<p>So my mother literally handed me her 2010 tax return and walked away...Now I'm trying to figure all this out.
I've estimated my 2011 based on my 2010 return, though a lot of things have changed but I think it's close. 2012 is just one wild guess after another. I'm filling all this out by myself since my mother is probably as clueless as I am.
How seriously do colleges take the accuracy of the CSS Profile info? My financial situation has been/is/will be completely different for 2010, 2011, and 2012, so I'm afraid of being penalized for wrong estimates.</p>
<p>If your mom has paycheck stubs- from this year- it should have cumulative info which might be more accurate than last years tax numbers.</p>
<p>Colleges do understand that you don’t have all of 2011 #'s, however your final offer of aid will have to have your finalized numbers and if the original form wasn’t accurate or underestimated income/assets, you might be unpleasantly surprised at the revised offer.</p>
<p>I believe you can do PROFILE online, which I have found to be a help because there are cues if you miss an entry. I also think there is a form which will help you fill out the FAFSA, but that assumes your PROFILE numbers are accurate.</p>
<p>You can’t adjust the numbers on PROFILE as far as I know, but you can on FAFSA ( which isn’t available till Jan 1st), but schools often have their own forms as well to correct the information.</p>