$$ Official 2007 Financial Aid / FAFSA Questions Thread $$

[TomWestmanRules]

Yo, I'm pretty poor.

I'll be taking out loans and such to pay for medical school, and am also looking for ways to offset some of those loans with outside scholarships/stuff if possible. I saw that we can start submitting this FAFSA nonsense as early as January 1st.

It seems like plenty of us will be having questions regarding this and that we should make an official thread for this topic. Oh, and don't be a smartass and reply with some stupid link that's magically supposed to answer all of our questions... unless there actually is one.

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[el.harpo]

Good idea!

 

[crowman]

Yes,

I would like to know how much additional $$$ you can take out for living expenses etc. and if it is possible to get loans that are outside of school loans for car travel and a mortgage.

 

[njbmd]

Moving to Financial Aid Forum for responses.

 

[dpmd]

You can get loans for living expenses to the extent that it is allowed for in the schools budget. Each school makes a budget that includes tuition, mandatory fees, and other things that may vary by school such as books, computer, room and board, PDA, USMLE steps, transportation. You can petition the school to increase some of these things or add some things like child care (depends on the school). Whatever is added in then gets totalled to become your budget. Your FAFSA gives them an estimated family contribution (EFC), which does not include parental income even if you put it on there. It will include your spouses income if you are married. Each school then takes the budget and subtracts the EFC to determine your financial need. They then use their tricks to fill that need. This might be through grants (I haven't seen any, but everyone keeps on talking about them so I will mention them), scholarships (need based which might then take your parental income and asset info into account-again depends on the school, or merit based which might be based on things you wrote in your personal statement-mine was), and loans (stafford sub based on financial need, unsub up to a max that I believe is higher for med school that for other grad schools, and institutional loans based on whatever their criteria is-perkins is for financial need). If you decide you want to buy a car or a house you will have to get a traditional car loan or a mortgage. You can't ask for additional budget so you can get more loan funds. You can however take out the max amount, them use some of that towards a down payment if you scrimp in other areas or if you have someone else paying your living expenses (I did this first year when my then fiance-now husband was paying the rent and we used the extra loan funds as a down payment on our condo). Your student loans will only count partly against you since they are not in repayment while you are in school. Without good credit and a source of income you will have trouble getting loans with a good rate, and they might require a cosigner.

 

[Julius Erving]

I have a question about school codes. Question 97a says to type in all school codes you may attend. Are we expected to find/type in codes for all these schools we've applied at, or only the ones we've been accepted at. I *think* I only have received codes from schools I've been accepted to, but I'm not sure. What are other people doing??? Is it considered a nuisance to send codes to schools you weren't yet accepted to? Can you later go back and add codes and resend FAFSA info? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Lesley]

I have a question about school codes. Question 97a says to type in all school codes you may attend. Are we expected to find/type in codes for all these schools we've applied at, or only the ones we've been accepted at. I *think* I only have received codes from schools I've been accepted to, but I'm not sure. What are other people doing??? Is it considered a nuisance to send codes to schools you weren't yet accepted to? Can you later go back and add codes and resend FAFSA info? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

I would fill in the codes for all the schools you have applied to but have not been rejected by. I think you can only fill in about five or six codes at a time. It's not a big deal to have the info sent to many schools. It's not like they are going to charge you.

You should be able to look up the FASFA codes yourself on the FASFA website or you can contact the schools. So, if you do get accepted or waitlisted to any other schools, they may include your financial aid packet along with the acceptance. This will expedite matters for you. The schools you have been accepted to may not send you any financial aid information until they receive copies of your FASFA either.

So, don't send the FASFA info to schools you have been rejected from, all else have the info sent. I wouldn't worry about bothering them. You've already sent them your application and the application fee. The FASFA just completes your file.

Good luck!

 

[Tatowedges]

I would fill in the codes for all the schools you have applied to but have not been rejected by. I think you can only fill in about five or six codes at a time.

How would one fill in more than six schools? There are only six spots?

 

[Lesley]

How would one fill in more than six schools? There are only six spots?

First, you should complete and send the first FASFA with only six schools noted. Within a day or two you should get confirmation that your form has been received. You will get a ID number, save it, because from my experience, it stays the same year after year.

At that point you can go back to the FASFA main page. You should be able to locate an area that allows you to revise or add to the FASFA information you have already submitted. Go into the system using your ID number, your name and any other info they request and fill in the remaining schools. You may have to erase the schools you already sent in and place the new ones in their place. This does not remove the prior schools. Your first FASFA is already saved. This will just add the new schools to your list. FASFA will send your info to the first set of schools and these additional schools too.

