<p>Every year, there are many posts on this topic, so I thought I would start a thread. Here are some things you will need to do to get ready to file your FAFSA and Profile.</p>
<li><p>Get PIN numbers…NOW. The student and one parent need to each have a number. The PIN is how you will “sign” and access your FAFSA form online. Apply now to avoid the rush. You will need your social security number to apply for this.</p></li>
<li><p>Get together ALL of your last pay stubs for the month of December. You will need both yours and your parents. These will probably have your year to date salary, and taxes paid on them. These year to date amounts for the last pay period in December will enable you to do your FAFSA in January using accurate estimates for the 2006 tax year (You can do so after January 1, and will do a “will file” status meaning that you will file taxes. Once you really do file ASAP after Feb 1, you will go and amend the FAFSA to indicate the real numbers on your tax returns).</p></li>
<li><p>Look up the college codes for the colleges so that you will have them when you are filing your forms. These codes are NOT the same for FAFSA and Profile. Get both numbers if necessary.</p></li>
<li><p>Collect all of your bank statement/asset information. You will need that also. For the Profile, you will also need info on home value, mortgage, etc. </p></li>
<li><p>CHECK THE DEADLINES FOR YOUR SCHOOLS…and adhere to them. They will likely vary. Find the earliest date, and plan to do them all when you do the earliest one.</p></li>
<li><p>Check to see if any of your schools have their own finaid application forms. Some schools do…and these MUST be completed as well.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I’m sure others will be adding to this list. It is far easier to complete these forms with all the information at hand than to be scrambling for it while you attempt to complete the forms.</p>
<p>And my opinion…this is not the year to delay filing your taxes until April 15. Most colleges will NOT finalize your financial aid award until you have filed your taxes. Plan to complete this as soon as possible after February 1. The good news is that for renewal for finaid, the deadlines are a bit later. BUT for entering freshmen, do it ASAP.</p>
<p>thumper1, I'm filling out the Profile right now with my parents. We are stuck on one question that we don't know how to interpret. It asks how much was your parent's contribution to (my high school aged brother's) education for the year 2006-2007? There is anothe similar question asking for their contribution to my education.</p>
<p>Well any supplies, books, fees etc. is clear. But the help desk explanation says to also include cost of room and board. Well if we live at home, then do they estimate the cost of feeding my brother and letting him sleep in the house? That seems weird. Or did you interpret that question to mean only the cost of room and board if you are at a boarding school? </p>
<p>I just looked at my daughters Profile from last year, and I do not see a question relating to educational expenses, except what we paid for her brother who is in college. Where is that question on the current Profile? The only similar one I can find on the 2005 one is under "dependent/family member listing...and it pertains to college expenses.</p>
<p>I will try to connect to the right questions -</p>
<p>Under Student's data - it first asks for school or college attended this year, and so I put in my high school's name. Then it asks my grade (12th) then it asks how much did I receive in scholarships ($0) and then it asks my parent's contributions to my education (books, tuition, room/board). </p>
<p>Then under Dependent Family - full name, relationship, age, name of school attended, grade (10th), then scholarships, then contribution.</p>
<p>So you interpreted this as all regarding college? Because since there is a 12th and 10th grades option in the dropdown, we assumed that this also applies to high schoool. Yet it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to try to guess an amount for room/board in high school. I will tell you this - if we do estimate, my brother costs our family a whole lot more than me!!! haha, he can really eat. </p>
<p>So you would put in zero if you are at home?</p>
<p>one other thing - the instruction booklet says "give the best estimate of the amount of money your parents paid or will pay towards school or college expenses including tuition, books, room and board and personal expenses". This being right after the instructions "if the family member is attending school, including a private preschool, a public or private elementary or secondary school, or a college or graduate school, enter the name of the school" </p>
<p>so it sounds like they want personal expenses to be alive, but that doesn't make any sense. Thanks for your assistance. It helps to hear how other people treated this question.</p>
