CSS Profile vs. FAFSA.. which and why?

Parents Forum
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<p>Agree with my-3-sons. The majority of the flagship publics look at the residency closely. Each college generally publishes their rules and requirements for obtaining in-state tuition rates, but in general they are more strict than lenient. The transcripts are the simplest way for them to see where the student has been residing. Residency is not something that “slips by” too many colleges.</p>

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<p>First, Thumper your explanation of the difference between FAFSA and CSS/Profile is one of the best I have ever seen. It should be a sticky for that FAQ.</p>

<p>Regarding residency - When my son filed out the applcation for our State U, his part was easy. The application had multiple pages of questions for the parents, such as address, business address, telephone numbers, number of years that State tax returns had been filed, and Drivers license numbers for H & W.</p>

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<p>Here’s a good chart that compares the differences between FAFSA and IM, posted by another contributor on another thread:</p>

<p><a href=“http://professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/FM%20&%20IM%20Differences.pdf[/url]”>http://professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/FM%20&%20IM%20Differences.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>As has been stated above, FAFSA only requires the custodial parent to state income and assets. There are approximately 300 Profile schools, of which only about one third require the non-custodial form to be filled out. The majority of Profile schools do not require non-custodial parent information. If the custodial parent is remarried, the parent’s spouse income and assets must also be reported on both FAFSA and Profile.</p>

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<p>Simply, Profile takes a much more comprehensive look at net worth and extracts more money from families with assets.</p>

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<p>What about where parents are unmarried co-habs filing separate taxes? D is exemption on only one parent’s taxes, so does other parent have to include their income on FAFSA, as they must on CSS?</p>

<p>And won’t colleges compare info and note discrepancies?</p>

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<p>@Lafalum84
As much as it also bugs me that there is a fee for the CSS, if you think about it, paying for it is a small price in comparison to the amount of financial aid you could receive in the long run.</p>