There should be some explanation on the FASFA site as well. But, I know that you have to submit the first FASFA with six schools first, receive confirmation and then go back into the system later to add schools. You can revise your FASFA as many times as you need to have your info sent to all your schools.

My advice would be to send to the schools you are seriously considering first and the remaining schools on the revised FASFA. When you go back into the FASFA system, you will be able to locate your first FASFA and the additional/revised forms as well. You will receive confirmation from FASFA everytime you send in a form including each revised form. This is as best as I remember it. Good luck.

 

[Tatowedges]

thanks for the info

 

[medtastic]

I am married. Do I have to put down my parents' info? What's the best way to find this out? What's the consensus?

Thanks!

 

[dpmd]

I am married. Do I have to put down my parents' info? What's the best way to find this out? What's the consensus?

Thanks!

The school will tell you if they require parental info. If you don't think you will be eligible for any need based aid you could just submit without and take your stafford loans. However, if your school requires parental info for institutional aid they will require it regardless of if you are married (or if your parents are old, or if your parents don't like you, or whatever reasons people give for why they feel it is so unfair they have to give parental info). Once again. Your parental info will not affect your eligibility for subsidized stafford loans (but your spouses income will). Even if you have boatloads of money, you can take out the maximum in unsubsidized stafford loans up to your cost of attendance. Hope this helps.

 

[Talula21]

This might be a dumb question, I just want to make sure I understand. If my school's budget (tuition, fees, living expenses, etc.) is.... say..... $25,000 and my EFC is $20,000 will I only get $5,000 in financial aid? Then if my tuition and fees are $12,000 do I have to come up with the extra $7,000 on my own when the fees are due (prior to matriculation)?

The reason I am asking is because I am a non-trad and I have been working full time for 3 years. My husband also works full time and together we make a fairly significant income. However, coming up with $7K (or whatever it may be) all at once might be a little tough. I thought I understood that you couldn't get less than your tuition and fees, but now I am second guessing that. Thanks for any help!

 

[Talula21]

This might be a dumb question, I just want to make sure I understand. If my school's budget (tuition, fees, living expenses, etc.) is.... say..... $25,000 and my EFC is $20,000 will I only get $5,000 in financial aid? Then if my tuition and fees are $12,000 do I have to come up with the extra $7,000 on my own when the fees are due (prior to matriculation)?

The reason I am asking is because I am a non-trad and I have been working full time for 3 years. My husband also works full time and together we make a fairly significant income. However, coming up with $7K (or whatever it may be) all at once might be a little tough. I thought I understood that you couldn't get less than your tuition and fees, but now I am second guessing that. Thanks for any help!

I should add to this. Do I just take the rest out in private loans? I'm new to this game, I guess. I was a young, married, POOR undergrad so my FAFSA more than covered everything. Thanks again!

 

[Lesley]

This might be a dumb question, I just want to make sure I understand. If my school's budget (tuition, fees, living expenses, etc.) is.... say..... $25,000 and my EFC is $20,000 will I only get $5,000 in financial aid? Then if my tuition and fees are $12,000 do I have to come up with the extra $7,000 on my own when the fees are due (prior to matriculation)?

The reason I am asking is because I am a non-trad and I have been working full time for 3 years. My husband also works full time and together we make a fairly significant income. However, coming up with $7K (or whatever it may be) all at once might be a little tough. I thought I understood that you couldn't get less than your tuition and fees, but now I am second guessing that. Thanks for any help!

The EFC, expected family contribution, is what the government expects you or your family to pay that year towards your education expenses.

If the cost of attendance, COA, tuition, living expense, books, fees, equipment, etc, is $45,000, based on your EFC of $20,000, you would be eligible for $25,000 in financial aid, from the FASFA point of view. If your COA is $25,000, the EFC which is based on your financial information would remain $20,000, and you would be eligible for $5,000 in financial aid.

I have read SDN members posts that indicate regardless of your EFC, as a graduate student you are eligible for unsubsidized Stafford loans, up to the limit, usually $30,000/yr, regardless of your EFC.

I don't know that to be a fact, but it's possible this is true. Regardless, you should be eligible to apply for private loans up to the full amount of your COA, irrespective of your EFC, once you provide your lender with a written COA from the school you plan to attend. Sometimes you can borrow greater than your COA, depending on the private lender.

 

[dpmd]

The EFC, expected family contribution, is what the government expects you or your family to pay that year towards your education expenses.

