Hi, so my mom was previously unmarried and single up until a week ago. She filed the FAFSA before she was married as “single”, but is just now currently working on the CSS. I think she should put down “single” just because it might look bad to finaid if her FAFSA says she is “single” but her profile says she is “married”. Similarly, all of her taxes say she is single. Won’t these discrepancies between the two docs not make any sense? Is the CSS like the Fafsa regarding filing date? Any responses would be helpful.
Well, the discrepancy is very easily explained: between the time of filing the FAFSA and filing Profile, your mother got married. She should answer every question honestly, based on situation at the time of filing.
Yes, but this would mean that she would be putting my new stepparent’s info on the profile but not the FAFSA? Won’t that be weird for legal reasons?
Why would it be “weird for legal reasons”? What does that mean?
No, it won’t be weird. You can explain this in the section of the Profile at the very bottom. However, now that she is married, colleges will generally consider your step-father’s income and assets when evaluating your need for financial aid. If you’re applying to some colleges that only use FAFSA, then for this one year only they will just look at your mom’s income/assets, but in future years they will consider both. Some colleges that use Profile might consider how recent the marriage is, but I wouldn’t bet on it.
@middkid86 Wouldn’t it be weird for later verification purposes? Her 2014 taxes and current taxes will reflect her most recent situation, which is being a single mother. Thet would not support the documentation (with stepparent income/assets/possible change in efc) on the profile?
@redpink – truly, it will not be weird. It is completely explainable. There is a place on the Profile for you to document this kind of situation.
Look, it’s all easily explainable… she got married. Life happens. What would be weird was if you and mom reported something that wasn’t accurate, and then were asked to explain why.
@arabrab You think that profile schools would completely discount the fact that the marriage is so recent? Because it’s so recent, her financial situation has yet to actually change. I get that when I apply for aid next year, a whole year will have passed and her finances will likely reflect that accordingly.
@Middkid86 What I’m wonder about is whether schools will see this as a reason to drastically change our EFC for the this application year, when we have had no time to adjust to what they may expect us to pay. We knew that it would mean us likely paying more, and we’ve discussed it. But not based on the finances for this past year. For the next aid application year, she is definitely planning as filing as married, and her taxes and finances will likely reflect that.
Don’t make this harder than it has to be (and it’s not hard). If she’s married now, and she’s filling out a form, she needs to say that she’s married. There’s no legal or ethical way around that. Will her new status effect the aid you are offered? Maybe. It will be up to the formulas and the schools. You can always provide an explanation of what your exact situation is and ask that some professional judgment be applied. But don’t lie on the forms.
How will these formulas work if the FAFSA says one thing and the profile says another? Sorry I’m just confused about this?
The schools may ask about the discrepancy. As arabrab mentioned above, there is a section at the end of the Profile form to provide additional information. You may want to include a sentence saying that your mother got married between the time the FAFSA and Profile forms were submitted. The schools will decide if they need further explanation or information and will contact you as necessary. That’s all there is to it.
@redpink - The truth is what the truth is. You file each document showing the status that is correct at the time of filing. You explain the change. How colleges choose to use the information in Profile vs. FAFSA is up to each college, but I am not optimistic that most Profile schools will ignore the stepfather’s income and assets this year. FAFSA-only schools will never see it until you file a new FAFSA next year. (Even corrections or the Data Retrieval Tool will not update her marital status on the FAFSA.)