<p>I'm at a loss for how the whole system works. We have to make a decision next week!</p>
<p>Did you file a FAFSA using estimates and a will file status? Did you update with exact 2013 tax info and change to taxes filed?</p>
<p>We did the FAFSA early w estimates, did the CSS Profile early, filed taxes early, sent updated CSS Profile, used the FAFSA update tool, sent requested copy of TAX return. no other communications or requests from the school. My wife did send an email requesting a 2nd look to see if they could provide more aid, but was told son was receiving their MAX. I asked a couple weeks ago when we would get an updated official final offer and they said last Wednesday. Well we didn’t get anything new. I emailed twice and my wife is supposed to call today. She was supposed to call yesterday, actually but didn’t. Even though she’s on vacation week here in MASS (she’s an Elem Art Teacher) she’s been taking our #2 for college visits. Our estimated income was much higher than actual due to confusion about filing a portion of our income. Turns out our CPA and the CPA from the LLC I was temporarily part of last couple of years had a different way to report the income, and so it was reported much lower in the final TAX return. It’s all very confusing to me, but should be 100% legal and legit. I also prepaid taxes I shouldn’t have and so we got that back as refunds. This was all in the return and updated CSS profile.</p>
<p>How was your EFC changed before and after DRT? That may reflect the potential changes in the final package. Most of my D’s FA packages are still saying estimated but we have made decision already. They school still wants the support document even we have done the DRT more than 2 months ago.</p>
<p>I don’t have an answer to that. I don’t remember the EFC’s and I think that’s because they are pretty much irrelevant, right? We can’t make a commitment to a school if they don’t make a commitment to us. wife says she called this am and told her: “this friday the final will come out… this shouldn’t change if our css and fasfa was the same as our taxes” Of course they should be the same. Also our income was lower in the 2nd version of everything so there “shouldn’t” be any reduction in aid … good grief when will this process be over?</p>
<p>You should have received e-mail confirmation from FAFSA each time you submit or update the application. You should see the EFC there. Although the EFC may be not directly related to your FA (particularly for a profile school or school do not meet need anyway), the difference in EFC may give you some idea how would the update affect your aid. If you need to amend your tax return, the figure may be changed, but it may take a while to find out. Even if they give you a “final” package, it will be depending on your current tax return in the system.</p>
<p>Interesting, thank you and yes it is a “profile school” that does not “meet need”. I will ask my wife if she can find the 2 emails, from when we first completed the FAFSA and when we updated it, to see if and how the EFC changed. Although, since our income went down, with the update, I doubt it would affect the aid at all, even if the EFC wandered up …</p>
<p>If this is a Profile school, your FAFSA EFC really has no relevance to your aid award unless you are vey low income and are eligible for a Pell Grant. You really are hoping for institutional need based money…and the Profile info will be used to determine that.</p>
<p>We got a nice offer, just need the final official offer. School says we’ll get it Friday. Hope so!</p>
<p>I just created a similar thread, not having seen this one first.</p>
<p>Our situation is similar, but not exact (and unfortunately, extends to 5-6 schools).</p>
<p>We are still awaiting final offers from 5, having submitted supplemental info after submitting FAFSA the first week in January.</p>
<p>We have received 1-2 in the interim…but they were processed before the last information was corrected in FAFSA (1099 - R and correction to the fact my D had no pension income…don’t know how I messed THAT up). Anyway, we are in a holding pattern…</p>
<p>Wanted to say thank you for reminding me to go look at the newest SAR report to see if the EFC had changed…something I hadn’t considered, so I went to look and it had not (but I think it could have, so glad I checked).</p>
<p>Hope you get a great final offer Friday! :-)</p>
<p>Some schools use both CSS profile and FAFSA info to determine the FA package. For instance, UMich will use the FAFSA data to verify the CSS profile data (not IDOC required). They use the profile for private source merit aids with need component and FAFSA for state/federal need based aids.</p>
<p>Thanks for that, billcsho. I didn’t realize UMich used only the FAFSA for the state/federal need based aid. What about the UMich institutional grants though? Are those based on the Profile or the FAFSA? </p>
<p>it didn’t come Friday so I scrambled the forces to check in to be sure and wife to call. they told her Monday …</p>
<p>@2016BarnardMom
It said explicitly on the website that the CSS profile is for the institutional grants (that are from private donations).
<a href=“http://www.finaid.umich.edu/TopNav/Forms.aspx”>http://www.finaid.umich.edu/TopNav/Forms.aspx</a></p>
<p>posted status elsewhere so I won’t go into it too deeply here. the estimate has been finalized with no changes. could they have waited any longer … yeesh</p>