FAFSA free lunch question - marked 'yes' for school-wide program but kids wouldn't qualify individually

You should definitely change your answer to 'no' if your family wouldn't qualify for free meals based on income alone. The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) that provides free meals to all students regardless of income is not meant to be counted when answering this question on FAFSA. The question is specifically trying to identify families who meet the income requirements for free/reduced lunch, which is used as a potential qualifier for certain types of aid like the Pell Grant. Since your family income wouldn't qualify outside the district-wide program, marking 'yes' could potentially be seen as inaccurate.

my kids school does the same thing!! i DIDNT mark yes cause we make too much $ to qualify normally. the lunch lady at orientation told all parents that the universal free lunch thing doesnt count for fafsa purposes

Actually, I just experienced this exact issue and called the financial aid office at my son's college. They said the FAFSA question is trying to determine if you would be ELIGIBLE for free lunch based on income guidelines - not whether you actually receive it through a school-wide program. So since your income wouldn't qualify you outside of the universal program, the correct answer is 'no'. I spent 2 hours on hold trying to get through to the FSA helpline before giving up and calling the college instead! Their financial aid advisors were much more helpful.

There's something called the SAI (Student Aid Index) that replaced the old EFC. This free lunch question is one of the factors they use when calculating your SAI, which determines eligibility for need-based aid. If you incorrectly mark that your family receives means-tested benefits like free lunch, it could artificially lower your SAI and make it look like you have more financial need than you actually do. While this might seem beneficial in the short term, it could potentially raise flags during verification if your SAI doesn't match what would be expected for your income level. Always better to be accurate on the FAFSA to avoid potential issues or delays later.

I got selected for verification last year and let me tell u its a NIGHTMARE!!!1! They made me submit like 10 different documents and it delayed my daughters aid by almost 2 months!!! Be super careful with all your answers on FAFSA especially anything about benefits or special programs.

Update: I went back and changed my answer to 'no' on the free lunch question. It was actually pretty easy to fix - I just had to log back in, go to 'Make FAFSA Corrections' and update that question. The system let me edit it without having to redo the entire application. Thanks everyone for your help! I feel much better knowing I've got accurate information submitted now.

Great question and I'm glad you got it sorted out! This is actually a really common confusion point. I work in financial aid at a community college and we see this mixup all the time with families whose schools participate in the Community Eligibility Provision. Just to reinforce what others have said - the FAFSA question is specifically asking about income-based eligibility for free/reduced meals, not whether your child actually receives them through a universal program. The Department of Education uses this as an indicator of financial need, so it's important to answer based on whether your family income would qualify you under normal circumstances. You definitely made the right call changing it to 'no' - it keeps your application accurate and avoids any potential issues down the road. Good luck with your daughter's financial aid process!

This is such a helpful thread! I'm in a similar situation with my son's school being part of a universal free lunch program. I was about to mark 'yes' on his FAFSA but after reading everyone's responses, I realize that would be incorrect since we wouldn't qualify based on income alone. It's confusing because technically he does receive free lunch, but I understand now that the question is really asking about income eligibility. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - it's so valuable to hear from people who've been through this process and even from someone who works in financial aid. Definitely saving me from making the same mistake!

As someone who just went through this exact same situation last month, I want to echo what everyone else has said - you absolutely made the right choice changing your answer to 'no'. I actually called three different schools my daughter applied to and they all confirmed the same thing: the FAFSA question is about income-based eligibility, not whether your child participates in a universal program. What really helped me understand it was thinking about it this way - if the school district stopped their Community Eligibility Program tomorrow, would your family qualify for free lunch based on income? If the answer is no (like it sounds like it is for your $85k family income), then 'no' is the correct FAFSA answer. One thing I learned is that marking 'yes' incorrectly could potentially trigger verification, and from what I've heard from other parents, that process can really delay your aid. You definitely don't want that stress during your daughter's first year of college! Great job asking for help and getting it sorted out early.