<p>So if your estimate is off for the CSS or FAFSA, will the school notice when you send in your 2011 Tax Returns? Or should you edit them and resend?</p>
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<p>The are not supposed to be “off”. You are SUPPOSED to amend the FAFSA to reflect 2011 tax numbers, AND you need to find out how your college(s) deal with amending the Profile…then do that. The numbers on the forms must be consistent with your tax returns. If not, the schools WILL want to know why. In the case of the FAFSA, the school CAN (and is actually required to) make changes on your FAFSA to accurately reflect your tax returns.</p>
<p>the school CAN (and is actually required to) make changes on your FAFSA to accurately reflect your tax returns.</p>
<p>And they will.
We had one school who made a mistake when changing the FAFSA however ( in dealing with an Americorps stipend), so it is good to be aware of when changes are made to FAFSA.</p>
<p>I have a question about the IDOC. I have been telling my father months to get it done, but he is a procrastinator. He also owns his own business, so it’s not as easy. He said he will get all the paperwork done and then bring it to the accountant Monday. He said she’ll have it done before Thurs. He is going to ask for it to be quick. Is it okay if we mail the IDOC on March 1st which is the deadline or was it suppose to be in the colleges office by that day? If it was, it won’t be there. Holy Cross is the only college which requires it. How lenient are they if they receive it a day or two late? We submitted the FASFA/Profile with estimates all before the deadline. Also, isn’t there a way for the accountant to send our tax returns straight to the FASFA? How do we go about that? Thanks!</p>
<p>If you mail it on the first, I would suggest taking it directly to the post office and having them date-stamp it at the counter. That way, you will be sure that it was postmarked by the due date. And no, the returns cannot and should not be sent directly to FAFSA.</p>
<p>Thanks! A financial aid officer at Juniata was telling me there was some way FASFA can automatically get my updated FASFA without me updating it.</p>
<p>Financial aid officers can make updates to your FAFSA based on information given by you for verification. That may be what the finaid officer was talking about.</p>
<p>Thanks! My dad owns his own business. Were we suppose to fill out the CSS Business Supplement for all the schools? Only Wheaton College has contacted us to fill it out.</p>
<p>EC, why aren’t you calling the schools to get these answers? Why would you ask anonymous internet posters such questions when there is so much riding on doing everything properly?</p>
<p>I agree with patsmom, EC, you have applied to more than 10 schools and you have stated in previous threads that financial aid is important to your family. </p>
<p>If you have to call each school’s Financial Aid Office individually, to get your questions answered accurately, then do so! Each school has a different way of doing things etc. </p>
<p>Also make sure to get your questions answered on the phone by a Financial Aid person, do not get your answers from a Work Study Job kid who answers the phone! Always get the name and number, email address of who you talked to and when, write that down. </p>
<p>You are talking about thousands of dollars here, make sure your father realizes this and how important it is to you!</p>
<p>I have already called each college and they didn’t answer all my questions. A lot of the time the financial aid officers made it more confusing then it actually was. I talked to the financial aid department of each college. A lot of the time it was students (who usually asked the officials the questions), but then at HC and a lot of other schools it was adults. I have already heard my FA packages from 3 colleges, only one is work-able, although still high. None have met my EFC yet. I’m hoping HC will (if I get admitted).</p>
<p>When you call the financial aid offices at the schools you can REQUEST to speak to a financial aid advisor. The students answering the phone WILL transfer your call if you ask.</p>
<p>MOST of the information you are asking for here is easily found on the school websites…required submissions and deadlines.</p>
<p>Actually, I have noticed that a lot of colleges require certain materials that are not listed anywhere on their website. I just posted again because I wanted to make sure that it would be okay if we mailed the IDOC on the day of the deadline, but thanks everyone.</p>
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<p>I’m not entirely sure what you are referencing when you say the above…what are you looking at that is different from the college financial aid web pages? If there is a question send an e-mail to a financial aid officer at that college. That way your e-mail will reach a finaid officer and you will have a copy of what they tell you. Don’t make this harder than it needs to be. Colleges will contact you if they need additional information for a verification process other than what they request on the website. Send what they ask for, where they ask for it to be sent by the deadline they give and you’ll be done unless some college contacts you asking for additional information. Only a very small percentage of colleges use IDOC…not every Profile college uses IDOC.</p>
<p>I was talking about tax returns (W-2 forms, etc). Some colleges require them, but do not mention it any where on their website. And these are non Profile/IDOC schools, but that’s why I called each school. It’s fine. I just wish they would post it on their websites. </p>
<p>I just found this on College Board’s website: </p>
<p>Q: Is the deadline given in my IDOC Requirements the date that my information must be postmarked or the date that you must receive our documents? </p>
<p>A: The College Board must receive your IDOC documents no later than the deadline listed in your IDOC Requirements. Return your information to the address on the IDOC Cover Sheet: College Board IDOC, P.O. Box 4017, Mt. Vernon, IL 62864 </p>
<p>Well, we were planning on mailing it on March 1st. My father has to go to the accountant Monday and give him/her all the forms. There is no way they’ll receive our IDOC on March 1st. I’ll call Holy Cross and ask them if it’s okay if it gets there a couple days late. It wasn’t my fault. There is little I can do besides pester my father to do his tax returns. In the end, I can’t force him to do anything.</p>
<p>If colleges don’t specifically ask for copies of your tax returns as part of your initial financial aid documents, don’t send them until they are requested. I have never seen a college that doesn’t post information about what is needed, where to mail it and when it is needed. Is there one that is confusing you?</p>
<p>For example, I got a letter from Juniata telling me they needed my W-2 forms, etc. I think maybe they needed to verify my FASFA. Lenoir on the other hand said they only needed those forms if you needed verification. Lawrence and Wooster also need my tax return forms, but didn’t require the IDOC.</p>
<p>Correct…so just do what each college asks for and “how” they ask for it and by when they ask for it. If they say mail it to the college, then just mail it to the college, if they don’t ask for something you don’t need to send it. If Holy Cross uses IDOC, use IDOC for that college, it might be the only college you applied to that uses IDOC. Don’t worry that all the colleges aren’t doing things the same way…at this point you just need to do what each college asks.</p>
<p>Thanks! I know. I’m just worried now that my IDOC won’t be in College Board’s office on exactly March 1st. I was planning on mailing it on March 1st.</p>
<p>If you have a deadline, meet the deadline. If this means asking the accountant to fast-track the return in a day or 2 and then sending it either same day delivery (UPS) or overnight delivery (UPS or FEDEX) then do it. This is not a time to be penny wise and pound foolish. If Holy Cross says it HAS to be received by a certain date and when you call them they confirm this (in case they dont give you a few days lag time) then do what it it takes to get it there within the deadline. It is doable if the accountant can nget the taxes done in 2 days (which is a tight deadline if your taxes are complicated or your dad doesnt organize the stuff well).</p>