As college application season is fully underway, it is important to learn about the primary financial aid applications and types of aid your student could receive. The two most common applications used by colleges across the US are the FAFSA and CSS PROFILE, and they need to be filed prior to each year the student plans on attending college.
The FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is the standard form used by all schools to determine the amount of federal aid a student will receive. The application opens online on October 1 each year and closes the following June 30. The FAFSA calculates the EFC (Expected Family Contribution), what the government considers a reasonable amount the family should be able to contribute to the student's educational costs whether or not a parent wants to contribute to their child's education. For the 2020-21 school year, you will file using prior-prior (2018) tax information.
The CSS Profile (College Scholarship Search Profile) is used by many colleges, primarily private, to determine eligibility for non-federal funding aka institutional aid. It is filed through the College Board online. This application also opens October 1 and will use prior and prior-prior tax year information. So if you are applying for 2020-21, you will use 2018 and 2019 information.
It is important to know that the earlier you file the CSS Profile and FAFSA, the more funding you may receive as some grants are given on a first come, first serve basis. Also, each state and college has their own deadline for when you need to file, and these often fall around the time the college applications are due. Start early and aim to have your financial aid applications complete two weeks before your student's first admission application deadline. There is no harm in submitting the forms before the actual admission applications are completed. If you are about to make a large purchase or make any significant payments, you should make them before updating your bank balance information. Other than that, do not delay completing your financial aid applications.
While the FAFSA is primarily used to determine federal funding, some schools also use it to determine the distribution of their own institutional aid if they do not require the CSS Profile. Therefore, it is often recommended that all students fill out the FAFSA and do it early, whether or not they think they will be eligible for federal aid. Visit the colleges' financial aid websites to find out whether or not you need to file the CSS Profile in addition to the FAFSA.
The CSS Profile digs a little deeper into your family's financials than the FAFSA. Some key differences are that it includes home equity of primary dwelling, family farms, value of small businesses, and for some schools, the non-custodial and/or stepparent income and cash value of life insurance policies. Before you begin, it is helpful to gather the materials you will need to complete the applications:
An FSA ID to sign the FAFSA electronically (you can apply for this special username and password online via fsaid.ed.gov or other U.S. Department of Education websites and the student and the custodial parent will need separate IDs)
A College Board account to complete a CSS Profile – the student and custodial parent will share the login, if a non-custodial parent needs to fill out a separate application, you will receive notification after adding your schools to the list
Social Security Numbers
Federal Income Tax Returns, W-2s, and other records of income earned (Note: You may be able to use the FAFSA's IRS Data Retrieval Tool which transfers the data directly from your completed tax returns to your application)
Bank statements and records of investments
Mortgage statement
Records of untaxed income such as child support or interest income
List of schools student is applying to
Ensure that the information you have entered is accurate and complete to prevent any delays in the processing of your application. Make sure you have added any schools to which you are applying to the FAFSA and CSS Profile applications so that they receive the information. Filing the FAFSA is free, but the CSS Profile costs $25 for the application and first school and $16 for any additional. If you need to add colleges to either application later, you can always log back in and do that.
If your family's financial situation has changed for the current year and the tax information you must use for the application does not properly reflect it, it is important that you contact each of the colleges and inform them of your current situation. Examples may include hurricane loss, death in the family, loss of job or illness. For any questions regarding each college's financial aid policy and types of aid awarded, take a look at their website and feel free to reach out to their office.