For those with high school seniors and current college students, it's a busy time of year with lots of talk about financial aid, FAFSA, and the CSS Profile.
To help families, in the past few weeks we conducted webinars on everything you need to know for filling out FAFSA and a separate one for the CSS Profile. Both webinars were recorded for future viewing. In addition, submitted questions from both sessions were published for those that didn't register.
I'm Not Getting Financial Aid, Why Should I Fill Out These Forms?
We've gotten this question a lot in our Paying For College 101 Facebook group, and it's a fair question to ask, especially from families that know they won't qualify for needs based aid.
Here are a few things to consider: - The FAFSA gives ALL students (regardless of financial need) access to Stafford loans from the federal government. If your student will need to borrow money to attend college, Stafford loans offer the lowest interest rates among student loans at 4.45%.
- Submitting the FAFSA gives parents the option of applying for a Parent Plus loan, if that's an option families choose to consider.
- Many college funding professionals recommend families submit the FAFSA, unless they have enough non-retirement savings to cover college costs for all four years, without impacting the family's financial stability. In addition, it's prudent to submit the FAFSA in the event of an emergency or tragedy that impacts your ability to pay for college. If you lose a spouse, job, or suffer a medical emergency, colleges can't offer or readjust financial aid if you haven't filed FAFSA by their deadline.
- Schools vary as to their policies regarding the need for families to submit the FAFSA and the CSS Profile in order to be eligible for merit scholarship consideration. Contact each school your student is applying to, to find out whether or not you need to submit these forms to receive merit aid.
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