Should we indicate loans on FAFSA for community college if we'll need them later for university transfer?

You don't need to worry about this! When your daughter fills out the FAFSA, she'll list the schools she's considering attending, and each school will create their own aid package based on your family's financial information. You don't actually accept or reject loans directly on the FAFSA form - you're just applying to determine eligibility. When she's ready to transfer, she'll update her FAFSA for that academic year with her new school code, and that university will create a new financial aid package potentially including loans. Your choices now won't impact her future eligibility. Just make sure she fills out a new FAFSA each academic year and updates her school codes when transferring. This is actually a smart financial strategy - community college first can save thousands!

i did the EXACT same thing with my son last yr... went to community college first & now hes at state university. we didnt take loans for CC but now has loans for the university. it works fine!! just do new FASFA each year with whatever schools shes applying to

One important thing to understand is that the FAFSA doesn't have you directly select whether you "want" loans or not. When you complete the FAFSA, you're simply establishing eligibility for federal financial aid. The actual acceptance of specific aid types happens after you receive your financial aid package from each school. The smart approach is to have your daughter include ANY school she might possibly attend on her FAFSA (you can list up to 10 schools). This allows all those institutions to receive her FAFSA data. When she transfers later, she'll simply update her FAFSA for that academic year and add the university. Your current financial situation determines your aid eligibility, not whether you've used or declined aid in the past. Each year stands alone with a fresh calculation based on that year's FAFSA data.

My daughter did 2 yrs at CC then transferred to university. We filed FAFSA every yr. Each school decides what aid 2 give u based on FAFSA. The university gave her tons more aid than CC did cause it was more expensive!! just update FAFSA each October with whatever school she's going 2

I've been dealing with this exact situation and can tell you from experience: the FAFSA system is frustrating! I tried calling Federal Student Aid for weeks to get clarity on the transfer process and kept hitting busy signals or disconnections. Finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to an actual FAFSA agent in about 10 minutes. They confirmed that you should file a FAFSA every year, and your loan eligibility resets with each new application. They explained the whole transfer process clearly. You can check out how it works in their video demo: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ Saved me hours of frustration and got my daughter's transfer situation sorted quickly.

This is why college is such a SCAM. They make the whole system confusing ON PURPOSE so they can deny you aid later. My nephew did community college first and when he transferred they said he used up too many semesters of aid eligibility and couldn't get as many subsidized loans. The whole system is designed to trap you!!

Omg I literally just helped my son with this EXACT situation!! What you need to do is make sure when filling out FAFSA that you check "yes" under the section asking about interest in federal student loans. Don't worry, this doesn't commit you to anything! It just keeps the option open. Then each year, you'll get a new financial aid package from whatever school she's attending, and she can pick and choose what aid to accept. Also, many community colleges don't award federal loans even if students are eligible - they focus on grants instead. So you might get a financial aid letter from the CC with no loans listed, but that doesn't mean she's not eligible later when she transfers. This strategy saved us soooo much money! My son graduated with half the debt he would've had going straight to university.

just make sure she keeps her grades up at CC!!! my neighbors kid had bad grades when transfering and didn't qualify for some scholarship money at the university. the GPA follows u!!!!

One additional tip - make sure your daughter talks to academic advisors at BOTH the community college AND her target university during her first semester. Many universities have specific transfer agreements with community colleges that guarantee admission if certain requirements are met. They can also provide a transfer course equivalency guide to ensure the classes she takes at community college will count toward her business degree requirements. This early planning can save time and money by preventing her from taking classes that won't transfer or won't count toward her major. Some universities even have scholarships specifically for transfer students with good GPAs from partner community colleges.