No, it’s not essential to fill out a FAFSA. If you want to pay for all of your educational expenses out of your own pocket, that’s absolutely fine with nearly all of the 4,000+ schools that accept the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form. However, very few students or their parents have the kind of money that is needed to fund tuition expenses out-of-pocket. For this reason and others, it just makes sense to fill out the FAFSA even if you intend to pay cash for college.
The FAFSA seeks to determine a student’s eligibility for certain types of federal student aid. This can include subsidized or unsubsidized loans, work study programs, scholarships, grants, and more. However, some schools also have internal aid programs unrelated to those offered by the USDE. In most cases, the school will still require you to fill out the FAFSA, as the school will use the same information to make determinations and awards for internally administered programs.
Regardless of whether the educational funding program is managed by the federal government or the school itself, students who will be paying cash should probably still fill out the FAFSA anyway. It allows schools and universities to compile accurate and relevant records on you, which helps to keep student databases, college services, and aid offerings in line with your particular needs. Additionally, the FAFSA may indicate that, despite your assets, you might still qualify for aid.
So the real question should be this: why wouldn’t you want to fill out a FAFSA just to find out? Even if you have cash or assets, would you really turn down a grant or scholarship- free forms of money for college? I didn’t think so. Besides, the FAFSA is quick and easy to fill out, and the same form can be sent to schools all over the country. And being that most schools will ask you to fill one out for record keeping purposes, you might as well just get a FAFSA and get it done. You never know, you might be pleasantly surprised by what is offered on the FAFSA!
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