Has anyone used “Frank” to complete the FASFA? I see that it is free but does it improve chances for aid or should I fill out Fasfa again? I am on child #3 for college and I hate that FASFA form - never get any aid but school requires it for scholarships.
Who is “Frank”? I personally can’t imagine handing over my private financial and sensitive information (like SSN) to an unknown or unvetted person or organization so that they can complete a form that is relatively easy to do on my own.
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I also wouldn’t have Frank complete my FAFSA, but neither would I have paid NCSA for any services.
Once you get your financial documents together, FAFSA should take 15 minutes to complete, especially if you choose DRT. Not many schools require FAFSA for merit aid, so I would double check that. Of course if your student wants to take out the annual Federal Direct Student Loan, you need to complete FAFSA.
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Looks like “Frank” was an independent online platform that facilitates the process for families to fill out FAFSA - ostensibly for free, but of course the platform then has valuable personal information about each user/family. Recently, a major banking/credit/financial corporation bought “Frank”, presumably to have the rights to all the personal/financial information “Frank” has gathered about the 5M+ users who have used it since 2017.
As others have mentioned, filling out the FAFSA is already a fairly easy straightforward process. I can’t imagine that a 3rd party service can make it easier. Still, I guess it might be confusing at some points for some families.
Before using any such 3rd party service, I suggest you start with the official FAFSA Helpline accessible at this .gov link: https://studentaid.gov/help-center/answers/article/what-is-a-customer-contact-center-and-how-do-i-know-which-to-contact
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Using any platform is going to require you to do the same amount of work to file FAFSA. Frank won’t know your salary, assets, family size unless you tell ‘him’. Frank won’t know your bank balance until you input it.
The first time I filled out FAFSA I chose the .com extension rather than the .org so it wanted a fee for submitting. I quickly cancelled it all and think I was successful in not giving them my info, but I always worry.
Filling out FAFSA through Frank will not get you any more money as the info is the same whether you put it in directly or through Frank. No benefit to using Frank.
I would not use this service. If you run into difficulties figuring something out as you complete the FAFSA, ask here. You don’t know how secure the information you provide to Frank will be. No reason to risk it … we can help you & you don’t have to give us any personal information.
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You are on child three. I think can do this without involving a third party. Just gather up all your data and do it. Leave Frank out of it.
Old thread…