<p>What I'm saying is how can colleges be sure that we don't have a huge amount of money in the bank and we didn't talked about it, or a second/third undeclared home?</p>
<p>Must still send in your taxes and any other documentation the the school requires as verification (unless you are also lying to the IRS). I think the bigger question is what happens if you get caught in a lie? Admissions rescinded, you must pay back all of the institutional federal aid paid by the school. Toast, if you ever decide to go to law school or do anything that requires a background check.</p>
<p>How can they tell? Your tax return holds the clues. It is a very “telling” document.</p>
<p>What does “income tax return” include, besides the parents’ wage declarations?
I’m not from th U.S.</p>
<p>The U.S. federal income tax return includes quite a LOT of information. In addition to income/taxes from jobs, it also includes interest reported for any bank accounts and/or investments (and if you have substantial ones, this WILL show up on your tax return)…things like mortgage interest deductions and taxes paid on real estate, etc.</p>
<p>And just for the record…our kids attended Profile schools. ONE school actually asked for the tax return AND all of the materials used to compute it…W-2 forms (income), 1099 (interest and dividend statements). </p>
<p>Just an FYI…if you are thinking about withholding information because you think it will net you more aid…don’t do it. It is considered fraud. You run the risk of losing not only the aid you received (and a nice bill to repay anything that you wrongfully received) but also your admission status as a students.</p>
<p>Just be HONEST and you won’t need to fret about how the school verifiies this information.</p>
<p>I’ll declare everything just as it is, on the CSS profile, but in my country, we don’t have those forms (W-2, 1099, etc). I’ve only prepared my parents’ wage statements. Am I missing something?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>This is what you asked about. If you have any of the above things…you are REQUIRED to include them on your financial aid application forms…under ASSETS.</p>
<p>It sounds like you are an international student…if that is the case chances are you will need to prove that you can afford to come to this country, pay tuition room and board and so on. Chances are you won’t gain anything by not disclosing sources of income when asked on the Profile.</p>
<p>
There’s no requirement to take a deduction for these on a second house. The reality is, unless the school hires a private detective to follow you around, there is no practical way they can find it.</p>
<p>As for bank accounts, yes the interest generated will produce a 1099 that gets reported to the IRS if the interest is over a certain amount. There are easy ways around this too - put your money in something that doesn’t pay interest, put it in a safe deposit box, bury it in your back yard. I’ve never seen it reported here on CC that a school verified the contents of a bank account or brokerage account, only taxes, so you can pretty much just lie about it, and if you are smart about the 1099 how will you get caught?</p>
<p>The system relies on people’s integrity. And the fact that there really aren’t all that many people with second homes and huge bank accounts. :D</p>
<p>In general, do the colleges help students from outside of the US pay their transportation to the U.S? Or should I search for a scholarship? They ask this information on the CSS profile.
(I’m talking about colleges which claim to give full-need, need-blind, need-based aid).</p>
<p>One question, I’m an International and over here we don’t really file taxes (the government doesnt check and we are used to lying to the gov).
So how can schools know if I have a 410000 house? (which I do).</p>
<p>Also, this house was built by my parents and its cost was very low. But now, because inflation here is a big thing, this may be the reason I cant go to college. Isn’t there any way that I can get away with this without lying?</p>
<p>Thanks guys! I really need help! :S</p>
<p>DO NOT LIE to get financial aid. Tell the truth.</p>
<p>One question, I’m an International and over here we don’t really file taxes (the government doesnt check and we are used to lying to the gov).
So how can schools know if I have a 410000 house? (which I do).</p>
<p>This is one reason why so many schools won’t give aid to int’ls. The schools know that in some countries, records of what people have or own is very loosy-goosey.</p>
<p>First of all as an international student, a lot of aid is not available to you. What is mostly available are the schools own funds and merit awards if you have sterling high stats that a school wants. For merit awards, need is usually not an issue.</p>
<p>THere is a form for international students to complete as well as the PROFILE. If you are selected, and if the school does give aid to international students, it usually has some way to do some sort of check as to what your family assets and income are. Because there is fraud in these areas and it has been discovered , those schools that do give a lot of financial aid to internationals have their own ways of verifying he information on the forms. Not to say that people don’t get away with the fraud. US students do too. So,yes, it is possible that you can lie about your family’s situation, leave out bank accounts and second, third homes, and the money under the mattress, and you could get away with it. You can also rob a bank or break into homes, or purse snatch and get away with it. You, know, some people even get away with murder. So you decide what risk you want to take.</p>
<p>One university here refuses to accept international students wuithout someone at the school able to verify the student,work and finances because identity and test score are often suspect from certain countries. When my brother, who is not an international student applied to CIT many years ago, they actually had someone come and visit him and personally check out the situation since his high school was not one known to the university. So it all depends on the college and whether it knows someone at your school, your area, has alumni in your are. Before investing a large amount of money into anyone or anything, some sort of investigation is done, but how extensive and what is done varies.</p>
<p>Also keep in mind, you must apply for financial aid every year. Most schools will ask for 3rd party documentation: certified letters from the bank and/or employers verifying the job. Remember that the world is a big place, but it is also very small. You would be suprised as to who knows whom. Do you really think that you would be the first student from your country to apply to your school. The college would already be well versed on what to look for and what to ask for.</p>
<p>If you lie and get caught, your visa can and most likely will be rescinded by the school, meaning that you would have to immediately leave the country (and make it very hard for you to be able to return). If the fraud is discovered after receiving the degree, the school will rescind the degree leaving you with a worthless piece of paper.</p>
<p>@notrichenough - I have read that willfully providing fraudulent information on FAFSA is a crime and punishable by fines or in the extreme, jail time. Is willfully providing fraudulent information on CSS\Profile also a crime?</p>
<p>^ It says right on the FAFSA form “If you purposely give false or misleading information, you may be fined up to $20,000, sent to prison, or both.”</p>
<p>It doesn’t say that on the CSS/Profile form, but you do certify that the information is correct.</p>
<p>So I assume it would be covered by existing fraud laws.</p>
<p>I would gather that because it is the schools institutional funds that they would not be hesitant to bring forth criminal charges and against someone who fraudulently takes their money. </p>
<p>Many schools state on the admissions application that willful misrepresentation would be grounds for having your admissions rescinded if you have not started started school or being dismissed if it is found out once you are a student.</p>
<p>In addition, many schools have honor codes, that you are honest and truthful in your dealings with the college. This would definitely fall under an honor code violation leading to expulsion from the school.</p>
<p>Frankly, this subject really annoys me. There are countries where it is difficult to determine accurate income and assets. And there are countries where much of a family’s income is gotten from the black market.</p>
<p>Last year, a student from Greece received full aid at a school and he admitted to me in PM that his family’s income is quite substantial but mostly all gotten from the black market, which according to him is pretty normal for that country (I have no idea if that’s true or not). </p>
<p>Again, I can see why few schools give aid to int’ls. It’s too easy for many of them to lie, hide, etc, about their financial situations.</p>
<p>And, as the OP wrote, “we’re used to lying to the gov’t”…so why would he (and others) not lie to a college?</p>
<p>^ I just read an article that in Italy the police are randomly pulling over drivers of expensive cars and making them prove that they have reported enough income to the government to be able to afford the cars. They are finding many people who are driving 100,000 Euro cars who have declared incomes of under 30,000 Euro. </p>
<p>Greece is probably worse.</p>