<p>my som received a financial aide packet from Penn today. It has some forms about salary and expenses to fill out which I had no problem with. And it asked for Fafsa and Profile, both already done. But then it asks for 2005 and 2006 income tax returns to be sent by 2/1 2005 3/1 2006. I have aproblem having all these copies of my income tax return out there unless its the school that he's been accepted to, and I assune that everyone who applied is asked for the same forms. Whats the point of Fafsa and profile if they still wasnt your tax return at this point before admission? Any comments?</p>
<p>It seems that the private schools require it to confirm what has been self-reported in the FAFSA and CSS. We have 3 in college and it's a hassle to keep up with what is required from each school but well worth the effort at tuition paying time....</p>
<p>Are you saying that your son has applied, not been accepted yet, and they are still asking for 2 years worth of tax returns?</p>
<p>Personally, I wouldn't send this type of info to a college that hasn't yet ACCEPTED my son. </p>
<p>I realize that for some of the schools, that he has applied for may ask for this info, but lets get real. He has applied to 4 schools, already gotten accepted to 2 of those with some merit schollies. The 2 that haven't yet accepted him will get FAFSA info....Thats about it. I have no intention of sending tax returns to a school that has not yet accepted him. Thats just me though.</p>
<p>If they haven't yet made a committment to him (acceptance) then, I am not making much further of a committment to sending this personal information to the school. Will a potential financial aid package be affected? Perhaps so. We all have choices and decisions to make. My son realizes and understands that. </p>
<p>Now, if I fill out the Fafsa and the schools that he has been accepted at come back with a package (including other need based aid or other gift aid or whatnot), and they ask for this additional info, (to confirm, verify, look at a redo of their offer...)I am EXTREMELY likely to give them whatever info they would like. I am unlikley to get ANY federal or state grant monies #1, and #2, with Sons academics and EC's he is a relatively hot candidate for the 4 schools he has finally decided upon.</p>
<p>Again, this is just my personal stand. No colleges get tax returns from me, until they have at least sent my son an acceptance letter.</p>
<p>From what I heard, schools do not process the financial aid forms unless the student is accepted. It makes no sense for a school to have thousands of unnecessary forms and do thousands of calculations for kids that are not accepted. My guess is that either you have been pulled for a random audit or your son may be accepted, but they are not going to tell him until the Big day. Of course, it could also be a mistake. I would be curious enough to call financial aid to ask if they ask for these forms from everyone. Something tactful, as they are not likely to give direct answers. Unfortunately, if you want the best aid package possible, getting info there early is crucial, so I would not withhold the forms, as he could just be put in the bottom of the stack and get what aid is left. If you want that particular school as a possibility with the best possible aid package, you need to send them what they ask for, but you can ask some questions. You can also call a few peer college fin aid offices for their policies as well.
I have a sneaking suspicion that he may be in the accepted pile, but am not sure enough to tell you to uncork the champagne, just let loose those tax docs.</p>
<p>i concurr with taht statement</p>
<p>thanks for your responses. I did call UPenn financial aide and the woman said it was required for all financial aide appliants. Beyond that She would say no more. So I sent it..But I kinda agree with you why would they want thousands of 1040 forms. Now the long wait until April.I'm just glad this is my last child I'm doing this for.</p>
<p>I appreciate you coming back to close the loop for us. I may need to relook my opinion on whether to send my tax returns in addition to FAFSA (Profile).</p>
<p>I haven't had any requests for additional info....yet</p>
<p>Thanks again and Good Luck</p>
<p>Many schools require tax returns upon application to the school so they can begin processing the award packets. Larger schools want this information early sinc ethey have thousands upon thousands to package so Packets can be mailed immediately once a student has ben officially accepted.</p>
<p>Also, when schools are asking for this information, though it may seem like an inconvenience, please keep in mind that financial aid offices never ask for something unless they ACTUALLY need it. And when you submit these types of documents to the Financial Aid Offices, they are kept in secure locations, and shred should they no longer be needed (such as if a student decides not to attend their institution.)</p>
<p>Also...just because you have filled out the FAFSA, it doesn't mean you are done with the FAFSA. Many students are selected for verification, which means the school must request copies of tax documents to verify the information you submitted via the FAFSA. Schools will also request tax documents if you submitted your FAFSA using a "Will File" tax status. This must be updated once the student or parent has completed their tax returns...and honestly, many students and parents forget to do this on their own.</p>
<p>Penn Columbia and Boston University had me fill out additional forms beyond fafsa and CSS. I also had to mail them my tax returns for 2006.</p>
<p>All of this is without knowing if he's been accepted...</p>
<p>We were "lucky" we had to submit all those documents to IDOC, who then disseminates them as needed. IDOC is a government agency who scans the docs, then encrypts them before they find their way to the requesting school(s). Not all schools use it though.</p>
<p>Interesting stuff here. I'm learning so much.
I guess the effifciency in getting the verifiable info so that a FA package can be put together quickly upon acceptance makes sense to me.</p>
<p>I am usually somewhat skeptical by nature. I saw them having detailed financial info on you as a "hook", kind of like a car salesman wanting you to give him som "flash money" to show his "Sales Manager", to convince him that you are a serious buyer.... Definately a sales tactic.</p>
<p>I truly appreciate the Fin Aid Officer input here.</p>