<p>What is the difference?
Which one do I send to what type of school? I've heard that the CSS is mostly for private schools and that the FAFSA is for public schools... Is there actually a generalization, is it just a pattern that schools seem to follow, or do I have to examine each school individually to see what they accept?</p>
<p>I was trying to send the CSS profile to NYU and NYU wasn't on the college list when I tried to add it...</p>
<p>NYU doesn't use the CSS form, they are one of the private schools that don't use it.</p>
<p>CSS Profile is for Private Schools mostly, yes. But FAFSA seems to be for all schools, not just public schools. So for private schools, you have to do both. Also, for certain scholarships, not just for financial aid you need to file FAFSA as well.</p>
<p>FAFSA is necessary for all government aid, and some schools use it for their institutional aid, too. Thus, it's required by virtually all schools if one applies for financial aid. Even if a student doesn't qualify for any other aid, it is possible to get an unsubsidized STafford Loan, but only by filling out FAFSA.</p>
<p>CSS is used by a few hundred private schools for additional information. There is no way to guess if a school wants it; you can go to their FA website and see. Otherwise, as you said, CSS will let you know which schools on your list don't require it, by not allowing you to input.</p>
<p>Check out this thread if you haven't already: <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/377143-preparing-finaid-applications.html%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/377143-preparing-finaid-applications.html</a></p>
<p>Filling out the CSS/Profile and FAFSA is one thing; how the schools use the data is another. Some schools have supplemental FA forms to fill out that require additional info. In addition, almost all schools use software packages that allow them to download the FA data you provide. They can then assess your FA info against whatever formulas they have for providing FA. There's nothing nefarious going on here, but some schools like to do things a little differently, and in some cases the student comes out better off. For instance, CSS includes home equity as an asset, but schools can - and do - place limits on home equity.</p>
<p>The fafsa and the CSS profile use 2 different set of methodologies when calculating your EFC. </p>
<p>At minimum you file the FAFSA (at almost every school) to determine your eligibility for federal aid (Pell/ seog grants, stafford and perkins loans). Most public univeristies will just require the fafsa (the exception may be UVA, UNC- CH, Mich and a few others which may require their own forms)</p>
<p>The CSS profile is used at different colleges that distribute their own institutional aid (Many of these schools have much deeper pockets).</p>
<p>Many schools that use a federal methodology to determine EFC will require only the FAFSA. Schools that use an instutional methodology or a combination of the 2 will require the CSS profile or their own FA forms.</p>
<p>Differences between the IM and FM models are</p>
<p>IM collects information on estimated academic year family income, medical expenses, elementary and secondary school tuition and unusual circumstances. FM omits these questions.</p>
<p>IM considers a fuller range of family asset information, while FM ignores assets of siblings, all assets of certain families with less than $50,000 of income, and both home and family farm equity.</p>
<p>FM defines income as the “adjusted gross income” on federal tax returns, plus various categories of untaxed income. IM includes in total income any paper depreciation, business, rental or capital losses which artificially reduce adjusted gross income.</p>
<p>FM does not assume a minimum student contribution to education; IM expects the student, as primary beneficiary of the education, to devote some time each year to earning money to pay for education.</p>
<p>FM ignores the noncustodial parent in cases of divorce or separation; IM expects parents to help pay for education, regardless of current marital status.</p>
<p>FM and IM apply different percentages to adjust the parental contribution when multiple siblings are simultaneously enrolled in college, and IM considers only siblings enrolled in undergraduate programs.</p>
<p>The IM expected family share represents a best estimate of a family’s capacity (relative to other families) to absorb, over time, the costs of education. It is not an assessment of cash on hand, a value judgment about how much a family should be able to use current income, or a measure of liquidity. The final determinations of demonstrated need and awards rest with the University and are based upon a uniform and consistent treatment of family circumstances.</p>
<p>Except in the most extraordinary circumstances, Colleges classifies incoming students as dependent upon parents for institutional aid purposes, even though some students may meet the federal definition of “independence.”</p>
<p>Students enrolling as dependent students are considered dependent throughout their undergraduate years when need for institutional scholarships is determined.</p>
<p>For institutional aid purposes a student may not “declare” independence due to attainment of legal age, internal family arrangements, marriage or family disagreements.</p>
<p>Your COA (cost of attendance) is tuition, room board, books travel expenses and some misc. expenses associated with attending college.</p>
<p>NYU probably doesn't use the CSS because it's not know for meeting full need of students. If you have a high EFC on your FAFSA, don't look for alot of aid from NYU. They are going to focus on need based, rather than merit based scholarships.</p>
<p>You can get an idea of what your EFC would be with each method FinAid</a> | Calculators | Expected Family Contribution (EFC) and Financial Aid</p>