They ask about the child’s race, not the parent’s . My daughter is adopted, and my race was irrelevant to her application.

You sound confused.

OP again, thank you for the information.

Some colleges require FASFA to be considered for merit aid. Check with your sons schools.

This really takes the cake. Your kid can answer the race question if they want to. You seem to think an Asian step mom magically makes someone Asian since you assume AOs will. That’s really strange.

And now, imagine what Asian families have to go through...

Anonymous wrote:There is no place on the FAFSA for race.

The common app has no place for parent race.

It's a chinese name, very obviously.

There is no place on the FAFSA for race.

The common app has no place for parent race.

PP. not sure if the admission officers have access to FAFSA details or just the summary. The other application that many colleges use for financial aid is CSS, which is more extensive, and there they see the details.

Anonymous wrote:Why would he "have to" list his stepmom in the mother category? That's not how remarriage works.

Read the FAFSA instructions bro. That is exactly what it says

You don’t have to fill out the FASFA.

Why would he "have to" list his stepmom in the mother category? That's not how remarriage works.

Anonymous wrote:He is not her son. Her race is irrelevant.

OP here. Is there an item on the FAFSA that clearly states if a parent is a stepparent?

If I remember correctly, there is a place for both parents and stepparents on the Common application itself, so it will be clear who is who to your kid. The one that will have your wife only is FAFSA which looks like you won’t be filling out.

He is not her son. Her race is irrelevant.

Need some advice from people who know how admissions officers make decisions and what information they have access to. My son is white, however I have remarried and my wife is asian. It seems to me that if he fills out the FAFSA, he will have to list her in the mother category. I'm trying to avoid the school thinking he is half asian because the last thing I need is a 200 point SAT score penalty put on him. So, if we don't need any financial aid (the unsubsidized loan amount is paltry and we should be able to afford the full tuition), can we just *not* do the FAFSA at all? Is there any other point at which they will try to extract information about his parents in the application, and if so, what are the potential downsides of just leaving all parent information blank? Also, am I correct in thinking that admissions officers WILL have access to the FAFSA? Thanks in advance