I spent Sunday finishing my tax return and two FAFSA (Free Application for Financial Aid) forms for my daughters. It was painful as always...good thing I'm patient and can practice my breathing exercises :-)
The FAFSA forms are a challenge for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that you have to fill the forms out as a student and a parent; using information from both person's tax returns.
Add to that the fact you need a password, a pin, drivers license number and social security number for each person and you can start to see the possibilities.
I've never tried the paper FAFSA, having filled it out online for 4 years now, but I see the paper form is 11 pages long.
There are over 20 pages of worksheets that you are provided to use in preparing to fill out the FAFSA as well.
Sigh....
I have no idea how people who don't do their own taxes, have computers and internet access get the FAFSA done.
It seems pretty discriminatory in that regard.
One of the semi-discouraging things for a middle class wage earner when it comes to the FAFSA is that after you finish all the rigmarole of getting it done, you get the response that "you do not qualify for Federal Financial Aid, but you may qualify for work study or low interest rate loans".
All schools use the FAFSA for determining financial aid so you have no choice but to fill them out to apply for loans, grants or scholarships. "Low interest" rate student loans are a joke - you get an 8.5% APR for a PLUS loan (that's a Parent Loan for Undergraduate Student loan that is supposedly subsidized by the Federal government and available through private lendors). I can get a credit card with an APR of less than 6% so the PLUS loan is not a real good deal and is yet another example of how the current administration and Congress is failing middle class wage earners and their children who want to go to college.
I guess I'm done ranting about the FAFSA for now - this is the last year I'll be filling them out since Rachel and Rebecca will graduate...Yea!!!
After finishing our income tax return I filed my tax form electronically and authorized Uncle Sam to withdraw the money I owed from my checking account. That was Sunday afternoon and by early Tuesday morning Sam had siphoned the money out.
Now that's quick!
I wish refunds were that speedy.
I'm glad I have a job and can pay taxes. I'm proud of the fact that middle American's like me and you keep this country strong and functioning. I'm looking forward to getting Barack Obama in the White House and seeing a change in the sea state in Congress where things like helping people live out the American dream by sending their kids to college become available to everyone who chooses that path and the interests of regular working class Americans become more important than catering to well funded special interest groups, banks and the fat cats who don't pay any taxes at all.
