<p>I applied to Harvard early action, and just now as i was logging into the student portal thing (where all of my materials were checked and received), I clicked on the link for "instructions to follow if you plan to apply for financial aid." On that document, it says the CSS profile is due November 1, 2014. Am i just really out of it for never noticing this? Will they not accept anything after this date? </p>
<p>I always knew about CSS/FAFSA, but I never imagined they would be submitted in the fall of senior year, and I don't remember my siblings doing that for any of their schools. My dad is convinced it's not due today.</p>
<p>If an applicant would like to receive an estimated financial aid package along with their SCEA acceptance, the CSS Profile needs to be submitted by 11:59pm November 1st. However, if you are admitted to Harvard, you will have to plenty of time to submit the CSS Profile by the March 1st deadline to receive Harvard’s financial aid package by April 1st – plenty of time for you to compare aid packages with other colleges.</p>
<p>I misspoke about the March 1st deadline (sorry) – it’s actually February 1st. The February 1st deadline is for RD Admissions. The November 1st deadline is for ESTIMATED financial aid, which is not Harvard’s final offer. Harvard’s non-estimated offer comes AFTER you update the CSS Profile with exact 2014 figures from your parents and your income. That deadline for updating SCEA (or filing RD) is February 1st.</p>
<p>@gibby I understand that it’s an estimate, but on the website you linked, I only see March 1 2015 as a deadline for RD applicants. I know that FAFSA is due in March for both RD and EA applicants, but for CSS, I only see November 1st as a deadline for EA applicants. I’m probably just missing something - i’ll reread the page now.</p>
<p>I really don’t need an estimate. But this is a direct quote from the website: “Early action financial aid applicants: The first deadline for early financial aid applications is November 1st. If you have not yet submitted your application, please do so as soon as you are able. Late applications will continue to be processed in the order that they are received.”</p>
<p>I still don’t see it saying that a “second” CSS deadline for EA applicants is March 1.</p>
<p>I misspoke about the March 1st deadline (sorry) – it’s actually February 1st. </p>
<p>February 1st is the deadline to (A) update your CSS Profile with exact 2014 figures from the SCEA cycle, or (B) to file the CSS Profile for the RD cycle.</p>
<p>Unlike other colleges, you can apply for financial aid to Harvard after you’ve been accepted. But, as their information states
<p>@gibby Thank you for the update. So am i doing myself a disservice by not submitting the profile now and updating later, as they’re requesting? The “late application” first come first serve things kind of turns me off to not submitting, but I really don’t want to submit unless i have to.</p>
<p>Side question from my dad- when the CSS profile is uploaded, is that same profile locked in to be sent to all schools? And my final offer is only based on my finalized CSS profile in February, correct?</p>
<p>^^ No, you will NOT be doing yourself a disservice. Your aid WILL NOT change, whether you submit the CSS Profile by the November 1st deadline or February deadline. If you are accepted in the SCEA round, you have until February 1st to file the CSS Profile – just like RD applicants. </p>
<p>@gibby Sorry, one more question. If “late applications” (i’m assuming apps submitted after this November 1st deadline) are “processed in the order that they are received”, wouldn’t that affect my aid package? Wouldn’t late applicants who apply ahead of me get more priority in terms of aid? And I guess my main question is why did Harvard really emphasize this November 1st deadline if it’s actually optional and I have until February 1st?</p>
<p>The CSS profile once completed will be sent to all colleges. If your dad completes the form today – it’s done with estimated amounts – he will need to update the form with his corrected tax information by February 1st – and be ready to send to the College Board (through the IDOC service) a signed copy of his 2014 tax return along with all W-2’s and 1099’s.</p>
<p>Yes, for most colleges, applying late for aid means that you may not get as much money as filing on time. However, that is not true for Harvard. Students who apply late for financial aid are not penalized by the school running out of money. It’s Harvard, they have more money than any other college.</p>
<p>@gibby I don’t see the purpose of including that line discouraging late applications if they don’t frown upon them. And I still see the Feb 1 deadline only for RD.
But thank you for all your help! </p>