FAFSA and CSS. What are they and when?

Paying for College
1

<p>I am currently a junior in high school, almost done, just a little more than a week to go.
Senior year and admissions are coming up fast and I know I plan on applying for aid.
I have been reading about FAFSA and CSS, but I can't find anything concise explaining what they are and WHEN SHOULD I FILL THEM OUT/WHEN CAN I FILL THEM OUT?
also, I've come across some deadlines, i.e. 'january 1st of senior year' for the FAFSA form.... however, this confused me. I plan on applying early decision to a university... is january not too late?
In essence, I just need someone to explain to me the course of action I should take in getting these forms filled out. Thanks!</p>

2

<p>See <a href=“https://fafsa.ed.gov/”>https://fafsa.ed.gov/&lt;/a&gt; for FAFSA

See <a href=“http://www.collegeconfidential.com/dean/archives/000198.htm”>http://www.collegeconfidential.com/dean/archives/000198.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

3

<p>The earliest you can file FAFSA is January 1st of senior yr.
Fafsa is to determine if you are eligible for Pell grants.
It is also necessary to take out Direct loans.
Thats it.
Due dates for CSS will depend on your schools deadline.</p>

4

<p>Some schools that require the Profile have an early priority deadline for Profile submission for ED students.</p>

<p>The MOST important thing you need to do…read EACH college website financial aid section. Each school will tell you what they require for application submissions, and the DEADLINES for these things. Do NOT miss the deadlines under any circumstances. Do not.</p>

<p>So…look for YOUR colleges. Check each one as these submissions and deadlines vary wildly from college to college. Plan ahead. Don’t plan to do anything at the last minute.</p>

<p>Your parents and you should also plan to file your federal income taxes for 2014 as soon as possible after February 1. This is NOT the year to delay filing until April. </p>

<p>You can complete the Profile (if needed in the late fall) using the best possible estimates for the 2014 tax year.</p>

<p>The FAFSA will become available January 1 of your senior year in high school. You can also complete that using the best possible estimates for 2014 tax year. If you do this using estimates, and haven’t yet filed taxes, you will indicate a “will file” status, meaning you will file but have not yet done so. Then when you do complete the 2014 taxes ASAP after February 1, you will go back into the FAFSA, amend it to reflect the numbers from your 2014 tax return, change the status to “taxes filed”, and resubmit.</p>

<p>For Profile schools, you will need to contact each school to find out if/how to amend the Profile. This cannot be done online.</p>

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<p>One of the pinned threads at the top of this forum has the words START HERE in the title…</p>

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<p>Spreadsheets can be your friend. D had a spreadsheet with a row for each school where she was applying. Went to the web site for each school and entered into the spreadsheet all the relevant information, such as application deadlines, when the FAFSA was due, if the school required CSS profile, when the profile was due, when tax returns needed to be submitted, and so on. Takes a little time up front, but makes things easier when you’re in the midst of the process. </p>

7

<p>An old fashioned calendar works too…a good visual because ALL of the things will be very apparent,as well as the dates. On a spread sheet, it’s hard to see that six applications are due the same day…or that you have a chorus concert, and swim meet the night before. </p>

<p>I would also suggest you put a date a week (at least) prior to the actual deadline when YOU will be getting these things done, as well as a fowl low up date to check to make sure all has been sent and received. </p>

<p>For anything…don’t do these at the last minute. You never know when there will be a computer snafu of some sort that will prevent you from sending electronically what needs to be sent.</p>

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<p>File FAFSA early in the year once it is available using your estimates. You can revise it and verify later on. The earlier submission date may be critical for some aid.</p>

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<p>If you live in California, note that the California public universities use only FAFSA information to determine their financial aid (beyond federal aid). This is relatively unusual among schools that give additional financial aid beyond federal aid (most require additional forms).</p>