CSS ***f????

<p>okay so
first of all, let me say how much i hate the collegeboard.
i hate the collegeboard. a lot.
okay now:
what in the devil is CSS???? if i filled out a FAFSA, do i have to send the CSS in as well? It seems to me its just like a FAFSA that costs $16 per college ( i applied to eight schools or so--that's at least $128 FML, added on to the SAT, SAT IIs, ACTs, APs, score reports, college app fees, etc. etc.)</p>

<p>is the CSS just something that is meant for special circumstances? or just to squeeze a little bit more money from college applicants? my colleges say that the CSS deadline is ___, but they don't tell me if i need it for certain things or whatever</p>

<p>AAAAAGHHHH PLEASE HELP! i found out about the CSS like a week ago...now i've missed two deadlines (although my FAFSA was completed on time)
is that okay? i feel like i'll get a faster response on here than if i emailed colleges
thanks so much!!</p>

<p>CSS is an additional requirement for some private schools. It is in addition to FAFSA. Missing the school’s CSS deadline in NOT a good thing. You need to fill out the CSS immediately and call the schools that had deadlines you missed. The CSS asks for a lot of detailed info that FAFSA does not. </p>

<p>Don’t e-mail - call.</p>

<p>CSS is used by only about 300 schools in the country. They are usually expensive schools that give their own institutional aid in addition to federal aid. They generally use FAFSA to determine federal aid eligibility and CSS to determine institutional aid. If you want institutional aid from schools that require CSS then you have to complete it to be considered. Your schools websites will tell you the forms required for their financial aid. (you can only submit CSS to schools that require it).</p>

<p>ohhhh i see. thanks!</p>

<p>IT is a brutal form. Get out parent’s tax forms from last year and do your best . . .quickly if any of your schools require it. </p>

<p>Sorry!</p>

<p>noooo are you serious?? they were due the 1st of february, and i submitted them yesterday (the second). would they really make it a big deal if i missed the deadline by one day??</p>

<p>I can only guess. But I’ll just bet you’ll be fine. Because they’ll be downloading them constantly. They will show when you did it, but…they’re coming in gigantic batches and you’ll undoubtedly be lost inside that number. Guessing.</p>

<p>OP, one thing you will need to get used to in college - deadlines are deadlines. Pass in an assignment late and it either be instantly penalized or not accepted. One minute, one day, one week does not matter.</p>

<p>^ This just isn’t true. College students beg deadline extensions off professors all the time.</p>

<p>You know, I’ve always wondered. We (college applicants) find out deadlines for PROFILE, for our college apps, for everything on our own, right? I even missed one deadline, and I had to e-mail a school to ask for an extension because their information about when and what to send in (school-specific forms) were so far hidden on their website that only by chance did I find out about it (after the fact, that is).</p>

<p>I consider myself responsible and diligent (well, relatively). I’m an international and my parents had no clue about the US app process and finaid process so I did it all on my own. Collecting financial information, tax forms, etc. was not easy. I’m not complaining, I kind of liked the independence (and I did have some help from them in the FA department, as in, I asked for stuff and they gave), but I’ve always wondered how someone who was not as wary of deadlines as I am would fare (I don’t mean the OP). Sorry if I came off arrogant, maybe I’m overestimating myself.</p>

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<p>I asked my two kids about this statement. One has finished grad school, the other a senior in undergrad. They both said…sure…deadline extensions are granted in college BUT they are ONLY granted for good reason. They gave some examples…student was in hospital for a few days, student needed to attend a family funeral and missed classes, student had interviews for grad school and needed to miss a couple of days. In all cases, some documentation needed to be provided to the professors to verify the reason for missing classes. They both said no professor at their schools would give an extension because someone “just missed the deadline”. In that case, the student certainly could turn the work in late but with a grade penalty. </p>

<p>Now back to the topic. </p>

<p>If you’ve submitted the Profile and you have a concern, call each of your colleges. Let them know that you have submitted the form and when. Each school will be able to tell you if this is an issue. </p>

<p>I’ve been posting on this site for quite some time. EVERY YEAR I start a thread called “DEADLINES…DON’T MISS THEM”. In my opinion, each college applicant should be looking at both admissions and financial aid deadlines right from the point where they make a decision to apply to the college. It’s better to submit things a bit early, than a bit late.</p>