FAFSA completion timing and scholarship impact on enrollment deposit - first-gen immigrant family

Congrats on your daughter's scholarship! Here's what you need to know: 1. After submitting FAFSA, you'll select which schools receive your information. Make sure to add her top choice's school code. The school will automatically receive the FAFSA data within 3-5 business days. 2. The enrollment deposit almost always has to be paid out-of-pocket. Scholarships typically apply to tuition and fees once classes begin, not to the initial deposit. However, some schools offer deposit waivers for financial hardship - you can ask the financial aid office about this option. Also, make sure you complete the CSS Profile if her school requires it (many private colleges do). This is separate from FAFSA and might be needed for institutional aid.

im in the same situation!! first gen college student with immigrant parents. the deposit is ALWAYS out of pocket, my school was $500 but my scholarship kicked in later when classes started. congrats to ur daughter!!!

One thing I didn't see mentioned yet - your daughter might qualify for additional grants as a first-generation college student. When you complete the FAFSA, make sure to accurately answer the questions about parent education levels. This helps schools identify first-gen students for potential additional aid. Also, after submitting FAFSA, you'll receive a Student Aid Index (SAI) score (formerly called EFC). This number helps colleges determine need-based aid on top of the merit scholarship she already received. Definitely call the financial aid office at her top choice school after submitting FAFSA. Let them know you've submitted it and ask about their timeline for finalizing aid packages for incoming students. Some schools have special procedures for international families or first-generation students.

Don't freak out when you see the SAI number from FAFSA - it often looks REALLY high and scary!!! Our SAI came back at $32,000 even though we definitely don't have that kind of money just sitting around. But colleges know this and use their own formulas. My daughter still got decent aid even with that high SAI. And YES the deposit is 100% separate from scholarships. We had to pay $750 to hold my daughter's spot and that was WITH a full tuition scholarship. It's stupid but that's how they do it.

I tried calling the Federal Student Aid office about a similar situation last month and got nowhere - kept getting disconnected after waiting forever. Then someone on this forum recommended using Claimyr.com and it actually worked! They got me connected to a real person at FSA in about 10 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ Might be worth trying if you need to speak with FSA directly about any FAFSA issues before submitting.

Remember that the 50% scholarship might be just the beginning! After FAFSA, she could qualify for federal grants (like Pell Grant) and potentially more institutional aid from the college. My daughter started with a half-tuition merit scholarship too, but once all her need-based aid came through, we ended up only paying about 25% of the total cost. Also, ask the college if they have any special scholarship funds for first-generation or immigrant students. Many schools have donor-funded scholarships specifically for students with your daughter's background, but sometimes you have to specifically ask about them!

btw the FASFA is sooooo confusing for immigrant families!! make sure u fill out the citizenship stuff correctly. my parents messed that up and we had to redo the whole thing!! took foreeeever 🙄

To answer your follow-up question about checking if the school received your FAFSA: About 3-7 days after submitting, log back into studentaid.gov and check your FAFSA status. It should show which schools have received your information. I recommend calling the financial aid office about 7-10 business days after submission to confirm they received everything. When you call, have your daughter's student ID number (if she has one already) and FAFSA confirmation number ready. Regarding timing - call the financial aid office right after submitting FAFSA. Don't wait for processing. Let them know it's been submitted and ask about their specific timeline and any additional documents they might need from international families.

One thing I always tell the first-gen families I work with: start a dedicated email folder to save ALL communications from the financial aid office. Also, take notes during every phone call with the date, time, and name of who you spoke with. The financial aid process often involves multiple follow-ups, and good documentation will save you headaches later. Also, does your daughter's high school have a college counselor? They often have experience helping families in similar situations and might have school-specific insights about the college she's considering.

Yeah and DONT FORGET to list the correct school codes on your FAFSA!!! This was our biggest mistake. You can list up to 10 schools, so make sure all the places your daughter applied are included. If you need to add more than 10, you can go back later and swap some out. Also, double-check if they need the CSS Profile!! Not all schools require it but if they do and you miss it, you might lose out on institutional aid. The CSS Profile costs money to submit though unlike FAFSA which is free.