FAFSA Changes- CSS/Profile Next?

So I came here looking for information about whether or not CSS/Profile would change to prior prior year (PPY) information as FAFSA will do for the 2017-2018 academic year. In a subsequent internet search, I found an informative Forbes article by college finance expert Troy Onink, in which he expresses his opinion that CSS will probably make the same change. Here’s the article:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/troyonink/2015/09/14/obama-announces-fafsa-change-to-make-college-aid-decision-earlier-and-easier/

My apologies if this has already been posted; I didn’t find anything similar already here. Long range planning is a necessity for what for many has become a very expensive proposition.

I hate to say it…but the 2015 tax year is ending. It’s a little late to do any advance planning for 2015. And that is the tax year that will be used for,the 2016-2017 FAFSA, and the 2017-2018 FAFSA. Really stinks for those of us who would have done 2015 differently, if this had been known a year ago.

Most of the fourth quarter is still to come. Many financial decisions are made in December, when folks have a better idea of year-end numbers and dividends and/or capital gains are distributed to those who own equities. So no… not too late for many people, especially those who won’t have a college student until academic year 2018-2019 or later.

Too late for next year…AND the year after for folks whose incomes are much higher this year…by choice. Same with any capital,gains that one took at the start of the 2015 tax year. The rub is…2015 will be used for two consecutive FAFSA filings. That won’t happen again…same tax year. For two FAFSA years.

Yes, I understand that some people who have already made financial moves this year or who have higher than normal income in 2015 will be negatively impacted by the change. But that does not mean that “it’s a little late to do any advance planning for 2015” for everybody.

Did someone say it was too late for “everybody”?

Not in so many words. “It’s a little late to do any advance planning for 2015” might have implied it.

Silly exchange over semantics. The thread was started to point out that one expert believes that CSS/Profile will probably align with FAFSA, something that I had not seen mentioned here before. Such a change would further impact how folks plan for college expenses, to include decisions made between now and the end of the year. That’s all.

If I were a betting person, I would say the Profile will align with the FAFSA in terms of tax year. There are many colleges that use the Profile that do not require updating of the financial information from the tax return because they require the FAFSA, which asks that you link to the IRS Data Retrieval tool. The colleges would have issues if the FAFSA tax year, and the Profile tax year were not the same in terms of verifying that the info on the forms matched the tax returns.

I still think that early financial aid filers should have the option of using the previous year info, but that those filing after a certain date would use the previous tax year…because their taxes would be done.

This would be pretty easy to do…there would just be a date after which the previous year could be used.

Folks need to understand that MOST folks really don’t have much to leverage in terms of changing their financial picture. And for MOST colleges, this won’t necessarily net you more need based aid, because most colleges don’t meet full need anyway. And MOST close to Pell eligible students aren’t in the position to deal with ditching salary, capital gains, or moving around substantial savings.

Even though I’m crabbing about this change (mostly because I had a significantly higher income in 2015 than I will ever have again), I don’t think it matters for most people. I would urge anyone to use the net price calculators on a few schools to see if it makes any difference if you move your investments or assets or whatever. It just might not…because most schools don’t meet full need…BUT mostly because the family contribution uses income more than anything else to determine your family contribution.

But most of that is for another thread.

I agree with the author of the article…I don’t think the college board will have a choice. The will align with the tax year for the FAFSA.

But really…they have a whole year to make up their minds for the 2017-2018 year.

I don’t see why CSS profile needs to be changed. FAFSA is going to shift up a few months and will match pretty much when CSS profile application is open. For CSS profile, most people would use the tax info from previous year or best estimate for current year. Then the school may verify it with your FAFSA. So basically, you will still file CSS profile with previous year tax info and that would actually match the FAFSA info after the change.


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BUT mostly because the family contribution uses income more than anything else to determine your family contribution.

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Right. Unless a family has a modest income, but significant assets, families usually find that financial gymnastics don’t yield them much/any more FA.

What do you think your income will be for 2015 and 16?

keep in mind that contributions to retirement accts are added back in.

If you’re talking about donations, then if I remember correctly, that won’t help. I know some LDS families get upset when they find out that FA won’t take into account their mandatory 10% of gross income tithing.

@billcsho most colleges award their aid based on the actual tax year…the exception being ED applicants where an estimated award is given with the ED acceptance. BUT even with those, once the current tax year is done, adjustments CAN be made if the numbers are far out of alignment…because those schools verify the tax information using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool…or a tax transcript,

So…at the end of the day…the same tax year is used.

We had a kid accepted EA with a financial aid award at two schools…based on estimates. And yes, once the actual tax forms were completed, there were adjustments to the awards.

@thumper1 The real question is actually will the school still use the current tax year info for financial aid. When FAFSA shifted to October and use former year tax return info for filing, the DRT should be for the same year otherwise it can’t be used for verifying the submission. The school may request a tax transcript of the current year to determine the financial aid package, but then what is the point of submitting FAFSA with previous year data.
Some EA school also use CSS profile submitted early and do not require/accept update. Also, some profile schools just use FAFSA for verification. We are talking about 2017-2018, so we have to wait to see how do schools response to the change. Nevertheless, I don’t see CSS profile need to be changed as many students (at least for EA/ED applicants) are already filing with last year tax info.

Remember… incoming freshman are a minority of FAFSA/CSS Profile filers. Most of those forms are filled out by returning students who aren’t worried about EA/ED deadlines.

Even the deadline for returning students is before October…just saying.

Also, not sure how true your statement is for the Profile. Many schools don’t require it at all for returning students.

An EA/ED applicant is likely completing Profile in the fall of their senior year in high school… so let’s say 10 months before the start of the academic year for which the data will be used. My experience (of course, yours may vary) is that returning students complete the FA forms in the spring of the year prior to the academic year for which the data will be used, which means about five months before the start of the academic year for which the data will be used. The typical progression for a FA office reviewing applications for a given academic year is that EA/ED applications will be due and considered first, then applications from regular applicants, and finally applications from returning students.

Also, my experience (again, yours may vary) is that most schools that require the Profile require it for every year that a student applies for institutional aid. I do know that there are Profile schools that are one-and-done, but I believe that these schools are in the minority.

@BelknapPoint UMich only requires CSS profile for freshmen year but FAFSA for all years. Note that there is a fee for CSS profile, but FAFSA is free. Some schools (e.g. JHU) recommend students filing CSS profile at the same time as FAFSA so they can verify data easily.

Well, that puts Michigan in the same category as NYU in only requiring Profile for one year. I’m sure there are others, but I still believe that the heavy majority of Profile schools require the form for every year that institutional aid is sought. Are you suggesting otherwise?

Believe me, I’m aware of the costs associated with filing Profile. And completing FAFSA and Profile at the same time usually makes sense for every applicant at every school that requires both forms, due to the common information that the forms ask for.

Just read that the Profile WILL likely follow the FAFSA.