I have applied for financial & merit aid and my parents have filled out the FAFSA and CSS profile. That required their tax return for 2015 which they have submitted.
However, tax year 2015 is not representative and typical because that year my father received a one time stock distribution (due to a special situation where he was granted some stock options many years ago in a private firm that never went public and this was kind of a “pay out”). The one time stock distribution tripled the household’s adjusted gross income.
This is a one time event that will never be repeated. Their 2012, 2013, 2014 AGI are much lower at about 30% of 2015, and 2016 will again be at that lower level. But with the 2015 high AGI I will not qualify for any financial aid.
Speaking to others and the counselors I was advised to:
(1) There is nothing you can do, it is what it is. Bad timing and colleges are not set up or prepared to deal with “one off unique situations”.
(2) Another counselor said to put that information in the “additional information” section of the college application or CSS profile, but said no school EVER look at those sections.
(3) Another counselor said to call each college individually and ask for guidance. One said to not call until you have been accepted, another said to call early before you receive any decision.
Any suggestions?
Some schools will listen to special situations and may apply “professional judgment” to modify an award. That being said, the first question they will probably ask is, “how much of that one time stock distribution that tripled your family’s normal AGI in 2015 can be used to help pay for doraemon’s 2017-2018 school expenses?”
I suggest you run the NPC using the 2015 without the bonus and with the bonus, and see if it makes a difference in the aid you might receive. For a FAFSA only school, you can’t argue until after the FAFSA is filed, usually through an appeal process with the school. The CSS schools can do whatever they like with the information.
One option you have is to take a gap year and use the 2016 income next year.
Was any of that extra money from 2015 put aside to help pay for college? If not…why? I’m not meaning to be snarky, but that is likely the expectation of the colleges.
I am not sure if the answer of that question is relevant in this context.
Both FAFSA and CCS Profile have a section where my parents would state their savings. investments and assets. So the extra “bonus” is now reflected in their savings. The colleges are obviously going to look at their savings and take that into their financial aid considerations. In that sense the extra income is already going to play a role.
The original question is if they are just looking at 2015 taxes, there will be a false expectation of the household income to be maintained at that level for the next four years.
Not for schools that require Profile, because you will be asked to report expected parent income for both 2016 and 2017.