykid. I talked her through her FAFSA and 1040 printouts this spring, and I’m helping her set up a filing system that will work for her for her receipts (college bills, personal bills, self-employment bills) so she’s ready for next year. Happydad I gave up on long ago. Any kind of form nearly gives him an apoplectic fit - which is why I’m the family CFO.</p>
<p>kels, is the student legally required to fill out the parent’s information or JUST the student info? </p>
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<p>As cpt responded, both student and parent sign … so really, both are verifying that the info presented on the FAFSA is correct.</p>
<p>I have always been the FAFSA-filler-outer. And yes, I know that my kid is really supposed to be doing her/his part. Whatever. I pay the bills, so I fill it out (actually, I don’t do it now that my son is at a public school & our EFC is more than COA - I just pay for what his scholarship doesn’t cover). I can’t even imagine my kids filling out a Profile!! ;)</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone for the replies. I am such a rule follower most of the time. Had a question a month ago about FAFSA and the data retrieval tool, called FAFSA, and couldn’t get answers because I wasn’t my daughter. She was at school, unreachable until she’d check her phone, and would have taken longer than me to get to the bottom of the problem! I felt like a criminal for trying to handle FAFSA stuff! Realized that when you go on the site, the student is the one asked to log in to fill out the FAFSA, the parent only uses their pin to sign that info is correct; otherwise, it’s the student who is supposed to sign in/log on, fill out the info, etc. I guess if the gov ever gets sick of involved parents, they’ll have to put us all in a country club prison. I could manage to learn my lesson in a couple months of confinement on a tropical island somewhere…</p>
<p>The schools will not put involved parents anywhere but on the pedestal. We are the cash cows driving this whole crazy system. There is even a special law just to let us stay in the process keeping the young ADULT college kids to our financial teats until age 24.</p>
<p>I’ve learned how to talk to the FAFSA help people to avoid the issue of the fact that I’m the parent. Usually, on chat or phone call, I simply ask the question without an explicit reference about whether I’m the parent or the child. I’ve also found that when I reveal that I’m the parent there is no reluctance to answer a question about my own finances. They will also answer general questions about how to handle student finances. It’s only if I were to ask a question specifically related to the minutiae of my kids’ finances that I’ll get resistance.</p>
<p>Everyone plays the game that kids are filling it out, the FAFSA help people too.</p>
<p>This bifurcation, btw, extends to colleges’ bursar departments, where students have to establish special authorization to allow their parents to pay the bills. I hesitate to use this
locution, but LOL.</p>
<p>I fill out my kids FAFSAs and CCSs–they don’t have all the information necessary. The important thing is to be truthful.</p>
<p>I do as the CPT mentioned in post #9 - I fill out my income info, DD2 fill out her info and signs using her pin. Then she knows what she has signed up for.</p>