Will FAFSA results affect additional college grants after merit scholarship?

YES! Absolutely complete the FAFSA even with a merit scholarship! Merit and need-based aid come from different funding sources. The $14,500 merit award is based solely on her academic achievements, while need-based aid (which is what FAFSA determines eligibility for) is completely separate. With your household income and multiple children approaching college age, you could qualify for significant additional aid including Pell Grants, subsidized loans, and institutional need-based grants. Many colleges have both merit scholarships AND need-based grants they can award. Once they calculate your Student Aid Index (SAI) from the FAFSA, they may offer an additional aid package on top of the merit money. I've seen students get merit scholarships plus several thousand in need-based grants after FAFSA results came in. Don't leave money on the table!

my daughter got a 12k merrit scholership last yr but after fafsa she got another 5k in pell grants plus 3k in state grants!! def worth doing even with all the probelms this year

I work in financial aid at a state university, and I can confirm what others have said. Merit and need-based aid are drawn from different pools, and receiving one doesn't disqualify you from the other. With your income and multiple future college students, you'll likely qualify for need-based aid. However, some schools have policies where they won't exceed the total cost of attendance with combined aid. So if your daughter's merit scholarship is already large, the additional need-based aid might be limited by that cap. Every institution handles this differently. The FAFSA delays this year have been frustrating for everyone, but schools are being more flexible with deadlines. I'd recommend contacting your daughter's specific college financial aid office directly to ask about their priority deadlines, as you don't want to miss out on institutional aid which is often first-come, first-served once they start processing FAFSA results.

Just to add to what others have said - with a household income of $78K and three potential college students, you absolutely should file the FAFSA! Your daughter could qualify for up to $7,395 in Pell Grants alone for the 2025-2026 academic year, and that's FREE money that doesn't need to be repaid. Also, some schools require a completed FAFSA to renew merit scholarships in subsequent years or to be considered for certain departmental scholarships that open up later. Not completing it could actually jeopardize future funding opportunities. Don't let the current FAFSA problems discourage you. If you're having trouble getting through on the Federal Student Aid phone lines, I've had good luck using Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to a real person without the hours-long wait. They have a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ. Saved me hours of frustration when I needed to resolve a verification issue.

Am I the only one who thinks this whole system is RIDICULOUS??? Merit scholarships, need-based grants, loans, work study... it's deliberately complicated to confuse families! My son got a big merit scholarship too and then got basically nothing from FAFSA despite me being a single parent. Meanwhile his roommate whose parents make way more got additional grants. Make it make sense!!! 🤬

I was literally in your exact position last year with my son. He got a partial merit scholarship, and I almost didn't bother with FAFSA thinking it wouldn't matter. SO GLAD I did it anyway! After his SAI (Student Aid Index) came back, the university added a $3,800 need-based grant and he qualified for subsidized loans instead of just unsubsidized. Definitely push through the FAFSA hassle - it's worth it. Just make sure to list EVERY school she's considering on the FAFSA, even if she's pretty sure where she's going. Different schools have different institutional funds they can offer.

This FAFSA rollout has been the WORST. I've been trying to submit since January and kept getting error codes. Finally got through last week but now I'm worried we missed priority deadlines at some schools. Anyone know if colleges are extending their deadlines because of all these FAFSA problems?

Update: I finally submitted our FAFSA yesterday after getting my husband's W-2! The website was actually working for once. I also called my daughter's college financial aid office like some of you suggested, and they said their priority deadline for institutional aid has been extended to April 1st because of all the FAFSA delays. They also confirmed that she could potentially get additional need-based grants on top of her merit scholarship, depending on our SAI score. Keeping my fingers crossed! Thanks everyone for pushing me to complete it despite the hassle.

Congratulations on getting your FAFSA submitted! 🎉 As someone who went through this process with my older son two years ago, I can tell you that you made the right choice pushing through all the technical difficulties. The combination of merit + need-based aid can really make a difference in your overall costs. One tip I wish someone had told me: if your daughter ends up getting additional need-based aid, make sure to understand how it affects her merit scholarship renewal requirements. Some schools calculate GPA requirements differently when students have multiple aid sources, so it's worth asking about that now rather than being surprised later. Also, since you mentioned having two more kids heading to college soon, keep detailed records of this whole process. Having multiple kids in college at the same time actually helps with FAFSA calculations (lower Expected Family Contribution per student), so you'll likely see even better aid packages when you have multiple enrolled simultaneously. Best of luck with the aid package results!