If the cost of attendance, COA, tuition, living expense, books, fees, equipment, etc, is $45,000, based on your EFC of $20,000, you would be eligible for $25,000 in financial aid, from the FASFA point of view. If your COA is $25,000, the EFC which is based on your financial information would remain $20,000, and you would be eligible for $5,000 in financial aid.

I have read SDN members posts that indicate regardless of your EFC, as a graduate student you are eligible for unsubsidized Stafford loans, up to the limit, usually $30,000/yr, regardless of your EFC.

I don't know that to be a fact, but it's possible this is true. Regardless, you should be eligible to apply for private loans up to the full amount of your COA, irrespective of your EFC, once you provide your lender with a written COA from the school you plan to attend. Sometimes you can borrow greater than your COA, depending on the private lender.

I can vouch for the fact that you can borrow unsubsidized stafford up the your COA (up to the maximum stafford limits). I did this one year when I wanted a down payment for the condo we bought (my husband works and usually covers living expenses). This was in addition to the scholarship I had and my military aid (I was a reservist at the time). Of course that was when the interest rates were lower, you should evaluate how much you need to borrow. A good option is to take out as little as possible, knowing that later in the semester you can take out more if you need (this is allowed, I have done that as well).

 

[Lesley]

I can vouch for the fact that you can borrow unsubsidized stafford up the your COA (up to the maximum stafford limits). I did this one year when I wanted a down payment for the condo we bought (my husband works and usually covers living expenses). This was in addition to the scholarship I had and my military aid (I was a reservist at the time). Of course that was when the interest rates were lower, you should evaluate how much you need to borrow. A good option is to take out as little as possible, knowing that later in the semester you can take out more if you need (this is allowed, I have done that as well).

Thanks for the info, I thought I had read this.

 

[Darksmurf]

Can someone please explain to me what impact getting married has on the FAFSA and what impact one's spouses income will have on financial aid?

 

[Lesley]

Can someone please explain to me what impact getting married has on the FAFSA and what impact one's spouses income will have on financial aid?

Your spouse's income will effect your EFC, much in the same way as when you include your parents info. If they are employed, your EFC will be higher than if you were a single, unemployed medical/dental student. Your spousal infomation will not be included until after you are married. So, it would effect the following years EFC.

But, as stated earlier, it should not effect your ability to borrow the max, unsubsidized Stafford loan, aproximately $30,000/yr for a nine month school year and approximately $38,000 for a twelve month school year. You should be able to borrow from private sources up to, and sometimes above, your COA. Having income above a certain level, and it doesn't take much, may prevent you from getting subsidized loans as these are usually need based.

Many schools, especially private schools, have their own forms in addition to FASFA that must also be filled out to determine eligibility for institutional, often need based, aid. Often these will require parental information to spousal infomation.

 

[Darksmurf]

So to avoid including my future spouse on my FAFSA for the first year, can I just get married the day after I turn in my FAFSA?

 

[Lesley]

So to avoid including my future spouse on my FAFSA for the first year, can I just get married the day after I turn in my FAFSA?

Your FASFA is primarly based on your tax information from the previous year. If you were to get married prior to filling out your FASFA, your new spouse's income and assets may be required as well as her tax infomation. My gut feeling is this could potentially unqualify you for the subsidized portion of the Stafford loan and the Health Professions Loan, but I am not certain.

The FASFA is dated, and if on the date the form is filled out and submited you are single, it would be accurate, safe and legit. Any information about your wife would not need to be included until the following year. You would only need to submit parental information, if you think that their situation would better put you in a position to recieve grants, otherwise I would limit it to just your information.

FASFA amendments can be filled out if your financial situation should get dire at any time; however, I have found this does little to enhance financial aid as most aid is distributed early in the year. Schools do reserve some aid for emergency situations, but it is limited. So, even if you are dependent on your spouse for income and your EFC has been calcuated as such, if they should loose their job, you can fill out a FASFA amendement and request additional aid, but it may not prove fruitful.

So, your thought process would be along the lines I would choose if I were in your situation. As a single, unemployed medical/dental student your EFC should be under $1,000, about as low as you can get.

If you like, there are work sheets available on the web and on the FASFA site that will allow you to fill out a mock FASFA's. You could fill them out to get a general idea of how being single or married would effect your EFC.

Marriage, after filling out FASFA, may be the path of least resistance.

 

[CruiseLover]

What happens when two professional students marry? Do you qualify for more aid or less? What about parents contribution?

