In our family, the parents took care of everything - college specific forms, FAFSA, CSS, outside merit scholarships, any required follow-ups, etc.
Curious to see how others handled this.
I did most of the FAFSA/CSS legwork.
Kids did outside scholarship applications, dealing with college about applying them, etc.
I did the financials, FAFSA and CSS. Kids did pretty much everything else.
I did the financial aid forms. Kids did all non-financial ones
I always told my kids that their job was to do well on classwork; I would take care of all the financial stuff.
DD is anxious about money, all the time not just about college, so DH and I compiled all paperwork and completed all forms. We did make her call the schools with any follow up questions we had, so we know she can deal with the department if there is an issue.
I (the parent) did all the financial aid stuff.
We handled financial stuff, she did everything else.
Both. I asked my sophomore son and freshman daughter to do their FAFSA. I did review everything before submitting. CSS profile my daughter did her senior year but I did it this year for her. I just think they need to know how to do it just in case I am not able to do it for some unforeseen reason.
We’re with most other folks: we do financial aid forms and kids do everything else.
My DD that’s wrapping up a semester early next month actually found additional scholarship $$ after freshman year, which I didn’t think was possible. She’s something of a marvel.
I (student) did it from my very first year. FAFSA and outside stuff. My parents just gave me their tax returns and it was much quicker and easier for me to do it.
Parent did all the financial stuff except kids filled out applications for local scholarships.
When I was in college, I did all the financial aid stuff. With my kids in college, I still do all the FA stuff. The reasons are different. Once my father realized that I was not going to pursue the career path he plotted out for me, he essentially lost interest in my education. With my kids, I feel that my finances and money are my business.
I think you’re unlikely to find parents here who left it to their kids, but out in the non-CC world, that is much more common. I used to work in a support program for low-income, first-gen students, and almost all of them did the FAFSA themselves. Helping them through it was part of my job.
D20 filled out everything she could and then I filled in the remaining sections related to gross income, etc.
She is pretty independent and proactive so we let her take control of the process and she lets us know when she needs any help.
I did FAFSA and CSS. If I had asked S19 to do it, he would simply have needed to ask me for all the numbers.
Our kids sat with us while we together completed the financial aid forms…both FAFSA and Profile. And yes, this means they saw our tax returns and assets.
We did this with them in undergrad school…and they were then easily able to do them for grad school themselves.
@tdy123 are you saying parents applied for outside scholarships? We had nothing to do with that except to proofread for spelling and grammar errors. Kids applied for,scholarships. Not parents.
We did the student portion of the financial aid forms with our kids. It’s a decent first (or early) experience in legal documents, with discussion about reading what you are signing, reading the questions carefully, and being careful to fill the forms in accurately.
Parents did the FAFSA, CSS and financial aid forms in our house. I will say that over the years, we’ve discovered it goes much easier with wine. We each pour a generous glass. DH inputs data. I collect needed paperwork and proofread.
I (parent) did the financial forms. But I had both my son and daughter sit with me as I entered the data for their financial aid forms. I felt that it was important that they knew and understood the money side of attending college.