Complete Idiot said:

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Got this in an email from my senior's HS today: " Completing the FAFSA form is a high school graduation requirement in the state of Texas. "

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kyle field 94 said:

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Has anyone completed this years fafsa application and actually had it sent to colleges or is there application still pending and under review

Has anyone heard from A&M regarding financial aid awards or even any communication yet?

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kyle field 94 said:

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Has anyone heard back from A&M regarding financial aid after submitting their fafsa?

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kyle field 94 said:

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Has anyone heard back from A&M regarding financial aid after submitting their fafsa?

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Quote:

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Essentially the more you tried to be responsible the more you are penalized. Why should my wife going back to work a few years ago and us scraping to put away some money be a negative? Yet that's how the system works. We didn't always make decent money so we didn't have the ability to accumulate $250k in a fund to send 2 kids to school, this is a very sore subject for me.

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AgGrad99 said:

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Quote:

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Essentially the more you tried to be responsible the more you are penalized. Why should my wife going back to work a few years ago and us scraping to put away some money be a negative? Yet that's how the system works. We didn't always make decent money so we didn't have the ability to accumulate $250k in a fund to send 2 kids to school, this is a very sore subject for me.

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Well said. I echo your sentiments.

And if I did make enough to put away 250k, I shouldn't be penalized. My kid should get what they earned. And others what they earned. End of discussion.

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aggie93 said:

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mccjames said:

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Filled it out freshman year and didn't do it again.

Way too much information for something I knew we would not qualify for. It really should not be used for Merit scholarships, imho.

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This. There is no reason to make people do the FAFSA if they know they can't get need based aid. It's very intrusive with a lot of very private information that takes time to put together and when you know that you won't qualify it's frankly insulting. I fume the entire time I do it as we are in the zone of making too much to qualify but not enough to comfortably pay for college. We saved money but not nearly enough and that gets used AGAINST you.

Essentially the more you tried to be responsible the more you are penalized. Why should my wife going back to work a few years ago and us scraping to put away some money be a negative? Yet that's how the system works. We didn't always make decent money so we didn't have the ability to accumulate $250k in a fund to send 2 kids to school, this is a very sore subject for me.

Then after all that work every year you just get the "lol, nope" email with the $5500 loan if you want it that is a drop in the bucket paying for college and has all kinds of strings. Then you get to do it every year as a rinse and repeat. Then I still have to go take out private loans afterward.

In Texas they keep the rate for in state relatively high if you don't qualify for anything compared to other states and we don't have programs like they do in GA or FL that allow kids with good grades to get steep discounts. For most it is cheaper to go OOS to another school who will offer a ton of aid but A&M and Texas simply don't in spite of having the 2 largest Public Endowments in the country and significant Legislature support. Yet they make you fill out the FAFSA just to rub your nose in it every year.

My guess is they will fix this right after both my boys are out of school. Kind of like how my wife was a 1st Gen with parents that made next to nothing and didn't help at all with school and she had to take out loans, now she would have gone for free based on what her FAFSA would have been.

Anyway, I wish they would at least just let you click a box that says "I only wish to be considered for Merit Aid" and not have to fill out a FAFSA if they are going to have the system we have now.

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daniel00 said:

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BoDog, for the vast majority of private colleges, yes. Basically, anyone that accepts federal aid or loans uses FAFSA as part of their process. Even when not seeking federal aid of any kind, the schools use the information as a proxy for financial need. As some have noted, you may still be able to convince them to do more, but it gives a baseline.

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94chem said:

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aggie93 said:

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mccjames said:

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Filled it out freshman year and didn't do it again.

Way too much information for something I knew we would not qualify for. It really should not be used for Merit scholarships, imho.

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This. There is no reason to make people do the FAFSA if they know they can't get need based aid. It's very intrusive with a lot of very private information that takes time to put together and when you know that you won't qualify it's frankly insulting. I fume the entire time I do it as we are in the zone of making too much to qualify but not enough to comfortably pay for college. We saved money but not nearly enough and that gets used AGAINST you.

Essentially the more you tried to be responsible the more you are penalized. Why should my wife going back to work a few years ago and us scraping to put away some money be a negative? Yet that's how the system works. We didn't always make decent money so we didn't have the ability to accumulate $250k in a fund to send 2 kids to school, this is a very sore subject for me.

Then after all that work every year you just get the "lol, nope" email with the $5500 loan if you want it that is a drop in the bucket paying for college and has all kinds of strings. Then you get to do it every year as a rinse and repeat. Then I still have to go take out private loans afterward.

In Texas they keep the rate for in state relatively high if you don't qualify for anything compared to other states and we don't have programs like they do in GA or FL that allow kids with good grades to get steep discounts. For most it is cheaper to go OOS to another school who will offer a ton of aid but A&M and Texas simply don't in spite of having the 2 largest Public Endowments in the country and significant Legislature support. Yet they make you fill out the FAFSA just to rub your nose in it every year.

My guess is they will fix this right after both my boys are out of school. Kind of like how my wife was a 1st Gen with parents that made next to nothing and didn't help at all with school and she had to take out loans, now she would have gone for free based on what her FAFSA would have been.

Anyway, I wish they would at least just let you click a box that says "I only wish to be considered for Merit Aid" and not have to fill out a FAFSA if they are going to have the system we have now.

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Add to that the fact that the new FAFSA no longer considers siblings in college when determining aid. Tons of families lost a ton of aid this year. With 6 kids, and 3 family members in college, we would have been screwed if not for my kids' other forms of aid. And people wonder why birth rates are declining...

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aggie93 said:

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mccjames said:

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Filled it out freshman year and didn't do it again.

Way too much information for something I knew we would not qualify for. It really should not be used for Merit scholarships, imho.

---

This. There is no reason to make people do the FAFSA if they know they can't get need based aid. It's very intrusive with a lot of very private information that takes time to put together and when you know that you won't qualify it's frankly insulting. I fume the entire time I do it as we are in the zone of making too much to qualify but not enough to comfortably pay for college. We saved money but not nearly enough and that gets used AGAINST you.

Essentially the more you tried to be responsible the more you are penalized. Why should my wife going back to work a few years ago and us scraping to put away some money be a negative? Yet that's how the system works. We didn't always make decent money so we didn't have the ability to accumulate $250k in a fund to send 2 kids to school, this is a very sore subject for me.

Then after all that work every year you just get the "lol, nope" email with the $5500 loan if you want it that is a drop in the bucket paying for college and has all kinds of strings. Then you get to do it every year as a rinse and repeat. Then I still have to go take out private loans afterward.

In Texas they keep the rate for in state relatively high if you don't qualify for anything compared to other states and we don't have programs like they do in GA or FL that allow kids with good grades to get steep discounts. For most it is cheaper to go OOS to another school who will offer a ton of aid but A&M and Texas simply don't in spite of having the 2 largest Public Endowments in the country and significant Legislature support. Yet they make you fill out the FAFSA just to rub your nose in it every year.

My guess is they will fix this right after both my boys are out of school. Kind of like how my wife was a 1st Gen with parents that made next to nothing and didn't help at all with school and she had to take out loans, now she would have gone for free based on what her FAFSA would have been.

Anyway, I wish they would at least just let you click a box that says "I only wish to be considered for Merit Aid" and not have to fill out a FAFSA if they are going to have the system we have now.

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