As the parent of four college students (two graduates, two current), I receive many questions from other parents about the college application process and specifically want to focus on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or FAFSA. The FAFSA is used by colleges to determine financial aid eligibility. Think of it as the gateway to grants, loans and possibly scholarships.  The 2017-2018 FAFSA application opened October 1, 2016. The FAFSA is available online at fafsa.ed.gov here. For high school Seniors, the application’s completion will be mixed with the college early-action admittance timeframe. A new FAFSA application must be submitted every school year. Each college student and his/her family must make a decision if it is worthwhile to complete a FAFSA every year the student attends college.  Let’s review some things to consider in making the decision of whether or not to complete the FAFSA and some school-specific FAFSA requirements.

• Every detail of the student’s and parents’ financial life is laid bare. Income, assets, even grandma’s 529 plan established in Junior’s name are included. You must decide if you are willing to provide this level of detail and weigh the security risks.
• Compiling the financial details and completing the FAFSA application takes time. Weigh the likelihood of receiving aid against the effort invested.
• A FAFSA is necessary for a student to receive federal loans.
• Assess if your financial situation is likely to change during the year between applications. Once the FAFSA application closes, it does not reopen for another year. If a parent loses his/her job during the school year, a request to review the financial situation may be made if the FAFSA has already been completed.

There is one more critical point to be made regarding the decision of whether to complete the FAFSA. Some schools use the FAFSA as the gateway to all money – including merit scholarships. Just a minute. What does a merit scholarship have to do with the parent bank account? Answer – plenty, at some schools.

In my family, Child #2 went to college out-of-state at Big State University (BSU), receiving a merit scholarship without requiring FAFSA completion. Child #3 applied to a different out-of-state BSU and was awarded a similar merit scholarship as Child #2.  However, Child #3 had to complete a FAFSA to actually receive the merit scholarship money at that BSU. This was not mentioned on the rah-rah leafy campus tour when the student guide walked backwards extolling the virtues of the new rock-climbing wall. It also wasn’t mentioned on the BSU website.  It is a nuance to some school’s FAFSA requirements that I didn’t discover until my children’s third trip through the college application process.

Understand each school’s FAFSA requirements

TheMoneySkinny™ best practice is to understand the FAFSA requirements for a specific school before investing time and money in a campus tour, sending test results and applying for admittance. If FAFSA requirements are not listed on the school website, email the admissions office. An example of the question for the admissions office/campus tour – “Is a completed FAFSA required to receive merit scholarships at BSU?” Know before you go.

• The 2017-2018 FAFSA application opened October 1, 2016.
• Consider the pros and cons of completing the FAFSA application.
• Some schools use the FAFSA as the gateway to all money – including merit scholarships.
• Understand the FAFSA requirements for a specific school before investing time and money in a campus tour, sending test results and applying for admittance.