<p>Hi everyone!
So, I started an online social media business that earns 5-figures. I want to know how I would/should go about including this in college applications, etc.
Thank you!!</p>
<p>Write your essay about the social media company and the life-lessons you have learned running a 5-figure business. Seems like it would easily fit into prompt #1, #3, or #5.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Okay, cool.
Do you think it would have adverse effects on my financial aid or is FAFSA info, etc the only thing used to determine aid?</p>
<p>Nevermind…</p>
<p>If you write your essay about it, financial aid offices won’t see the essay for all need blind schools.</p>
<p>If you file a tax return (which I imagine you do) I’m pretty sure they will see it.</p>
<p>There are questions on the FAFSA and CSS Profile that ask out about student earnings and parent earnings, as well as student savings and parent savings. </p>
<p>In addition, you (and your parents) will have to verify through an IRS KEY that the income reported on the FAFSA is correct. Like wise, you (and your parents) will have to send in your 2013 tax returns to document earnings for schools that require the CSS Profile. You just can’t get around that – whether or not you write about your business as an essay topic or not.</p>
<p>How it will all effect your financial aid depends on many factors. By law, every college must have a financial aid calculator on their website. You will have to go to each college’s website and run your information and your parents information through the calculators to see how it will effect your financial aid.</p>
<p>If I talk about the business in my essay, should I mention the website and logistics, etc? Or more how it affected my life?</p>
<p>You can talk about anything you want; it’s your story to tell, however you want to tell it! The important word in that sentence is “story.” You need to tell a story about the life lessons you have learned. Think of something small and build on it.</p>
<p>The later. I’m writing about my own experience with my business. You don’t want it to come off as an autobiography of events of synopsis of the company. It has to be about how it affect your life in the context of the life lessons and experience learned as well as goals and dreams for the future.</p>