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patsmom
Member
| Joined: | Sun Mar 5th, 2006 |
| Location: | USA |
| Posts: | 165 |
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Posted: Mon Feb 5th, 2007 09:25 pm |
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Entomom, thanks for posting that! I was going to add my health insurance premiums back in, too.
They sure don't make it easy, do they?
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entomom
Member
| Joined: | Mon Mar 6th, 2006 |
| Location: | Oregon USA |
| Posts: | 362 |
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Posted: Mon Feb 5th, 2007 09:43 pm |
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No they don't! I don't mind doing the paperwork, I just get antsy because they want it before everything is complete and because they don't define things well enough. On the one hand I want to follow all of the rules, but on the other, I sure don't want to give them more than I need to! I just hope it's easier next year 
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sweetkidsmom
Member
| Joined: | Sun Mar 5th, 2006 |
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| Posts: | 157 |
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Posted: Tue Feb 6th, 2007 03:44 am |
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Last edited on Fri Mar 16th, 2007 10:15 pm by sweetkidsmom
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alanarch
Member
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Posted: Wed Feb 14th, 2007 01:05 am |
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| I need to add two more schools to the FAFSA form (beyond the original 6). In researching, it seems that after I get my SAR, I can delete 2 schools and add 2 schools for a total of 8 schools and all 8 schools will show up on the final SAR in the FAFSA file. Do I have this correct?
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jocelynDAD
Member
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Posted: Wed Feb 14th, 2007 05:08 am |
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Alanmark:
Do the first six and submit, wait three days (just to be sure), usually one day is sufficient for the FAFSA to be sent to the schools. You will get the SAR by email ASAP.
Then create a second FAFSA for the last two schools. (you just delete the six schools and add the two new ones - all other data remains the same).
All eight will be sent. If you just delete two schools the second submittal will go to the six schools, thereby sending two submittals to four schools. Just easier to send the last two by themselves. Duplications are just that and unnecessary.
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HImom
Member
| Joined: | Mon Mar 20th, 2006 |
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| Posts: | 269 |
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Posted: Fri Feb 16th, 2007 04:15 pm |
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| Please remember if you need to make any changes/corrections/additions to the FAFSA, you have to send it to all the schools again as well.
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WestrnMom
Super Moderator
| Joined: | Fri May 26th, 2006 |
| Location: | West Coast, USA |
| Posts: | 1216 |
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Posted: Wed Feb 28th, 2007 10:19 pm |
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When does this need to be submitted? I'm filling it out late and I can't figure it out! The online worksheet asks for father's and mother's income separately. What if you file jointly and it's combined? There are so many details, and I can't figure it out from the tax form. I'm ready to throw it in and not finish it at all!
editing - I called one of S's schools and talked to financial aid. They said the deadline of March 1st is only if the student is applying for a Cal Grant. If the student is not, then the only need for the FAFSA is if one wants to apply for a student loan. In which case the March 1st deadline is not firm. Also, if one doesn't want to apply for a loan for Fall 2007, but waits until Fall 2008 then there is no need to file a FAFSA at all in 2007 but it can be filed in 2008.
Is that correct? I thought I read that if a student doesn't file one before freshman year they can't ever file one in the future, but the Financial aid office said that is not true.
Last edited on Wed Feb 28th, 2007 11:00 pm by WestrnMom
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DesperateDad
Member
| Joined: | Tue Mar 14th, 2006 |
| Location: | California USA |
| Posts: | 849 |
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Posted: Wed Feb 28th, 2007 11:06 pm |
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w-mom:
Princeton Review has an excellent book on finaid, which includes step-by-step instructions for completing fafsa: Paying for College without Going Broke, available on Amazon.
101 Tips for Maximizing Financial Aid, by Orzechowski also looks good.
Each college has different deadlines on when it is due. For example, last year, my son's private college wanted info from early acceptees & applicants by Feb 15, but as a continuing student, paperwork is not required until April 15 (I assume so they can focus on the applicants prior to April 1 acceptance date).
Last edited on Wed Feb 28th, 2007 11:06 pm by DesperateDad
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leftcoast
Member
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Posted: Thu Mar 1st, 2007 05:03 am |
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Westernmom, what you have been told is probably true if the ONLY aid you are seeking or expect to get is a loan; but if you think you will qualify for a need-based grant, you should have the FAFSA done by the priority date for the college. Their grant funds get allocated early and latecomers are often out of luck, or get less than what they would otherwise have qualified for.