 

[Lesley]

What happens when two professional students marry? Do you qualify for more aid or less? What about parents contribution?

I think if you are two married, professional students your aid would be similar to if you were single, professional students, but it's possible because your family would now have two educational expenses, maybe you would be entitled to get more in subsidized loans/grants. I just wouldn't count on it, but I don't think it would hurt your chances of getting aid, provided neither of you have an income. With no income and no savings, your EFC's should be low and you should both easily qualify for subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford loans up to the max whether you are married or not. Again, you could go on FASFA and do a preliminary worksheet to see what your EFC would be under each scenario.

Parental information is not required, from my understanding, as a graduate student for the FASFA. However, if your parents have a lot of other children in college and/or make a low income, you may qualify for grants or low interest, possibly subsidized loans. Many private, professional schools, in order to process financial aid for you, require your parental information. Should you fill out your FASFA without your parents info, and apply to a school that requires this info in their other paper work, the school will know what they are looking at. In this case, their own financial aid determination will trump the FASFA.

Remember, although schools do want to make sure that you have the money that you need to get an education, many schools, especially undergrad, do not necessarily meet 100% of a student's need. In that case, students become dependent on private loans.

With the Stafford loan and the PLUS loans you should be able to borrow up to your COA without any difficulty. Good luck.

 

[notdeadyet]

Does anyone know how large a role savings and checking plays in the EFC for FAFSA?

Meaning, my wife and I have about $10K in savings right now. Should we just dump it all into money owed on credit cards to lower our EFC, or does savings/checking accounts balance not have a big impact?

Cheers, ndy...

 

[MiesVanDerMom]

Does anyone know how large a role savings and checking plays in the EFC for FAFSA?

Meaning, my wife and I have about $10K in savings right now. Should we just dump it all into money owed on credit cards to lower our EFC, or does savings/checking accounts balance not have a big impact?

Cheers, ndy...

paying down credit card debt is always a good idea

 

[Lesley]

Does anyone know how large a role savings and checking plays in the EFC for FAFSA?

Meaning, my wife and I have about $10K in savings right now. Should we just dump it all into money owed on credit cards to lower our EFC, or does savings/checking accounts balance not have a big impact?

Cheers, ndy...

From what I understand, as a student about 30% of your savings is applied towards your EFC.

The higher your EFC the lower your eligibilty for need based, lower interest, aid.

Paying off your credit cards and then filling out your FASFA would most likely give you a lower EFC and relieve you of some high interest debt.

The Stafford and Grad PLUS loans available to graduate students are at much more favorable interest rates than credit cards, and you should be able to borrow enough from these loans to cover your school's cost of attendance.

Just leave yourself a comfortable, money cushion.

Good Luck.

 

[notdeadyet]

Thanks for your help, everyone. I actually went through and found that a total checking/savings of 0 or a total checking/savings of $15,000 had absolutely no effect on my EFC.

That said, it might be because my EFC was high to begin with (about $18K).

 

[justin5790]

Is the max stafford loan amount determined by the gov't or by each individual school? Also, 30K has been thrown around as the approximate max, but when I look on fafsa's website, it shows 18,000?? I'm a little worried that if I'm accepted to a private school that costs 40K/yr I won't be able to afford it. I have kind of bad credit.

 

[Lesley]

Is the max stafford loan amount determined by the gov't or by each individual school? Also, 30K has been thrown around as the approximate max, but when I look on fafsa's website, it shows 18,000?? I'm a little worried that if I'm accepted to a private school that costs 40K/yr I won't be able to afford it. I have kind of bad credit.

The amount you are eligible for in Stafford loans is determined by the type of program you are in. It varies depending on if you are graduate student in a health professions program, MD, DMD, DDS etc, or not. The max Stafford subsidized loan for all graduate students is $8,500, but the max unsubsidized stafford loan varies.

For non-health professions graduate students, the max for the unsubsidized Stafford loan, for those that receive the max subsidized stafford, is $12,500. For a total max of $20,500 per academic year.

The max for unsubsidized stafford loans for health professions students, is around $30,000. Most students will be eligible to borrow about $38,500 from the Stafford loan annually for medical school.

There are other federal and private loans available to graduate students to make up the difference in the cost of attendance.

How your credit score effects Stafford loan eligiblity, someone else will have to answer that question. Good luck.

 

[justin5790]

Great, thanks for the help!

 

[DrDrew]

So to be on my parents heath insurance, I have to be considered a dependent on their income tax return. Yet when I fill out my FAFSA, I am an independent. Are these two separate (ie can my parents claim me, even though I am an independent borrower from the government?)

