<p>CSS (collegeboard financial aid) sent me an email saying,</p>
<p>"At least one of the colleges to which you are applying for financial aid asked the College Board, through its Institutional Documentation Service (IDOC), to collect additional documents, such as tax returns, from you and your family. The financial aid office will use these documents to confirm information from your financial aid application (CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE® and/or Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and to better understand your family's financial circumstances."</p>
<p>I signed into a website they gave me, and it was Pomona that requested these forms. Does this mean they're interested in me and that I haven't been rejected yet, or is it something that they send to everyone applying for aid through CSS?</p>
<p>Sorry your hopes were raised. It means that they're reviewing your finaid application--standard operating procedure. Copies of past tax returns are necessary for any finaid office to determine need.</p>
<p>We thought the same thing last yr and my D did not get accepted. My S who is a sophomore recieved the same notice as well so they do it for everyone. Best of luck as it does not mean you won't get in!</p>
<p>virtually every school's FA office will ask for current year tax returns and some will also ask for the previous year's return. At most schools, they ask for the returns in their viewbook application section and/or on their website. You got the specific note about Pomona because Pomona is one of a limited number of schools who obtain tax returns via the all-powerful College Board's IDOC service (NOT directly from the applicant). To the applicant, the difference is form and procedure, not substance.</p>