<p>Ok, this is going to be a stupid question. My son applied ED online. Are we required to apply for fin. aid online or can we mail it in? There is a post office open late so we can make it. My concern about the online form is that my husband said we are suppose to attach our 2005 tax return, and I think he will have a problem doing an attachment. But if we fill in the information online and then mail in the return, that may cause confusion as well. Help!</p>
<p>Uh, I didn't see anywhere to put an attachment. I mailed in both app and tax returns.</p>
<p>What my parents did was to fill out the form online and then send in the tax returns by mail. But when they were working with a financial aid consultant, they filled out a paper version of the fin aid application. They sent that in along with the tax reforms and just put a sticky note saying that the online app had already been sent in. They just wanted to make sure the fin aid office would know whose parents' tax reforms they were.</p>
<p>In any case, both were received by the office. The only thing they haven't gotten is the CSS Profile.</p>
<p>Thanks for the quick responses! About the CSS profile, another stupid question, does it have to be submitted even though we are doing the columbia fin aid application? thanks</p>
<p>Yep. They need both.</p>
<p>Demeter, thanks again for your help. We will do it tonight. I hope it can be done by tonight.</p>
<p>I put my name and SSN on all the pages of the tax return copy (I didn't see anywhere on Columbia that said to do that but that's what CB said when I finished the CSS).</p>
<p>Thanks everyone! We were able to get both the Columbia fin. aid app and CSS profile both done on time. Good luck to everyone.</p>
<p>What CSS Profile did everyone fill out? </p>
<p>If you have a child planning to start college in fall of '07, you're supposed to fill out the 2007 profile... BUT all the info requested assumes a completed 2006 tax return. (Not yet possible... duh... 2006 isn't yet complete!)</p>
<p>This makes it tricky if a kid applies ED. The timing doesn't "dovetail."</p>
<p>My parents filled out the 2007-2008 one. I was a little concerned about the version, and I should have asked when I called the fin aid office, but on the CB website, it did say to out the newer one if planning on entering college in fall '07.</p>
<p>Edit: I just checked my app online, and they finally received the CSS profile. So I guess the 2007 one is the one to use.</p>
<p>Just as an update, Columbia's fin. aid office was very cooperative. We did fed. exp a copy of the online fin. aid application and tax returns, but they also had emailed us that we could fax the return to them.</p>
<p>Okay -- So did everyone doing ED use the 2007 CSS Profile? And for those who did, I assume that you just filled in the numbers section with your best, educated guesses...?</p>
<p>Yep, that's what it says to do. :)</p>