Anyone gone through this situation???

 

[dpmd]

The max for unsubsidized stafford loans for health professions students, is around $30,000. Most students will be eligible to borrow about $38,500 from the Stafford loan annually for medical school.

Just wanted to point out the the part I bolded isn't exactly right. If you are eligible for less than the 8,500 of subsidized stafford loans, you can get up to the total max in unsubsidized loans (i.e if you get 1000 in subsidized stafford you can get 37500 in ubsub loans)

The independent/dependent status for FAFSA versus taxes in completely separate.

 

[Lesley]

Just wanted to point out the the part I bolded isn't exactly right. If you are eligible for less than the 8,500 of subsidized stafford loans, you can get up to the total max in unsubsidized loans (i.e if you get 1000 in subsidized stafford you can get 37500 in ubsub loans)

The independent/dependent status for FAFSA versus taxes in completely separate.

You're correct. Sorry if I wasn't clear. The sentence should have read if you are eligible for the max in subsidized stafford loans, $8,500, then you would be eligible for $30,000 in unsubsidized. Also correct about independent status. Anyone who is obtaining an MD, DO, DMD/DDS, Masters or PhD is considered independent for FAFSA purposes.

 

[yabbadabbadoo]

Question 36 says
Enter the amount of the student's (and his/her spouse's) income tax for 2006 (question 36)

Is this just the amount of federal tax that I paid summed up on my W2 forms?

 

[dpmd]

No. They want the amount that you should have payed based on your taxable income. If you didn't earn a lot you might get some of the withheld money back. If you withheld too little you would need to pay more. If you go to turbotax.com they have a calculator where you can plug in you income, witholding, and other variables and find out what you estimated tax will be (that you would put on that line in the FAFSA).

 

[Polypeptide]

Question 36 says
Enter the amount of the student's (and his/her spouse's) income tax for 2006 (question 36)

Is this just the amount of federal tax that I paid summed up on my W2 forms?

I would recommend actually filing your 2006 taxes before you try to fill out the FAFSA. It will make a lot more sense and be accurate that way.

 

[md2011]

Is money in traditional IRA counted toward EFC?

 

[acetyl]

Does an EFC of 0 mean, $0 will be withdrawn from my loan monies? I've seen people say it's dollar amounts and a code, and that it varies by school, but overall would you say most schools use it as a dollar amount?

Has anyone here received a Health Professions Loan (HPL) where their parents made more than $60,000 in income the prior year? I was told not to waste my time having my parents fill that part of the application out because you would not be considered for the HPL if your parents made a certain income. Has anyone heard this or does anyone know the level of this supposed income?

 

[Lesley]

Does an EFC of 0 mean, $0 will be withdrawn from my loan monies? I've seen people say it's dollar amounts and a code, and that it varies by school, but overall would you say most schools use it as a dollar amount?

Has anyone here received a Health Professions Loan (HPL) where their parents made more than $60,000 in income the prior year? I was told not to waste my time having my parents fill that part of the application out because you would not be considered for the HPL if your parents made a certain income. Has anyone heard this or does anyone know the level of this supposed income?

Congrats on starting pharmacy school! An EFC of 0 means that your expected contribution is 0. You will be eligible for funding your total cost of attendance with loans, if necessary. I would have your parents fill out their information, if they don't mind, and submit it to your school. $60,000 is not that much after taxes, possibly other dependents who may be attending school and living expenses. HPL is a need based loan and if your school requires this information to disperse this loan, why not. See what happens this year. If you don't receive a HPL this year, next year don't have them waste their time. But, a 5% subsidized loan is very nice if you can get it. Good luck.

 

[Keg]

OK, on the FAFSA, Question 43 reads:

"As of today, what is the student's (and his/her spouse's) total current balance of cash, savings, and checking accounts (question 43)? (Do not include student financial aid.):"

If the money that is present in cash/savings/checking accounts is from student financial aid, does this mean that it should not be included and I should put 0? Or does it mean something else that I'm not getting?

 

[Keg]

OK, on the FAFSA, Question 43 reads:

"As of today, what is the student's (and his/her spouse's) total current balance of cash, savings, and checking accounts (question 43)? (Do not include student financial aid.):"

If the money that is present in cash/savings/checking accounts is from student financial aid, does this mean that it should not be included and I should put 0? Or does it mean something else that I'm not getting?

