An important FAFSA question

[Adapt]

---

Members do not see this ad.

So I have another important question about FAFSA. I have decided not to include my parents' info on it for schools that say it is optional. However, I am still a senior in college and did not work this past year. Thus, I do not have a tax return or didn't have an income for the year.

If I fill out the FAFSA with this information, I imagine that most of it will be blank and full of 0s. My question is, if my FAFSA is like this and I do not include my parental info, I think my EFC would almost be 0. How would schools view that? Would they think I'm poor and give me more aid?

 

[mpp]

Without the parental information the one thing it will definitely affect is the amount of subsidized Stafford loans (maximum of $8,500 per year). They may want the parental information to qualify you for institutional aid, i.e, grants and scholarships, not loans. There are no federal grants for medical students.

 

[Sinderella]

It looks like you are in the same situation as I am in. I filled out the FAFSA last year and I didn't work and all my blanks were zeros. I don't remember if I put down any parental info or not but I don't think i did. Anyway, They awarded me the maximum in grants and loans. I just filed for this year and didn't put any parental info but I am thinking of changing that since the previous poster says you are more eligible for some loans if you do.

 

[Adapt]

The thing is my parents make a decent amount of money so if I do put my parental info I will get less. So, if I don't put the information, like Sinderella I could get the maximum in grants and loans. Does that mean I would get more grants than if I would have put my parental info? I could always decline a certain amount of loans if they give me too much couldn't I? I think my parents will help me pay some but only for living expenses. In this case I wouldn't need to much in loans.

 

[mpp]

The requirement of parental information is institutional dependent. Ask the school's financial aid office if they need that information. If they don't require it, then don't include it.