The Big Test Before College? The Financial Aid Form

[groovedaddy]

Most everyone agrees that something is very wrong with the six-page federal form for families seeking help with college costs.

Created in 1992 to simplify applying for financial aid, it has become so intimidating — with more than 100 questions — that critics say it scares off the very families most in need, preventing some teenagers from going to college.

Then, too, some families have begun paying for professional help with the form, known as the Fafsa,a situation that experts say indicates just how far awry the whole process has gone.

“We’re getting thousands of calls a day,” said Craig V. Carroll, chief executive of Student Financial Aid Services Inc., whose fafsa.com charges $80 to $100 to fill out the form. “Our calls for the month of January are up about 35 percent from last year. There’s been a huge increase in the desperation of families.”

Last year, Congress ordered the form streamlined, but in the very same bill it added seven new questions. Critics say that even when all those questions are answered, the form does a poor job of assessing financial worth, both because it excludes assets like cars, boats, the family home and some family businesses, and because it does not factor in the high cost of living in areas like New York.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/22/education/22fafsa.html?th&emc=th

[Wanet]

1. My son is a college freshman

I have to agree that the FAFSA is challenging to fill out, but the companies that offer to help you fill it out for a fee are a rip-off.

I called the government site's customer service line a couple of weeks ago for help, waited only a couple of minutes on hold, and received the most competent and professional customer service help from a nice young lady that I've ever experienced. -- Wanet

[hedgehog]

2. While the FAFSA does ask how many active students there are in the

household, it does not ask how much money is going to re-pay student loans for former students!

[Scurrilous]

3. I've been putting this off.

My daughter got accepted to the University of Florida (her primary choice) two weeks ago and she's been bugging me to fill this thing out.

Time to get cracking.

[DebinTx]

4. I'm filling out the third Fafsa

and here's how I've streamlined it (well, as streamlined as I can get it).

Use a tax preparation software to do your taxes as soon as you have your W2's, mortgage interest, etc. (First time Fafsa filers - get your pin number as early as they'll let you). Do your taxes first as far as you can (I start mine in early February). Even if you don't have all your info to finish your taxes you can at least meet the deadline of March 1 that Fafsa wants. Open your tax return at the same time as doing the Fafsa and you can flip between both and fill in the numbers on the Fafsa. Do incremental saves to Fafsa because you'll want to put it aside for a while just to keep your sanity. Go directly line by line (per Fafsa's instructions) and get numbers from the tax forms that Fafsa needs and fill it out to the end, even if you're lacking some information.

Once you get to the end of Fafsa, you can tell Fafsa that you "will file" your taxes and submit Fafsa like that. This gets the ball rolling with Fafsa. If you haven't actually filed your taxes yet (waiting on some piece of the tax puzzle always puts me in this bracket in late March) you can still submit the Fafsa to get in line with them before March 1. Just get both as close to being correct as you possibly can before submitting the Fafsa. Remember that once you have completely finished your tax return, then it is time to go back and ammend your Fafsa form, which they have saved for you pending completion of your taxes. When you go back, check all of your numbers.

After you do the first Fafsa, the basic information is stored and in subsequent years, you just have to verify name, SS, etc. and start filling in that tax years' numbers. Also, remember to put your PIN number in a place that you won't forget. I print the entire Fafsa form with my answers so that the next year, I can speed things up and remember what I said the previous year. Don't hesitate to call them if you have questions, they're very helpful.

Hope this helps someone. It's tedious and takes a couple of hours but don't let it get to you.