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WestrnMom
Super Moderator
| Joined: | Fri May 26th, 2006 |
| Location: | West Coast, USA |
| Posts: | 1216 |
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Posted: Thu Mar 1st, 2007 10:59 pm |
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Thank you Leftcoast. I don't think he'll qualify this year, but I appreciate the input.
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Overseas mom
Member
| Joined: | Mon Nov 20th, 2006 |
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| Posts: | 54 |
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Posted: Thu Mar 22nd, 2007 05:33 am |
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I submitted an estimated FAFSA on Jan 8th and then an updated one on Feb 25th after my tax returns were completed. The submission confirmations on both indicated estimated EFC of about $17,000.
Yesterday I received e-mail notification that the SAR had been processed and the EFC was $35,000! Why is there such a big difference between the estimate and the actual? There were slight variations in the numbers, but nothing that significant. Has anyone else had this experience?
I'm worried that the colleges will think I'm trying to get one over on them. We haven't gotten final financial aid packages yet, but some may be in the mail.
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leftcoast
Member
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Posted: Thu Mar 22nd, 2007 06:28 am |
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Overseas -- the SAR is processed within a couple of days of your submission - so if you are just getting an email now (3 weeks later) - it is possible that one of the colleges has gone in and made a correction of some sort. (They can do this if they see a discrepency between the tax return and numbers on the FAFSA). So you should log in online and see if there is a 3rd revised FAFSA.
If so, print that out and also print out the 2nd one and compare them line by line -- that will help you see where the discrepency is.
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Overseas mom
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| Joined: | Mon Nov 20th, 2006 |
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| Posts: | 54 |
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Posted: Thu Mar 22nd, 2007 06:45 am |
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| leftcoast - thanks for the tip. I will check, but none of the colleges asked for tax returns.
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Overseas mom
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| Joined: | Mon Nov 20th, 2006 |
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| Posts: | 54 |
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Posted: Thu Mar 22nd, 2007 07:12 am |
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Aaargh! It worked just as you said and I see my error. Stupid me - for the question of how many family members, I included my son who is 19, but living and working in San Francisco. He will begin college in the fall, so I also included him on the question of how many in college.
I was confused by the fact that he needs our tax info to complete his FAFSA even though he is not our dependent for tax purposes. He has money to pay for SFSU himself, so we didn't do a FAFSA for him. Is that a mistake? Will it make any difference? He earned about $30k last year and is still working full time this year.
leftcoast - thank you for your suggestion. I was concentrating on the income numbers and couldn't figure out why there was such a large discrepancy in EFC.
Last edited on Fri Mar 23rd, 2007 03:49 am by Overseas mom
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leftcoast
Member
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Posted: Fri Mar 23rd, 2007 08:31 am |
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Hmmm... I think your son SHOULD be included -- I don't know why he would be taken off. My son is not my dependent and had not been for the 2 tax years preceding last year's FAFSA - but he was under 23 at the time and I followed the instructions and figured that he was to be included - so I marked 2 in college. Like yours, he had not yet started college.
Can you tell from the web site who initiated the change? Is it something the FAFSA people did or one of the colleges? There could be special circumstances because you live overseas -- but the point is, the FAFSA system is set up to treat any college-attending sibling under age 24 as a household member/ dependent for purposes of aid calculations - you should get that benefit. (My son did have to provide my daughter's college with verification of his enrollment in the fall -- but that came later).
My son did file his own FAFSA.... but it doesn't make sense to me that it would be required. With a $30K income from last year it is unlikely that your son will qualify for financial aid at SF State, especially with your income thrown into the mix. My son had around a $22K income + $12K in savings and I think his share of the EFC was around $14K or so. With my income added in, it was well over the COA at Humboldt State.
This coming year is a different story -- hopefully he will qualify for some aid.
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Overseas mom
Member
| Joined: | Mon Nov 20th, 2006 |
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| Posts: | 54 |
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Posted: Fri Mar 23rd, 2007 04:08 pm |
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leftcoast - thank you for your suggestion and help.
The information about who made the changes is not available on the website, so I called FAFSA customer service. They told me the changes were made by one of the colleges and that I was correct in including my son. So the changes made by the college were incorrect.
I then called the financial aid office of that college and explained about my son. The person I spoke with was non-committal and would only say that she would pass the information on to the person in charge of making FAFSA changes and that I will be contacted if there are any questions. They have not sent out their financial aid packages yet.
In the meantime we received the aid package from another school with generous grants and merit aid. This school is my daughter's not-too-close second choice school. The one she (and I) like is the one that made the changes. We'll have to see how it plays out with their financial aid offer.
In your case, did financial aid offices ask you about the discrepancy in your tax return and FAFSA?
Thanks again for your help.
