<ol>
<li><p>When is the latest FAFSA should be filed if child is applying ED? (Nov. 15)
Do parents normally wait till the last minute to see if there are any changes in their finances? Do you need to file FAFSA again for RD?</p></li>
<li><p>I was going to look at CSS to see what kind of data they require but when I logged on to Collegeboard, it required me to log into my account. Once logged in, do you have to fill up the form and submit immediately? Or can you play around with it first like fafsa4caster?</p></li>
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<p>Thanks!</p>
<ol>
<li><p>FAFSA can’t be filed before Jan 1 and it should be filed asap after Jan 1. It’s good now to get your financial house in order before Jan 1.</p></li>
<li><p>I defer on this one - haven’t done it in 10 years.</p></li>
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<p>It can’t? So what figures will I use? Our year-end statements and tax forms don’t come in till late January or so. Neither my husband nor I are good in things financial. Do we just estimate?
If hubby did not have any salary increase/bonuses at work, do we just use last year’s?</p>
<p>Oh no…this is another thing to worry about.</p>
<p>When you file the Profile early, you should take your most recent pay stubs and then figure out the amounts that will complete your earnings and taxes for the full year. This shouldn’t be hard to do. Take your current earnings, and figure out how many pay checks are remaining for the year. Multiply by that amount and add to the year to date on your most current pay stub.</p>
<p>When you file your FAFSA on or close to January 1st, you will again use your BEST estimates. BUT you will have your end of year pay stub to use. Your estimates should be able to be fairly accurate. Your filing status will be “will file” which means you WILL be filing income taxes but have not yet done so. THEN do your taxes ASAP after Feb 1 when you should have all of the necessary documentation (w2, 1099, 1098 forms). Once your taxes are completed, you will go back into the FAFSA website and you will change ONLY the items that are on your tax return. Your assets are kept the same as of the initial filing date. Once you have made the necessary changes to reflect your completed tax return, you will change your filing status to “taxes completed” and resubmit the FAFSA.</p>
<p>The Profile will also need to be amended. You will need to contact EACH college to find out their procedure for doing so. In our experience, you will have to send a paper copy with the corrections hand written on it. SO…when you submit your Profile, don’t forget to print out a copy for yourself…you’ll need it to update your Profile at some schools.</p>
<p>You can run your figures through the EFC calculators at [FinAid</a>! Financial Aid, College Scholarships and Student Loans](<a href=“http://www.finaid.org%5DFinAid”>http://www.finaid.org) or at [College</a> Calculators - savings calculators - college costs, loans](<a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>Calculate Your Cost – BigFuture | College Board) Last spring, I tested both of these against my official FAFSA result, and the collegeboard calculator was exact to the dollar, while finaid came out about 5% higher. If you prefer to work through things on paper, print out the FAFSA formula guide <a href=“http://ifap.ed.gov/efcformulaguide/attachments/111609EFCFormulaGuide20102011.pdf[/url]”>http://ifap.ed.gov/efcformulaguide/attachments/111609EFCFormulaGuide20102011.pdf</a> It is especially useful if you want to test different scenarios.</p>
<p>Good luck with everything!</p>