Hi all.
We qualify for a 1040a, meaning we don’t report assets on the FAFSA. We have a bit of money in a savings account. Would this also not be reported on the CSS?
Everything gets reported on CSS…everything. No exclusions based on income, tax forms, etc.
All your savings and assets gets reported. FAFSA rules do not apply to CSS
@mom2collegekids Alright, thanks!
Just a question, how do I actually make sure I have a way to verify bank savings? They’re not mentioned on any financial info. Would my parents literally just go to the bank and ask for a note saying that they have $X in their account?
I really want to make sure that I have documentation for everything lol.
Banks either send statements in the mail or people access their info online. Ask your parents what do they do…get mailed statements or get info online
I take a screen shot of my bank accounts (login into my account online to do that) I entered on the CSS Profile the day I filed it.
When you say you have “a bit of money saved” what do you exactly mean? $10,000 or $1,000,000?
Talk to you parents, I guarantee they know where to find their account balances. Banks and other financial institutions provide statements, and they would either be mailed or available online. For CSS you’re going to need a complete financial “snapshot” which will include more than just what shows up on your taxes. It will also include non-taxable income, and investments that are not counted in the FAFSA formula. It is not something you will be able to complete on your own, and have your parents sign, they are going to have to do much of the work. Most HS students are less familiar with their family’s financial situation than they believe, for a variety of reasons.
Just understand that for CSS Profile schools, the FAFSA EFC is only used to see if you qualify for federal and maybe state aid. It is meaningless for the purpose of deterring institutional aid. It is possible to have a FAFSA EFC of $0 and end up being full pay.
I’m not sure how that would work. A FAFSA EFC of $0 would mean entitlement to the maximum Pell grant. The application of a Pell grant to expenses billed by the college would mean that the student is not paying the full cost.
You are right. What I meant (but didn’t properly write) is that it is possible to get zero institutional FA with an EFC of zero. Too often we see posts where people think an EFC of zero means they will get aid but only get federal aid.
MODERATOR’S NOTE:
Closing thread. The OP created an additional screen name to ask this question in violation of ToS.