Will FAFSA even do me any good?

Question

My mother makes ALOT of money....but my mother also is very sick so her money goes to medical bills and other kinds of bills. I'm assuming FASFA only looks at the money coming into a household and not money that goes out...Am I wrong? Will I be wasting my time trying to fill this all out?

Answer 1

Fill it out anyway.  Then talk to your financial aid administrator and explain your mother's situation.  If her medical costs are above the allowance provided in the law, then the financial aid administrator may be able to assist you in some way.  

If you don't complete the FAFSA you won't have any idea of what aid you could possibly qualify for.  Besides, some private scholarships use the information on the FAFSA to determine who qualifies.   You've got nothing to lose by completing the form.

Answer 2

The FAFSA does not look at medical bills over and above a normal "allowance" that is used in the eligibility calculation.  You can file the FAFSA, and then take documentation of the medical bills that were paid to the Financial Aid Office and ask for special consideration.  

You cannot use your father's income unless you lived with him more than half of the year.  Read the FAFSA instructions to be clear about which parent's income must be used.

Answer 3

You can talk to a financial aid counselor and maybe get some kind of professional judgement.  If your parents are not married then you can use your dad's income and not your mother's.  You can still fill this stuff out and get loans for sure but you have to fill it out to get those as well.