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Thumper
Member
| Joined: | Sun Mar 5th, 2006 |
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| Posts: | 226 |
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Posted: Fri Mar 23rd, 2007 05:23 pm |
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| You know....finaid officers should KNOW that there is a difference for dependency requirements for finaid and taxes. You can have a kid who is NOT a dependent for tax purposes who IS a dependent for finaid purposes (like Overseas's Son). That college made an incorrect assumption. I would call again and go higher in the "food chain" and speak to someone about this change as it IS inaccurate.
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Overseas mom
Member
| Joined: | Mon Nov 20th, 2006 |
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| Posts: | 54 |
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Posted: Sat Mar 24th, 2007 12:54 am |
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Thumper - I was hoping you would weigh in since you also seem knowledgable about financial end.
The time difference between Asia and the west coast is a killer. I called the financial aid office when they opened which was 11:30 PM our time! I've been getting my beauty rest (doesn't seem to help), while you've been going through your day! I will followup with FA again on Monday.
I don't understand why a college wouldn't contact us with questions before making such a small, but dramatic change that doubles EFC. Should I go in and change it back? I'm concerned about other colleges getting updates that reflect the higher number.
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leftcoast
Member
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Posted: Sat Mar 24th, 2007 01:10 am |
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Overseas -- find out if the changed FAFSA will be forwarded to other colleges -- if so, I think you should go back and change it again. I'd start by checking to see what colleges are listed on that particular revision.
My kids colleges made changes to the FAFSA, but neither did it until AFTER deposits were made, in May or June -- so it couldn't impact financial aid any where else. They were able to figure out financial aid based on their anticipated changes -- my daughter's was quite complicated because the college calculated the best case scenario, assuming my son was in college -- but gave me an award figure based on the assumption that he was NOT in college. It wasn't clear -- so I called for clarification -- and they explained to me that if my son did not enroll in college, we would get the grant indicated on the award; but that if he DID enroll, then once his enrollment was confirmed, our grant would be increased. I honestly felt like hugging the financial aid lady after talking to her on the phone that day -- it seemed like she understood exactly what the situation was with my son. (My son was undecided about his return to college, and didn't reach a decision until June ... so all along it was iffy).
My daughter's college made changes that were in our favor and qualified her for a Pell Grant -- the figures my tax return for state income taxes paid was higher than the formula specified, so they went in and substituted the higher figure, so I got full credit for all taxes paid.
A few years back my son's college made changes that worked against me -- I never agreed with them, but it had limited impact on the EFC -- but what they did was insist on attaching a "business asset" value equal to one years' earnings -- I am self-employed - work from home as a free lancer, so I have no "business" assets other than basic home office equipment (computer, phone, printer, etc.). Imagine if you made $40K and were told that meant that you had an "asset" worth $40K.... you can't "sell" yourself -- yet that is precisely what college #1 wanted. But they were very insistant that is what they were "required" to do.
There's an interesting article here about what we freelancers face, though it doesn't deal with the asset valuation issue (which probably wouldn't come up under new FAFSA regs anyway, because as of this year the regs are clear that there is no business asset unless the business has 100 or more employees). But I thought this article was interesting in part because it quotes extensively from that same financial aid officer who was making the decisions in my son's case:
http://www.smartmoney.com/consumer/index.cfm?story=20010411
Now I see from the article that the fin aid director got her ideas about what she was "required" to do from attending some College Board sponsored seminar... so that little mystery is cleared up somewhat. Not that it makes any sense.... but at least I can see where she probably got the idea from.
Anyway -- good luck with your situation -- personally, if some college tried to "erase" my son without first contacting me to clear things up, I'd drop that college from my list!
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Overseas mom
Member
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| Posts: | 54 |
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Posted: Sun Mar 25th, 2007 09:26 am |
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leftcoast - I did end up going back and changing the FAFSA to include my son.
I'm also planning to send an e-mail to the director of financial aid of the college that made the changes asking why they didn't contact me if they felt there was a discrepancy or if they had questions. I'll wait to see what the response is.
My first inclination is to drop the college from D's list, but I do think it is a good match for her. She only applied to 4 colleges and has pretty much decided against two. I think in the end it will come down to financial aid (very good at her second choice) vs how much she likes this particular college. She's aware of the situation and the costs. She has moved every 2 years for the past six years and the longest she has ever lived in one place was the first five years of her life. I think it's important that she be allowed to choose where she will live for the next 4 years.
Another question though - will it make any difference if we do the FAFSA for my son. Like your son, he won't qualify for aid, so is there any benefit to submitting the FAFSA for him?
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