<p>I have been accepted to a university and plan on filling out my FAFSA tomorrow. What does the college's financial aid office see? I've read the Wikipedia webpage about the FAFSA and it seems to indicate that the colleges listed to receive my FAFSA only receive an electronic copy of the SAR (Student Aid Report) called the ISIR. Do they only see the ISIR? Will they be able to see my past financial aid requests as well? I have filled out a FAFSA in the past at my local community college, but I never qualified for or received any aid. Will these past applications be revealed to the school as well? I've read around these forums that the past FAFSA filings are only saved if you actually received aid from them. However, I (purposely) don't know much about the financial aid process so I'm not sure if this is true. Thanks in advance for any help.</p>
<p>The college will only see the FAFSA form you submit to them this year. That is the only one they use to process federally funded need based aid (many schools also use this info to compute institutional aid). </p>
<p>They will not see forms from past years.</p>
<p>Schools are able to access any FAFSAs that include their school code, but they are unable to access any FAFSAs that do not include their school code. Even if the school goes directly to the government site where the FAFSA is housed (rather than just looking at what was imported into the school’s computers), the school still cannot see any FAFSAs (or FAFSA transactions) that do not include their school code.</p>
<p>That is an interesting question. Kelsmom, do the financial aid officers see the entire FAFSA with the answers to all the questions and also which colleges are getting the FAFSA sent to them? Or the report that is generated (is it the SAR?) .</p>
<p>do the financial aid officers see the entire FAFSA with the answers to all the questions and also which colleges are getting the FAFSA sent to them? </p>
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<p>Aid officers see the entire FAFSA. If there are other school codes on the FAFSA, the aid officer can see those. I can tell you that I don’t give a hoot what other schools are listed on the FAFSA — obviously, students are considering more than one school. The info generated on the SAR is also available to the school. The answers to the FAFSA questions and the accompanying EFC calculation and processor comments are sent to the school in the form of an ISIR. Students receive a SAR; schools receive an ISIR.</p>
<p>Ok… SO they see everything you fill out on FAFSA… Ok, that settles it then. There is absolutely no way I will ever fill it out. We would be the target to donate for a building not get any scholarships…</p>
<p>If you have enough money to donate a building or endow a chair, they’ll know it soon enough. If not, their development office is not doing its job.</p>
<p>How would their development office know?</p>
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<p>They have their ways. They may be tipped off by the applicant’s counselor (in hope of boosting the student’s chance of admission). They may be tipped off by your friends. They may stumble upon a mention in the press. They may even google information about the incoming class and its families. It is their job to know.</p>
<p>They certainly know your zip code.</p>
<p>What in the world does the zip code have to do with it??? 70 percent of the kids here are on free lunch… </p>
<p>As for the previous post, we homschool so I am the counselor and I’m not telling them anything. And what friends could they be talking to??? No one knows financial details but us.</p>
<p>momknowsbest3 -</p>
<p>Look, if you’re really that loaded, it can only help. [WSJ.com</a> - Many Colleges Bend Rules To Admit Rich Applicants](<a href=“http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/Polk_Rich_Applicants.htm]WSJ.com”>WSJ.com - Many Colleges Bend Rules To Admit Rich Applicants)</p>
<p>Additionally, as I wrote elsewhere, you can always say no. I’m not sure what you’re so worried about.</p>
<p>Zipcode? They have your friggin’ address and with zillow these days and other resources they can actually look at your house on line and get some idea what the worth is.</p>
<p>If you don’t need loans, there is no reason for someone who is sure they wouldn’t qualify for need based aid to do so. If the school requires the FAFSA in order for a student to be considered for merit scholarships, the family has to make the call … if you would prefer to give up the possibility of free money in favor of not giving the school your financial info, that is a decision you certainly are free to make. Can you adopt me?!</p>
<p>That’s fine. The house isn’t worth much…relatively. maybe 300,000. That is what I mean. We drive cars that are 15-20 years old. They wouldn’t have any idea…</p>
<p>We don’t live like most other surgeon families… You don’t get a cell phone in this family until you are 16 and driving. I still have a dumb phone like my son. My husband has a smart one so he can look at x-rays on it. We don’t have cable. We grow our own veggies. The boys have to patch the fence, haul the wood, etc… We give about 1/3 or so of our money away and make the kids serve others. If you want us to adopt you, that is fine but that means you would have to live like us. I guess it is just a matter of privacy.</p>
<p>We live the way you do, so it won’t be helpful. Darn.</p>
<p>As I said, it is absolutely your call as to whether or not you want to complete a FAFSA. Know that there are plenty of schools that do not require a FAFSA for merit scholarship consideration.</p>
<p>Sorry about that. Now we do travel, though most of the time we camp. We traveled the national/state parks for trips through the Civil War battlefields. I used our frequent flier miles we earn through our checking account and credit card and saved up to pay for the 5 of us to go to Europe for just a couple hundred in fees total. I found some gites to rent for dirt cheap and we had a ball.</p>
<p>My D is on her own now, and she has thanked me for raising her to know how to find a bargain. It’s amazing how much you can do without breaking the bank!</p>
<p>momknowsbest3, the point is no one HAS to file for financial aid. It is entirely up to each individual family. We have friends that do. We have friends that don’t. Perhaps some of the friends that do wouldn’t get a dime. Perhaps some of the friends that don’t are missing a nice discount. Bottom line…it’s up to you and your family.</p>