OMDG. I just spent the better part of an hour filling out what I thought was a FAFSA form but decided to review the application before paying the submission fee of $78. I decided to look up where to put the small business profit and loss information and googled some questions. Long story short, I was on a site for prep and filing services: fafsa-application.com. Thank goodness I didn’t pay that fee! Be very careful everyone, lots of scams out there apparently.
There should be NO fee for FAFSA…the first F stands for FREE!!!
only use the official one FAFSA.ed.gov
do not use a .com or any other. It needs to be a .gov
Wish I had read that an hour ago LOL. And here I thought I had all my ducks in a row.
Fafsa.com will also require you pay as well. Be wary of the web address you type in.
^^
Right…that’s why people should NOT use a .com site.
ONLY use a .gov site.
The app is FREE so if anyone is trying to charge you, then you’re on the wrong site.
How long does it take to get the SAR report so that more colleges can be added?
About a week to get the SAR.
Thank you.
Just submitted. It took 5 minutes. Way easier than CSS. Question: what EFC of 024084 mean? Is that $ amount what every college thinks We will pay? Thanks.
EFC stands for Estimated Family Contribution - in simpler terms, it’s the amount of money the gov’t says you are able to pay. It DOES NOT mean the amount you WILL pay at your college of choice - most of the time the college will give FA via loans, on top of your EFC, esp. if it’s an OOS public.
Thanks @ILMom13579, so number 024084 of EFC mean that $24,084.00 is my responsibility and rest of the tuition are scholarships, grants? If our state school charges us around $24k for everything that means we’ll get nothing, but if private school COA is $69k, then EFC of $24k is my part and rest of it should be scholarships, grants? Thanks.
@MHMdad - if your SAR indicates you are eligible for Stafford Loans, then they can still put that in your package. And they usually put Parent PLUS loans in there as well. You do not have to take advantage of any of them, but they give you that option if you need them. You most likely will not get any “free” money in terms of grants, esp. if you are OOS.
Many privates may still “gap” you, just depends on the school and how generous they are with aid. So no, you can not count on the rest of the difference b/w EFC and COA to be free money. You should take a look at each schools Common Data Set and check to see how much aid was given out and what percentage of it was scholarships/grants and what percentage was loans.
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but if private school COA is $69k, then EFC of $24k is my part and rest of it should be scholarships, grants? Thanks.
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@MHMdad
NO! That isn’t what it means for privates!!!
Most privates do NOT meet need…which means you’d be gapped
And the ones that do will use CSS Profile to determine your need. and CSS Profile uses additional info…such as home equity and other money sources.
And some will still make up that that need with a mix of loans, work study and grants.
and most publics and OOS publics do not meet need.
You need to use the NPCs on each schools’ website to get an idea of what your situation is.
Thanks ladies, that’s what I thought.
@MHMDAD what can you afford? What is the COA? Are there financial safeties on the list?
@Madison85, we can afford $24k/year. That’s why our state school is going to be fully paid by us. 90% chance that our S is going there, But private schools with COA around $50k, $69k would be challenge. And that where additional scholarships would be handy. Like I mentioned, our state university is fully affordable and will be paid fully without any loans by us. Just nice to have other options and to check what private school can offer us. Thanks for asking Madison85.
@mhmdad That’s great!
@MHMdad
It looks like your son has an equivalent ACT 28. will Umass give him any merit for that?
@mom2collegekids, nothing from Umass. And I’m ok with that as we are in-state. Just other private schools’ COA are in $50-60k range. So just wondering can private schools come close to $24k my budget after additional scholarship after I submit my FAFSA. Thanks for looking into.