<p>okay so this financial aid thing has become overwhelming!! im from new york and here there are so many different financial aid forms to be completed...can someone please offer insight or some sort of help to what forms i need to fill out?
-fafsa
-tap grant
-css profile from college board</p>
<p>is this all?? also ive been told that the css form is not required by some schools [nyu] being one...but i know a kid who got money from it so yea HELP PLEASE!</p>
<p>You do not 'get' any money from CSS or from FAFSA. They are forms you fill out with your financial information. The information is sent to your school(s). The school(s) use the information to calculate what your financial need is and make you a financial aid offer. FAFSA does not give you money. CSS does not give you money. *Your school makes the financial aid awards * - some may be their own money, some may be federal or state money.</p>
<p>FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. The vast majority of schools require only FAFSA. When you complete the FAFSA your information is put through a formula called the FAFSA EFC formula. It produces a number called the EFC (Estimated Family Contribution). A report called the SAR (Student Aid Report) is sent to the schools you have selected to receive it. The most important thing on the SAR is the EFC. The school takes your EFC away from it's own COA (Cost Of Attendance). The difference between the COA and the EFC is your financial 'need' on which aid is based. The school will look at your 'need' and base a financial aid award on it. The award may consist of grants, loans, work study, and possibly a 'gap' which is unmet need.</p>
<p>A small number of schools also require CSS or their own financial aid forms. The majority do not. These are usually schools who have a lot of their own money to award in aid. CSS is a central way of collecting much more detailed information than is asked for by FAFSA. For instance CSS will ask for the value of your home. FAFSA will not. Again the information is sent to the schools selected. Only schools that require CSS can be selected on CSS. Attempting to send it to schools that do not use it is a complete waste of time. The information is sent to the selected schools and they use it in whatever way they see fit. For instance some schools will use the value of the home , some will not. </p>
<p>Schools that require CSS generally use FAFSA for awarding any federal aid (such as Pell grant, Stafford loan) and CSS to award their own institutional aid.</p>
<p>Schools that require only FAFSA will use the FAFSA EFC to award federal aid and their own institutional aid (if there is any).</p>
<p>Tap is for NY residents going to NY schools.</p>
<p>Fill out FAFSA for all your schools.</p>
<p>Fill out CSS only for those schools that require it. If none of your schools require it do not fill it out. If they do not require it they will not use it.</p>
<p>Fill out TAPS only if you are a NY resident applying to NY schools. I already posted the link for TAPS earlier today and am not going to go searching for it again so please take some time to find the link and read it. </p>
<p>Check your schools for whether they require CSS (or their own financial aid forms - some schools have those)in addition to FAFSA. We cannot tell you that. You need to go to their web site, find the financial aid page, and read what they require.</p>
<p>Link to TAPS is in this thread
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/new-york-university/626820-financial-aid.html%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/new-york-university/626820-financial-aid.html</a></p>
<p>Please read it this time</p>
<p>NY residents can link to the TAP application after completing the FAFSA - it will come up if you've entered NY + a NY state college. If you miss the link, apply at <a href="http://www.tapweb.org%5B/url%5D">www.tapweb.org</a>.</p>
<p>thank you very much swimcatsmom, i was lost too!! your explainations are very clear. it helps me a lot! happy new year!!</p>