Fafsa?

Paying for College
1

<p>So, to me the wording on the FAFSA is unclear: should we enter income info for the year of 2007, or for 2006 that we filed in 2007? The deadline for tax stuff is in April, but if they need info for the year of 2007, does that mean we need to finish tax returns now?</p>

2

<p>If you are completing the FAFSA now, you will complete the 2008-2009 FAFSA using estimated information from the 2007 tax year. You can get most of this off of your pay stubs, or you can use your info from last year and alter the numbers to reflect the changes for this year. You will do this using a "will file" status, meaning you will file your 2007 taxes but have not yet done so. BUT...DO NOT WAIT until April to do your taxes for 2007. You need to do these as soon as possible after Feb 1 when you will have all of your W-2 and 1099 information. DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE APRIL 15 DEADLINE TO COMPLETE YOUR TAXES AND UPDATE THE FAFSA. If you wait until the April 15 deadline, you will not receive a final financial aid award in time to make a college choice by May 1. You really MUST complete your taxes ASAP this year. Complete your 2007 taxes ASAP after Feb 1 and then go back into the FAFSA and amend it to reflect that you have completed your taxes, and put in the correct numbers off of the completed 2007 taxes.</p>

<p>NOW...If your school deadline is after Feb 1, you CAN wait and do your taxes first and then complete the FAFSA. But regardless...you want to get it done as soon as possible.</p>

3

<p>Thanks! Btw, when you say "update the FAFSA," do you mean that I send the tentative FAFSA to my schools now, then change it and resend after filing taxes?</p>

4

<p>You need to check your deadlines. If you must file before the end of January, you should file now and yes, you will then go in and change and resubmit with the corrected numbers...ASAP</p>

<p>If your deadline is, say Feb 15, and you get your taxes DONE by Feb 1, you can just use the correct numbers the first time as you will have completed your taxes (and your FAFSA filing status will reflect that).</p>

5

<p>Okay, last question (I think). What exactly is a CSS profile? Is it a supplement/replacement for the FAFSA?</p>

6

<p>If there's a good topic explaining it, could someone post a link?</p>

7

<p>The CSS profile is entirely separate from the FAFSA. CSS is through the College Board (and costs money to file, of course!). FAFSA is through the US government and is free to file. Many schools, especially private ones, require both. Most public schools only require the FAFSA. They are very similar in many ways, but also different at the same time. CSS can be more picky about some things, and requires info from both parents, regardless of their marital status. FAFSA only requires info from the custodial parent, if they do not live together. Be certain that you know which form(s) you need for your particular school. And do them ASAP. There are plenty of posts on this forum that talk about each of the forms that you need.</p>

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<p>FinAid</a>! Financial Aid, College Scholarships and Student Loans</p>

9

<p>ok so the deadline to apply for financial aid is March 1st for my college, but they say you should submit around Feb. 15 to ensure that it gets to them by March 1st. Does that mean I can wait until after Feb.1st when my parents get all their tax info and then just file it then without doing the whole "will file" thing?</p>

10

<p>Most colleges allow you to submit the FAFSA after the application deadline, correct? Note: I have sent in all the other financial information.</p>

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<p>Very often, the finaid deadlines are after the application deadlines. You need to check the finaid website for EACH college you are applying to. You need to adhere to the deadlines posted on the college finaid websites. If they say that the FAFSA is due by a certain date...you MUST submit it by that date to be in the queue for financial aid. If you submit anything late, you jeopardize your chances for your finaid awards. Just check to see when the FAFSA is due for each school. (and anything else the school requires). All this info will be on each college's finaid website.</p>