FAFSA any reason to fill out? Sources for Reputable merit scholarships

[mom2binsd]

I/DD has done it every year, for those of who need financial aid it's pretty easy as we don't have a lot of assets or investments. It is also easy to fill out after the first year. It was also good for DD to go through it as it's one of the life skills I think all kids should participate in .

I have also heard that some schools require it even if you don't get aid, and it may also play into any work program your student might participate on campus.

[nfceagles]

None of the schools my DS applied to required it. We didn’t fill it out.

BUT there is one other important reason to consider doing it. Many schools will not consider you for financial aid in future years if you don’t submit it your first year. Or some will have a 1-2 year waiting period before you can apply. They reason is they don’t want people not applying at the time of admission in order to boost admissions chances but then applying later. So it’s important to consider if a change in your future circumstances could lead you to need to apply in later years.


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[smilequeen]

We were not going to get FA. It would actually be ridiculous for us to even ask. However, we certainly wouldn’t turn down merit.

We checked if schools required it for merit. None of the schools DS applied to did, so we skipped it. Even if it’s easy, it’s a waste of valuable time if its not required for anything. He got plenty of merit.

We’d fill it out if a school required it.

I do think if there is a chance of a down year and possibly needing FA in the future, it’s best to fill it out.

[jenmcadams]

None of the schools my DS applied to required it. We didn’t fill it out.

BUT there is one other important reason to consider doing it. Many schools will not consider you for financial aid in future years if you don’t submit it your first year. Or some will have a 1-2 year waiting period before you can apply. They reason is they don’t want people not applying at the time of admission in order to boost admissions chances but then applying later. So it’s important to consider if a change in your future circumstances could lead you to need to apply in later years.


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This is almost exactly what I was going to say. We chose not to fill it out (not a single school of the 25+ my kids applied to between them required it for merit), but we know that we're taking a risk with some schools who won't let you apply later if your circumstances change

[ezcc]

We did not for ds, he got good merit and I couldn't see him getting any fa beyond that. The school did not require it.

[trales]

A lot of schools hire students to work in the labs and do undergrad research and use Federal Work Study to do so, and to get paid for a job through that program you must fill out FAFSA. I hire a few students a year to do work for me and pay them through FWS. I am not permitted by the school to pay them through any other way even grants bc of paperwork and reporting issues. If a student wants to work for me and do research for me and do not qualify for FWS, I will take them on, but they do not get paid.

That being said, I do not know what the qualification is for FWS, I really try to stay of all things financial and just send students to financial aid. Most of my students do qualify, some do not and are just happy to work for me for free to get experience and resume items.

[ett]

A lot of schools hire students to work in the labs and do undergrad research and use Federal Work Study to do so, and to get paid for a job through that program you must fill out FAFSA. I hire a few students a year to do work for me and pay them through FWS. I am not permitted by the school to pay them through any other way even grants bc of paperwork and reporting issues. If a student wants to work for me and do research for me and do not qualify for FWS, I will take them on, but they do not get paid.

That being said, I do not know what the qualification is for FWS, I really try to stay of all things financial and just send students to financial aid. Most of my students do qualify, some do not and are just happy to work for me for free to get experience and resume items.

If a student doesn't qualify for financial aid, then they won't qualify for the Federal Work Study either as that is given as part of the financial aid package.

[hbridge]

We filled it out when DC was a senior. They attend a very affordable college and we did not think we would qualify for anything. We actually filled it out for the other (less affordable) schools they applied to. In the end, they received a few thousand dollars in unsecured loans. We did not take them. For future years, we will not be filling out the FAFSA.