<p>So, my parents' combined incomes are more than 200k before taxes, and our house, savings, and other non-cash assets are enough that we're pretty sure that we're getting NO finaid. However, I was still applying for finaid on the slightest possibility that I would get something.</p>
<p>Now...I find out that it costs $16 to send your CSS profile to each college. I have 10 colleges. All the finaid calculators and estimates say that I'm getting no aid. Should I still pay almost $200 to send out my CSS and apply for aid? Or should I just not apply at all?</p>
<p>Can your parents pay for all of your education? Have they agreed to do so?</p>
<p>Some will say that you should at least submit a FAFSA in case you need to take out a small student loan.</p>
<p>Are you applying to any ivies that sometimes give money to students with high incomes?</p>
<p>Where are you applying to?</p>
<p>Are you applying to any reach schools that are need aware? If so, and your parents can pay, then it might help your chances if you don’t submit a CSS to those schools.</p>
<p>You’re right, your income will probably disqualify you from any need-based aid. However, you still might get merit aid, and some schools require FAFSA for merit eligibility. And mom2 is correct about federal loans; you’ll need to have filed FAFSA to get those. My take is that it never hurts to file FAFSA; it’s relatively quick, and it’s free.</p>
<p>Your question was about PROFILE, which is considerably more complicated, and NOT free. Personally, I haven’t heard of any schools that require it to award merit aid, but you should check your schools to be sure. Look at each college’s scholarship page to see what they need in order to consider you. If none of them require PROFILE for institutional scholarships, then filing is probably a waste of time in your case.</p>
<p>My parents are (painfully) resigned to the fact that they’ll have to pay 50k a year for my college education. I am applying to HYPS, but even with the Stanford aid calculator, I got $0 aid. Somehow, the calculator even predicted a $58k annual family contribution when the school doesn’t even cost that much…</p>
<p>I’ll still be turning in the FAFSA, but I was just wondering if it was worth it to still apply for finaid. It might just be a waste of money.</p>
<p>I feel for your parents, although our income is quite a bit lower, and we do get financial aid. I think the philosophy behind FA is to make college possible, not to make it comfortable. Paying for college for college hurts almost everyone. </p>
<p>The EFC calculator isn’t tied to a particular school. Every school gets the same data, and if their cost of attendance is less than $58K, then you wouldn’t get any need-based aid. If you found a school that costs, say $60K, your “need” would be $2K.</p>