Hi all,
Really sorry if this has been posted before but I just couldn’t find relevant information that answered my questions fully, and I am terrified of filling anything out incorrectly. Please bear with my questions!
A bit of background:
I am from Taiwan (the R.O.C) and my parents both do not have any meaningful income. My father has been unemployed for at least 2 years now and my mother has been a housewife for 20+ years. However, they have some savings that they will, to the best of their ability, use to pay for my education.
So, on to the CSS profile questions.
Under Student Income, there's Income Earned from Work. I work as a paid tutor afterschool; does this count?
What does Interest Income mean? I get paid in cash (usually USD40 per week)
Under International Student Benefits, it asks "Will the student receive tuition benefits during any year of attendance?" What do benefits mean? My parents will try to pay as much as they can, does this count as a benefit?
Under Student Assets, it asks for the current amount in cash, savings, checking, and deposit accounts that I have. Does this include the money I have in my wallet? How current/accurate must this amount be?
I realize that some information might be available online but as I wasn’t sure, I thought it would be best to ask again. Major gratitude to anyone who answers!
The Profile foe 2019-2020 should be available on Oct.
Yes, you list the total income you earned in 2017…which is the tax year used for 2019-2020 Profile.
Interest income is any interest this money earned while in a savings, checking or other account.
This is about any aid you might be receiving to pay for college. It could be already received grants or scholarships…it is not what your parents will pay out of pocket.
Usually this is money inbank accounts. If you stuff your mattress instead of using a bank…the money still needs to be listed. Your everyday petty cash does not. Be accurate. You can check your accounts online the day you file.
If your parents are unemployed, how can they afford to put any savings towards college? They have many more years to live. Don’t they need their savings to live on for the rest of their lives?
How much do they think they can put towards college each year? Does this include int’l travel costs and health insurance?
And I want to make sure - what’s the difference between the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 CSS profiles? If I’m applying Early Decision and the deadline is November 15, and admission is for September 2019, does this mean I need to use the 2019-20 profile and wait until it opens on Oct 1st?
As for my family’s financial situation… it’s not great, in fact it’s horrible and my parents are under tremendous pressure. But we’re making do.
What do you mean by my stats?
No, I’m not saying that my parents won’t pay anything for college. They are, and I’m incredibly grateful for that because it’s right out of their savings.
As for my stats, I’m not taking the ACT/SAT. I’m an international student and it’s not required. GPA is a bit hard because my school gives out number grades and honestly I’ve seen different results from different online converters. But yeah, fingers crossed!
Are you applying to test optional colleges…because if not…you might want to check this. What colleges are you applying to that don’t require the ACT or SAT for admission just because you are an international student?
Also…if your parents have NO meaningful income…do you really expect them to fund an American college education out of their savings?