<p>Hi,</p>
<p>I'm currently a rising senior and I'm researching my prospective colleges as well as getting used to the application requirements/forms. </p>
<p>My question is: do we submit financial aid forms with our application? Some colleges don't mention it at all (Cornell? or maybe I'm just looking in the wrong place) while other colleges don't ask for them until after you get accepted? (UMD College Park, but again, maybe I'm mistaken).</p>
<p>Could someone clear up this confusion for me? Thanks!</p>
<p>The two main financial aid forms are the FAFSA and CSS profile. The FAFSA is most common and the CSS profile is used mostly to supplement the FAFSA and I think mostly private colleges require the CSS. You will fill those out online on their appropriate website. I didn’t apply for financial aid so I don’t know what those websites are off the top of my head, but I’m sure a simple google search will find it. So you submit them separately from the Common App to the colleges you are applying to and you usually have to pay per college you sent it to. Submit it as soon as possible after you apply because the majority of colleges will send you a financial aid package with (or very soon after) your acceptance letter.</p>
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<p>No, you do not. You should submit the financial aid forms separately as soon as your parents finish filing the tax returns (even some cases, even before they do). For more information on FAFSA and the CSS Profile, check out their websites:</p>
<p>[FAFSA</a> - Free Application for Federal Student Aid](<a href=“http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/]FAFSA”>http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/)
<a href=“https://profileonline.collegeboard.com/prf/index.jsp[/url]”>https://profileonline.collegeboard.com/prf/index.jsp</a></p>
<p>General information on how to apply for aid, provided by collegeboard:</p>
<p><a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools;
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<p>An overview of the financial aid process at Cornell:</p>
<p><a href=“https://www.finaid.cornell.edu/studentinfo/prospective.cfm[/url]”>https://www.finaid.cornell.edu/studentinfo/prospective.cfm</a></p>
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<p>I think so. But I would think that most want you financial aid information by around February. You have to check each school specifically, since they tend to have different policies. Also, be aware that if you apply through early action or early decision at a certain school, you probably have to follow a different time line from the regular action applicants, with the forms due much earlier.</p>
<p>For more specific questions you can also check out the collegeconfidential financial aid forum, where people tend to be more knowledgeable about the financial aid process.</p>
<p>[Financial</a> Aid & Scholarships - College Confidential](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/]Financial”>Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums)</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>