<p>Yeah, I'm kind of upset right now.
Can I call my early schools? Explain extenuating circumstances?
...
Will this affect my acceptance into a college ED/EA?</p>
<p>Thanks,
Natalie :)</p>
<p>When I said two weeks, I meant 9 days. lolololol I’m screwed, aren’t I?</p>
<p>Put together the best estimate you can before the initial deadline. Then revise it as soon as you have better information, by the final deadline (which is Feb. 1 or 15 for many colleges). Pay close attention to those deadlines.</p>
<p>^ I agree. And no, this should not affect your admission into college.</p>
<p>Wow. I’d be tempted to hide the car keys and say “you’ll get them back once the Profile is done.”</p>
<p>Probably a bad idea – but charlieschm is right. Do your best estimates on time – and then send in additional information when you can. You can amend the FAFSA easily on line (that you don’t file until January 1 – or as soon as you can after Jan 1). I’m not sure how you update Profile info. You may have to contact each college’s financial aid office by email and ask what they want done. </p>
<p>I send you a hug. Some times it is the kids in the toughest situations that most need financial aid – but the system is set up to most benefit people who are great with paperwork.</p>
<p>There definitely is a shrill and worried aspect to your post. Take some deep breaths and talk to your folks. If you are the first kid in the family to go through this process, ask them if they are having a hard time with the notion that you are growing up and will be leaving soon. Ask them if they are terrified of college costs. IF the answer to either is “yes”, then gently guide them to the reality that their getting these forms done won’t make you a baby again but it will help with costs. Promise some reassuring things (like you do plan to keep in touch and that you do intend to be safety smart) – it may be that your parents are letting fears paralyze the process. </p>
<p>This is no time to scream or throw things. That would ramp up the mess – and you want to resolve the challenges. Revert to basic dog training methods – break things down into small steps and lavish praise for each step in the right direction. Set up a work space for the forms. Print off the forms and start filling in a draft – and cooperate with the folks on each line. Do we know this? How do we figure this line out? Next. </p>
<p>It is amazing what can freeze a parent or a student. Sometimes it is kinda stupid stuff – but unfreeze you must.</p>
<p>One additional thought: is part of the reason that your parents haven’t completed their '08 tax forms yet that they lived overseas during that year?</p>
<p>When my family lived overseas, the top accounting firm that did our taxes delayed and delayed, finally providing the forms to sign a year and a half late. My family didn’t have to pay the resulting fines, but it irritated me because we could have used the refund! My husband has a company-provided benefit of free tax services, but I’ve chosen to do the taxes myself because we would have to use the same firm.</p>
<p>If the reason for your parents’ delay is that either they or the accounting firm are having difficulty dealing with the overseas income, I would recommend just putting that aside in your mind for the purposes of preparing an estimated 2010 form. If your family has 2010 pay stubs, bank statements and investment statements, you and your parents could fill out a draft 2010 form for purposes of CSS only without regard to what happened several years ago.</p>
<p>Olymom - great response! I know that I personally freeze when it comes to doing taxes - for whatever reason. Try to be understanding and offer to help out in whatever way you can - cooking dinner, washing dishes, etc, if it’s a time issue.
Keep in mind that you will have to send in signed copies of 2010 returns. Worse comes to worse - have your parents do 2010 taxes, with the idea that they will have to amend if there is a reason that they cannot file by the deadline. Filing on time will reduce the interest and penalties that will accrue, so it’s a good thing for them to do this anyway. Good luck!</p>
<p>I need to clarify something about CSS Profile revisions.</p>
<p>Many colleges want the profile submitted before people have all of their financial information available for the current year. They need to submit a Profile for those colleges with early deadlines using estimated information. However, the Profile does not let you revise information online after you submit it to a particular college. Instead, you need to email or mail the updated information directly to the financial aid office of that college.</p>
<p>If you than apply to a different college with a later deadline, then you are allowed to update the information before you electronically submit the form to that college. This apparently is called “Add college to submitted application”</p>
<p>I’m still learning this myself.</p>
<p>Excerpt from website:</p>
<p>“After you submit your PROFILE application it is not
possible to change your information online. Print out your
Acknowledgment, update the incorrect data, and send
copies to the colleges or programs to which you requested
your PROFILE data be sent. If you add an additional college
or program to the original report, you may update your
application data for those colleges only.”</p>
<p>If you need FA you really don’t need to apply ED.</p>
<p>And especially if you don’t have clear current figures as to your parents’ income – you should not apply ED. There is no way that your college could give you a firm financial aid offer if you get accepted, and anything that is offered would be subject to change if and when final figures were available.</p>
<p>EA is o.k. – but no need to rush the financial aid for that, just go with the regular deadlines. Try to get your parents to agree to catch up on their financials by the end of the year – then you will have numbers in hand to file CSS & FAFSA in January – and you will be able to compare financial aid offers in the spring. If your parents’ delay in filing is due to a complicated or variable financial situation, then your financial aid awards may be all over the map.</p>