FAFSA with full funding?

[tepidtenacity]

This might be a stupid question, but is there any benefit to filling out the FASFA if I've been offered a tuition waiver with $25k stipend? (all bio phd)

[newage2012]

You may still be eliglible for work-study which help offset your department budget for your stipend. You may also get interest-free loans that you can use to pay off high-interest debts, like credit cards. If you don't have CC debt, you can still use the money to open an IRA account, which can saves you somewhere between $400 to $600 in income tax per year (assuming you are making full contribution each year, for this year is $5,000). The tax savings is greater than the interest of the loan.

Of course I am talking about federal loans. Steer clear from private loans.

Edited March 2, 2010 by newage2012

[zachidacki]

I know at my undergrad that if you qualified for federal grant monies they would use that to reduce some of the scholarship/fellowship. The money they would have used in the scholarship/fellowship amount would then be given to a different student. So by you filling out your FAFSA and potentially qualifying for monies, you could help a fellow student out.

[tepidtenacity]

I know at my undergrad that if you qualified for federal grant monies they would use that to reduce some of the scholarship/fellowship. The money they would have used in the scholarship/fellowship amount would then be given to a different student. So by you filling out your FAFSA and potentially qualifying for monies, you could help a fellow student out.

Very cool, I guess I'll do the FASFA then.

[rising_star]

The FAFSA doesn't work the same way in graduate school. If your department is paying you as a TA/RA or has you on fellowship, filing the FAFSA will not affect the amounts you or others in your department receive. It makes you eligible for federal subsidized and unsubsidized loans mostly.

[mulberry]

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but I'm a little confused about the FAFSA process. The last time I filled one out was my freshmen year in college and I have no recollection how it worked. I filled out my FAFSA at the end of January/early Feb and I've recently been accepted into several master's programs. If FAFSA determines I'm eligible for subsidized or unsubsidized loans, do I hear back from FAFSA or from the school I choose to attend? And when would I hear back?