<p>OK...here is my read on it. The family member (say a sibling)...the expenses would be for either tuition/fees/room/board/travel/books. I do not think that the college board is looking for what your parents pay for school supplies at the start of school each year. For my daughter's last year (she was going to be a freshman in college, and therefore was a senior in hs when I filled this out), I actually left the item blank...didn't fill it in at all. For my son, the college student sibling, I put the amount I paid for his tuition/room/board/fees. I did not include travel and books. On the form from last year, it says "parent contribution"...and that is where I put those amounts (or didn't in the case of my daughter). My daughter attended a public high school and the reality is that I didn't pay anything (but taxes) for her to attend. My son, OTOH, attended an expensive private university for which I wrote almost $30,000 in checks. That is significant...not the amount I spent on notebooks and pencils for my daughter.</p>
<p>Hi Weenie, Some schools have a priority finaid application deadline that is in November or some other time before January 1. This is usually for EA or ED applicants or anyone else who must meet the schools "priority" deadline. In those situations, you would need to file the Profile to meet that earlier than FAFSA deadline. For example, last year, DD's Profile was due to her top choice school by November 15 because she applied EA and wanted her finaid estimate when she got her acceptance. So...we completed the stinking thing in November...then, of course, we had to amend it (by hand...no way to do this online) later for submission to two other schools. It was also difficult because we were going on projections for the full year which is a challenge. It's hard enough doing this with the final paycheck of the year...it's really a challenge at the beginning of November. Boy...that was a long winded answer to an easy question!!!</p>
<p>Thumper,
Thanks for your repsonse. When I look at the College Board site and check the CSS Profile "Priority Dates" for the schools he applied to EA, the dates are still Feb 1 and Feb 15. Do you think I can go by that? </p>
<p>We already have accepted the fact that we won't be able to make financial decisions until April, in spite of EA. Thanks.</p>
<p>Weenie, yes, adhere to the dates that are published by the colleges. I will say...read carefully. We NEVER saw the priority deadline of November 15 for DD. Honestly we would not have completed that Profile on time, but the college sent an email "reminding" EA applicants to get it done by November 15....so read carefully.</p>
<p>D was trying to file CSS Profile. For the monthly mortgage payment, does it only include first mortgage? How about home equity loan? Since insurance and property tax are included in the monthly mortgage payment, should I exclude the property tax and insurance portion?</p>
<p>I gotta say that I'm really confused about this whole process. My mom told me that she doesn't get her W-2's (whatever those are) until the end of January, so we can't file anything until at least the end of January. Is this true? I don't know anything about finances at all...how do I start this whole financial aid process?</p>
<blockquote>
<p>My mom told me that she doesn't get her W-2's (whatever those are) until the end of January, so we can't file anything until at least the end of January.>></p>
</blockquote>
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<p>See #2 above. You will file after January 1 indicating "will file" as your status. This means you "will file" your taxes. You should use the best possible estimates based on your final pay stubs of the 2006 year, and any other information you have. Remember, for the FAFSA you can use these estimates but do be very careful to make them as close as possible to the "real" numbers. WHEN you all get your W-2 Forms (which you will receive BY January 31) you will then complete your 2006 tax returns. Then you go into the FAFSA online (using your PIN and SS number) and you then amend the form online to reflect your actual tax return. You will also change your FAFSA filing status to "completed taxes" (or whatever the wording is).</p>
<p>So you interpreted this as all regarding college? Because since there is a 12th and 10th grades option in the dropdown, we assumed that this also applies to high schoool. >></p>
<p>The profile DOES take private educational expenses for students into account, so yes, you should provide the information.</p>
<p>Yes, as Carolyn points out, the CSS Profile DOES take PRIVATE secondary school costs into consideration. That info and college expense info should be provided. I do not think you are "Paying" anyone for your public school expenses, and if you are living at home, your parents are not "paying someone else" for your room and board. I believe that is what they are looking for. You could call the College Board and check that.</p>
<p>okay, i have a question about the css profile. i applied to stanford SCEA and i had to have it in by Nov. 1. however a lot of the questions we just had to estimate on because our last years income and this years income is going to have about a 40,000 difference. will it matter when i have to fill out the fafsa at the beginning of the year, that like a lot of the information will be different?</p>