<p>Hi,
I'm trying to fill out my PROFILE to apply FA from Mt. Holyoke College. I want to make sure that everything I entered is correct! Here're some questions... Hope some of you can help me, thank you in advance!</p>
<p>“A copy of the most recent parental tax return or certified verification of total income, translated into English. A letter from parents' employers attesting to their annual salaries is an acceptable form of verification.”
Q1: “the most recent” means 2012 or 2013? (There’s still a month left, so my mother says they can only get verification for the first 11 months)
Q2: It’s much harder for my parents to get parental tax return, so do you think annual salaries verification from their employers alone will suffice? (I know there’s an “OR” in the requirements, but I need to be ensured)
In PROFILE:
“Enter the income parent 1 earned or expects to earn from work during his or her country's most recent tax year.”
Q: The income means the money my parent 1 gets after tax, right?
“Enter the amount of housing, food, and other living allowances your parents received or expect to receive from their employer(s) or other sources during their country's most recent tax year. Include cash payments and cash value of benefits.”
Q: In 2013, my parents received approximately $6700 for their Housing Provident Fund from their employers. Is it a kind of living allowance? (I don’t think it is) If not, should I include this part?
“What is the total current market value of your parents' real estate, such as residential or commercial properties and land-holdings, other than their home?”
Q: I know it’s a dumb question. But is car a kind of real estate? I have already filled in the value of our home in another question. Besides our apartment, my parents own a car. There’s nothing else. So if car is not considered as real estate, should I just enter 0?
“What is your parents' monthly home mortgage payment? (If none, explain in Explanations/Special Circumstances (ES).)”
Q: My parents don’t have any mortgage payment now. What should I explain in the ES?
“Expenses not listed above”
Q: Annually, my mother spends $4950 for cosmetology but in 2013, she did a speckles-removing thing (I don’t know how to translate!) so the total cost is $6600. Should I explain to college that the cost will be $~5000 normally and that extra $~1600 is just a one-time thing?
“How much did or will your parents pay for your education for the 2013-14 academic year?”
Q: This is kind of complicated. Normally, my parents pay about $1644 annually for my education. I am in a local public high school. But in 2013, we decided to apply to some colleges in US. So my parents paid a lot for my TOEFL and SAT tutoring, book fees, exam fees, application fees, counseling fees, transportation (I can’t take SATs in the city I live in), etc. So in 2013, they spent $24660 for my education. Should I explain this to college? Which number should I enter?</p>
<ul>
<li>If they want a copy of your latest tax return and your college deadline is now (typical of students applying ED), then they want a copy of your 2012 taxes. For colleges where your financial aid application deadline is next year (like Feb 1 or Mar 1), they will ask for 2013 figures. </li>
<li>income before taxes</li>
<li>It sounds like a housing allowance to me so I think you should include it. </li>
<li>A car is not a type of real estate; you do not have to list that. </li>
<li>If your parents own their home outright, explain why they do not have a mortage payment. Is the mortgage paid in full? Does someone else pay the mortgage? Is the housing allowance used to pay the mortgage? Do they live in a rental for which they use that housing allowance? </li>
<li>Do you mean cosmetology school? Just put what she spent in 2012 . If they are asking you to estimate for 2013, include that. I wouldn’t bother to say it will be $1K more or less since it could go up next year anyway. </li>
<li>You should enter what they expect to pay every year for your college education. Don’t list something they won’t be able to pay. Do not tell them your parents paid almost $25K for fees including SAT and TOEFL tutoring.</li>
</ul>
<p>“Q: Annually, my mother spends $4950 for cosmetology but in 2013, she did a speckles-removing thing (I don’t know how to translate!) so the total cost is $6600. Should I explain to college that the cost will be $~5000 normally and that extra $~1600 is just a one-time thing?”</p>
<p>Is your mother learning to be a cosmetologist, or is this for cosmetology treatments? If it is for treatments, are these treatments to make her more beautiful, or are they required for medical reasons? Removing freckles just because you don’t like the freckles is an optional expense that can easily be dropped in order to have the money available to pay for a child’s education. Removing pre-cancerous freckles that are potentially life-threatening is a medical expense.</p>
<p>It is for cosmetology treatments. The extra cost this year is a medical expense. The normal annual cost is, I think, to make her more beautiful. (I don’t think she will drop that even for my education…my mom is super picky about her skin)</p>
<p>The question that I get, as a domestic applicant, is “Help for question PE-135 Enter the total elementary, junior high school, and high school tuition your parent(s) expect to pay for dependent children in 2014. Do not include tuition paid for you, the student.”</p>
<p>Typically, this number refers only to tuition that was paid for educational costs. The help-code says this:
</p>
<p>Under normal circumstances, this question would only refer to tuition, or that first number. Test prep courses, travel, etc. are all seen as choices and not something that colleges should compensate one for.</p>
<p>Cosmetology treatments should not be listed anywhere.</p>
<p>And I think I was wrong. I thought you were asking about the Profile question which asks how much your parents will pay for each year. That is one question. There is another question, which purpleacorn cites, which refers to tuition this year. Could you double-check and write the exact question please? In neither question would you list what they paid for tutoring/ travel, etc. but your response to each question would be different.</p>
<p>@purpleacorn
The question is not PE-135. It’s SD-115B. “How much did or will your parents pay for your education for the 2013-14 academic year?”</p>
<p>Now I get it, and I will use the first number because I checked the help code.
Yes, I understand now. I think all the one-time stuff should not be listed. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>You mean EFC? I entered about $40k and for the tuition for my last year in high school, I will use the first number. Tutoring and travel should not be listed just like you and purpleacorn said.</p>