<p>In the CSS portion of Student's Expected Resources, it asks:</p>
<p>"Enter the amount your parents think they will be able to pay for your 2011-12 college expenses."</p>
<p>What do most people put here -- what their parents are willing to pay or what their EFC says which, in my case, are extremely different amounts. And is the answer even factored in how much financial aid the student will get?</p>
<p>I don’t know why they put this here. I don’t think it really means anything but I put down 1/2 my EFC just in case. :)</p>
<p>The instructions say that it is how much your parents can pay without having to borrow or access assets somehow. I think I’m going to put the EFC minus the part that is from my home equity.</p>
<p>I wish someone would say what that is really used for (and if it actually does get used).</p>
<p>For instance…If a person puts less than their EFC, will a need-aware school reject that student because he’s saying that he won’t be able to pay his share?</p>
<p>I wish the same thing, mom2. I have held off on submitting the CSS because I don’t know what amount to put on here. Even our accountant suggested we low-ball it but I’m not sure I should take his advice since his kids never applied for financial aid.</p>
<p>I’m sorry, I’m just learning about this CSS Profile.
If you don’t mind me asking, when do most people normally turn theirs in? I thought this was just released like Oct. 15th, and yet schools like UPenn require these to be submitted (for ED) by Nov. 1st. So I was just wondering if anyone could help me. That, and on the website for the CSS Profile it says you need your 2010 income tax returns,
so when I went on the Profile it just looked like a theoretical financial aid calculator- I didn’t think it really meant much, especially if the members of this thread are talking about just estimating/guessing how much they can contribute…talking to an accountant about it?
Is EFC estimated financial contribution btw?
I’m sorry, I’m just so lost, I’m having a hard time finding info on this form.
THANK YOU!</p>
<p>zinthafon - the school computes EFC - expected family contribution- based on the numbers on the form. The question where, under student assets, it asks how much we can afford to pay, is meant to be an estimate of the parents contribution from income.<br>
You should probably call the school’s financial aid office, since you are late filling out this form.
2010 is meant to be an estimate based on what you have received and paid, plus what you expect to receive and pay for the rest of the year. I created a spreadsheet for this, so that my estimates would be fairly close. And 2011 is anybody’s guess, so just take 2010 numbers and adjust accordingly.</p>
<p>To Zintha:</p>
<p>Many colleges want the CSS Profile completed with estimated information for 2010 and submitted in November or December or early January. Others want it submitted Feb. 1 or Feb. 15th or other dates, usually with the Fafsa forms. Your own state may have additional forms that relate to the fafsa for state-funded aid.</p>
<p>Then, most colleges want you to update the profile in Feb. based upon more detailed numbers. Some colleges want you to submit W2s and tax forms at that time, while others only require the tax forms and W2 if you are selected for a financial aid audit.</p>
<p>Everyone should carefully keep track of these deadlines for each college. These are typically “priority” deadlines - meaning that you are likely to receive the most financial aid if the forms are in on time, and if not, you get whatever might be left after commitments to other students.</p>