FAFSA school selection dilemma - daughter might transfer mid-year

Yes, there's a specific section where you list the schools that should receive your FAFSA info. You can actually list up to 10 schools at once on the FAFSA! So I'd recommend listing her current school first, then add all the potential transfer schools she's considering. The schools will only see that they're on the list, not the other schools you've added or the order. You can always update the school list later through the studentaid.gov website if she decides on a different school that wasn't on your original list. Just log in, go to the FAFSA form, and use the "Make FAFSA Corrections" option to update the school codes.

put ALL the school she is thinkin about!!!! i had same situation w/ my son last yr, he wasnt sure if stayin at community college or transfer to state university. we put both + 2 more he was thinkin bout. they dont care if she hasnt applied yet, they just need the codes to send info if she does end up applyin.

To address your question specifically - yes, there is a section on the FAFSA where you list schools that should receive your daughter's financial aid information. This is found in the "School Selection" section of the FAFSA form. Some key points about school selection: 1) You can list up to 10 schools at once on the FAFSA form 2) Schools CANNOT see which other institutions you've added or your preference order 3) If you need to add more than 10 schools, you can add the first 10, then later go back and edit your FAFSA to replace some with additional schools 4) You should include both her current school AND any potential transfer schools she's seriously considering 5) You don't need to have applied to these schools yet to list them To add schools, you'll need each institution's Federal School Code (a 6-character code that starts with a G, B, E, or 0). You can search for these codes directly within the FAFSA application or look them up on studentaid.gov. If your daughter decides on a transfer school after submitting, you can easily update her FAFSA with the new school code.

UGH the school selection part was a NIGHTMARE for us last year!! My son couldn't decide between 3 schools and we ended up picking the wrong one as his first choice 🤦‍♀️ Then we had to figure out how to change it. And OF COURSE the FSA ID site was down when we tried to log back in to fix it!!!!! I spent HOURS trying to get through to a real person at Federal Student Aid. For some reason every time I called it would just disconnect me after 40+ minutes on hold. IF your daughter does decide to transfer after you submit, be prepared for massive headaches trying to get a human to help you update everything correctly.

The school selection part is definitely on there! Just finished my kid's FAFSA last week. You can put up to 10 schools and honestly thats what I would do. List her current one and then all the ones shes considering transferring to. Btw does she have a list of potential transfer schools narrowed down yet? My daughter transferred after freshman year too and the WHOLE process was so much more complicated than we expected!

Quick tip I learned from my daughter's transfer: When you're listing schools, make sure you have the correct school codes handy. Some universities have multiple codes for different campuses, and selecting the wrong one could delay her aid package. Also, just because you list a school on FAFSA doesn't mean you're committed to applying there. It just sends your financial information to them if you do apply. Having all potential schools on the list from the beginning saves a lot of hassle later. I had a nightmare experience trying to reach someone at FSA when we needed to add a school last-minute last year. After getting disconnected repeatedly, I found Claimyr.com which connected me to an agent within minutes instead of hours. There's a video showing how it works at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ. Saved us from missing a critical financial aid deadline when my daughter added a school to her list after already submitting the FAFSA.

As others have mentioned, definitely list all potential schools. A few additional tips to consider: 1) If your daughter is considering private colleges, remember they might require the CSS Profile in addition to FAFSA. That has different deadlines and requirements. 2) Different schools have different priority deadlines for FAFSA submission. If possible, try to submit before the earliest priority deadline among all her potential schools to maximize aid eligibility. 3) Keep track of her SAI (Student Aid Index) number once her FAFSA is processed. This is the new replacement for EFC and will help you understand approximately what she might qualify for at different schools. 4) If she does transfer, she'll need to contact both financial aid offices to coordinate the transfer of aid eligibility, particularly for loans and grants that have annual limits.

i think you're overthinking this lol. just put her current school for now then update it later if she decides to transfer. that's what we did with my son. the whole updating schools thing takes like 2 minutes online. way easier than trying to predict where she might go.

The whole FAFSA system is RIDICULOUS! Why should we have to guess where our kids are going??? My daughter changed her mind THREE TIMES last year about where she wanted to transfer. And each time we had to update the stupid FAFSA AND contact both financial aid offices AND resubmit verification documents! The entire process is designed to make you want to GIVE UP on getting any aid at all!!!