<p>what is the difference? And how come some school require the CSS? how will not filing the CSS or FAFSA affect financial aid?</p>
<p>I, too, would like to know the difference between the FAFSA & CSS profile.. why is it necessary to fill out two government-sponsored forms that are virtually the same? The only difference I know of so far is that FAFSA is free, and CSS,which is sponsored by the Collegeboard (surprise, surprise!), charges $18 per school. And our counselors were always telling us to be wary of scholarship/financial aid services that charged money....
Anyway, I have a question --Does anybody know when CSS is due for most public colleges? How about privates? Thank you in advance!</p>
<p>I'm in Ohio and I have never heard of the CSS from any of the schools we are applying too. Hope I haven't missed the boat on anything...</p>
<p>CSS profile is generally required by Private Schools. I don't think it is government sponsered but I may be wrong. It asks for a lot more information than FAFSA. For instance FAFSA does not require the value of your home, Profile does. I believe Profile also asks for retirement savings and basically everything you possess including cars. Generally the Profile will give you a higher EFC. In cases where a school requires CSS, FAFSA would only be used to figure out if you are eligible for any Federal aid (Pell grants etc). The school aid would be based on the CSS profile. Not filing FAFSA or CSS would mean you will not be considered for any financial aid whatsoever.</p>
<p>FAFSA is a government form that makes you eligible for government money. The EFC it generates is not directly applicable to any school unless it chooses to use it. You have to have FAFSA to get aid from nearly any school (an exception would be schools not taking govt money; I've seen this at some religious schools) since colleges like to build their financial aid packages using whatever government funds the student can get as their first line. Schools that use FAFSA only do not tend to guarantee or give 100% of that need. Most schools use FAFSA only, so it would not be unusual to have a school list that does not require any more forms, especially if your schools tend to be state schools,(though there are state schools that do want additional forms).</p>
<p>Schools that give generous aid packages tend to want to have PROFILE or their own app that asks more questons than what FAFSA asks. </p>
<p>If you don't file FAFSA or PROFILE or any form that a financial aid office requires, you may not get any financial aid.</p>
<p>The FAFSA and the CSS profile look at your finanical situation differently and they are essentially used for 2 different reasons.</p>
<p>At minimum you file the FAFSA (at almost every school) to determine your eligibility for federal aid (Pell/ seog grants, stafford and perkins loans). Most public univeristies will just require the fafsa (the exception may be UVA, UNC- CH, Mich and a few others which may require their own forms)</p>
<p>The CSS profile is used at different colleges that distribute their own institutional aid (Many of these schools have much deeper pockets).</p>
<p>Many schools that use a federal methodology to determine EFC will require only the FAFSA. Schools that use an instutional methodology or a combination of the 2 will require the CSS profile or their own FA forms.</p>
<p>Differences between the IM and FM models are</p>
<p>IM collects information on estimated academic year family income, medical expenses, elementary and secondary school tuition and unusual circumstances. FM omits these questions.</p>
<p>IM considers a fuller range of family asset information, while FM ignores assets of siblings, all assets of certain families with less than $50,000 of income, and both home and family farm equity.</p>
<p>FM defines income as the “adjusted gross income” on federal tax returns, plus various categories of untaxed income. IM includes in total income any paper depreciation, business, rental or capital losses which artificially reduce adjusted gross income.</p>
<p>FM does not assume a minimum student contribution to education; IM expects the student, as primary beneficiary of the education, to devote some time each year to earning money to pay for education.</p>
<p>FM ignores the noncustodial parent in cases of divorce or separation; IM expects parents to help pay for education, regardless of current marital status.</p>
<p>FM and IM apply different percentages to adjust the parental contribution when multiple siblings are simultaneously enrolled in college, and IM considers only siblings enrolled in undergraduate programs.</p>
<p>The IM expected family share represents a best estimate of a family’s capacity (relative to other families) to absorb, over time, the costs of education. It is not an assessment of cash on hand, a value judgment about how much a family should be able to use current income, or a measure of liquidity. The final determinations of demonstrated need and awards rest with the University and are based upon a uniform and consistent treatment of family circumstances.</p>
<p>Except in the most extraordinary circumstances, Colleges classifies incoming students as dependent upon parents for institutional aid purposes, even though some students may meet the federal definition of “independence.”</p>
<p>Students enrolling as dependent students are considered dependent throughout their undergraduate years when need for institutional scholarships is determined.</p>
<p>For institutional aid purposes a student may not “declare” independence due to attainment of legal age, internal family arrangements, marriage or family disagreements.</p>
<p>Your COA (cost of attendance) is tuition, room board, books travel expenses and some misc. expenses associated with attending college.</p>