Just a bit of evidence - the website at http://www.sfa.ufl.edu/apply/commonmistakes.html states that this should exclude financial aid received... so if I received, say, $15k in aid this year, and I have $14k in my checking/savings accounts, then I should be OK if audited, since I can say it all came from financial aid, right?

 

[mochafreak]

Hey all, I have a question about the "money received or paid on your behalf...not listed elsewhere on this form" question.

I don't have to list my unsecured, credit-based Education One loan there do I? It was separate from the school's financial aid package, which is why I'm not sure. But, I don't think it should be listed because it's an educational loan...am I right?

 

[yabbadabbadoo]

my understanding is that we can update the fafsa at any time (when parents' taxes are actually filed to reflect correct numbers). But what if we have more than 6 schools listed?

Is this the correct procedure? File fafsa. add 6 schools. wait for confirm. edit and change the six schools. update fafsa information later. re-add all schools again? or are they auto-updated?

 

[Lesley]

my understanding is that we can update the fafsa at any time (when parents' taxes are actually filed to reflect correct numbers). But what if we have more than 6 schools listed?

Is this the correct procedure? File fafsa. add 6 schools. wait for confirm. edit and change the six schools. update fafsa information later. re-add all schools again? or are they auto-updated?

When you update your FAFSA, you will erase the schools you have already listed and replace them with the new school codes. You can do these after you receive an e-mail confirming that your FAFSA report has been processed. The first set of schools you listed will already be receiving a copy of your FAFSA report and your EFC. When you later change your parent's information, I would think their updated information would be sent to all the schools that you have previously listed, whether it be 6, 12 or 18. But, this is a good question. There is a question area on the FAFSA site, you could check with them, or maybe someone viewing can answer this important question for you. Good luck.

It was a good question, so I just called the FAFSA help line to get your answer. Your parent's information, after you update it, will automatically be sent to all the schools on record.

 

[Lesley]

Hey all, I have a question about the "money received or paid on your behalf...not listed elsewhere on this form" question.

I don't have to list my unsecured, credit-based Education One loan there do I? It was separate from the school's financial aid package, which is why I'm not sure. But, I don't think it should be listed because it's an educational loan...am I right?

I don't think so either.

 

[yabbadabbadoo]

When you update your FAFSA, you will erase the schools you have already listed and replace them with the new school codes. You can do these after you receive an e-mail confirming that your FAFSA report has been processed. The first set of schools you listed will already be receiving a copy of your FAFSA report and your EFC. When you later change your parent's information, I would think their updated information would be sent to all the schools that you have previously listed, whether it be 6, 12 or 18. But, this is a good question. There is a question area on the FAFSA site, you could check with them, or maybe someone viewing can answer this important question for you. Good luck.

It was a good question, so I just called the FAFSA help line to get your answer. Your parent's information, after you update it, will automatically be sent to all the schools on record.

WOW lesley, thanks so much! by "on record", you are referring to schools that were at some point on the list of 6, or the ones currently on the list of 6?

 

[Lesley]

WOW lesley, thanks so much! by "on record", you are referring to schools that were at some point on the list of 6, or the ones currently on the list of 6?

Don't you love this FAFSA stuff? All the schools you listed on your original FAFSA and on the subsequent FAFSA's will get your parent's corrected information when you submit it. I was very clear when I spoke to the FAFSA representive.

I gave this scenario, "I don't know my parent's 2006 tax info, but I filled out a FAFSA, as best as possible, and submited it to six schools then I resubmited a corrected FAFSA with six new schools and later submited my parent's updated tax info. I asked would I have to specifically request the infomation be sent to any or all of the schools? The rep said that the parent's information would automatically be sent to all the schools, whether it was 6, 12 or 18, previously listed."

If you want to confirm this information, just go to the FAFSA site and go to get help. There is a customer service area and it gives you the option of e-mail or telephone help. Sometimes it's good to hear it for yourself, but this was the conversation I had with them. The rep seemed pretty sure of his answer. With the FAFSA, I've found, just getting started is the hardest part. If you make a mistake you can always correct it later. Good Luck.

 

[davee]

quick question, if i have a good credit score, would a prolonged credit debt(2k at 0%) affect my fafsa application? i have the funds to pay it off, but its at 0% and would rather leave my money in the CV.
Thanx

 

[phishee]

Every school has many many additional forms if you want to be considered for insitutional aid. How many people are doing the FAFSA + all the other forms. Should I even bother doing these?

 

[IADT Man]

If my EFC for my FAFSA was 00583,that means that my family is expected to pay $583.00 correct?