<p>I'm a rising senior at a university that relies on both the FAFSA and CSS Profile for determining aid. I'm getting married (to another student) shortly, and am trying to determine whether it makes sense to apply for aid before or after the wedding date. Of course I am planning to meet personally with a financial aid officer to discuss the specifics, but I am curious if anyone has information about how the CSS Profile EFC is calculated. I ran the EFC calculator for FAFSA for me as a dependent and me as an independent, and got an EFC of $100 and $0 respectively. However, when I ran the EFC calculator on the Collegeboard website for me as a dependent and as an independent, I got an EFC of $1650 and $2950 respectively. I am curious about the descrepancy, especially because with both calculators, my Available Income value is $0. Does this mean that there is a minimum contribution for Independent students of $2950 as calculated by the Profile, and that that number is simply significantly less for dependent students?</p>
<p>I should note that our combined incomes (minus work study, etc...) are less than $6000, and we each make about the same amount yearly, so the spouse's income issue is likely not influencing my EFC much. </p>
<p>Any ideas about how these numbers are calculated? What the formula may be?</p>
<p>Cheers,
J</p>