<p>i recently found out that one of my schools needs my mom's tax forms by march 1, and they're not going to be there because she hasn't done her taxes yet. she usually doesn't even do them until late march :( she says she's going to do them next week, but still, it's too late. also, i can't update the fafsa...i just feel like i'm drowning right now because my mom's completely clueless about all this and i have to keep track of everything myself. and i'm cutting it so close, and i just can't meet any of these deadlines—i'm pretty sure some other schools need the same forms by the same time, but this one is really important because it has the best financial aid of all, which is crucial (also i'm basically accepted to the school and i want to go there). what should i do? if they're late, am i just out of luck when it comes to financial aid? </p>
<p>Get last years form if you can. Enter the numbers on this years Fafsa as an estimate. Correct it later. Maybe someone else has an idea.</p>
<p>You need to talk to your mom about this. These deadlines have been on the school websites since at least the fall. This is not the year to delay doing taxes. If your mom does her own, she has this week to get them done so you can get them in the mail ON TIME.</p>
<p>You can contact the college to find out what the implication of late tax forms will be. They will tell you.</p>
<p>I will say…they have these deadlines so a FINALIZED financial aid package can be in your hands prior to the matriculation decision date of May 1. If you don’t get these submissions done on time, you will be making your matriculation decision with an estimated financial aid award, or possibly NO award. If an estimate is given…YES…it can be reduced IF your tax returns show an increase in income.</p>
<p>Shiloh77- I already did the FAFSA with last year’s estimates. </p>
<p>thumper1- I have been talking to her about this…I’m going crazy. Yeah, I messed up and assumed I didn’t have to worry about financial aid specifics until late January and that all it took was the FAFSA and CSS. There’s no way they’ll be on time…I’m terrified I ruined everything </p>
<p>You have been having issues with getting your financial aid application submissions done since this all started. You need to make a list RIGHT NOW of everything that is still needing to be submitted with the deadlines. Talk calmly to your mom. Tell her you that timely submissions of these financial aid required things is very important to optimize your aid prospects. </p>
<p>Did you ever resolve the NCP Profile issue?</p>
<p>Contact the schools!!!</p>
<p>Contact each of them and explain the delay and ask what the consequences will be. For some, it might not make much difference at all - they’ll be able to issue a tentative award, and they’ll finalize it later, once they have your mom’s return. For others, it might delay the award. And for some, it might impact your eligibility for aid. But, before you panic, call (or email) each school and find out.</p>
<p>And I agree with the advice above: make a list of what each school needs, and note the deadlines. Then sit down with your mom and figure out what the two of you can get done before the deadlines. Yes, it’s scary . . . but it’ll be easier to manage once you get organized.</p>
<p>It’s mostly been because I just didn’t have the money to do all those CSS profiles at once.
Yes, I emailed every school and found out what they need to consider me for a waiver. </p>
<p>dodgersmom- I’ll definitely do that asap. I got a likely ee from Wellesley, which was by far the most affordable school on my list that I had a chance of getting into (based on many npc calculations), so I wish I could just focus solely on that school (which is the one I surely know of with the impending deadline) instead of scrambling to turn in forms for 8 other schools, most of which I probably won’t even get into. I don’t know…I know I have to finish out the other financial aid apps just in case, but I just had no idea how complex this whole process is. I guess all I can do is get everything together as soon as possible and ask. </p>
<p>You need to get ALL of your things submitted to ALL of your schools. You have some significant financial needs. You are going to NEED to compare actual net costs amongst your accepted schools. If your financial aid application packages are NOT complete, you won’t be able to do so. </p>
<p>Please…get a list of ALL that you need for ALL of your schools…and get the stuff done! </p>
<p>From reading your past posts, most everything you have done so far has been on the late side.</p>
<p>For Wellesley, you still have 3 days (4 days if including 03/01/2014) to submit. Don’t panic. Talk to your mom calmly, as everyone suggested, and help her finish her 2013 tax. Don’t complain. Talk to her that you need the financial aid from the school, otherwise either she has to pay or you just can not make it.</p>
<p>outofit - When you contact the schools to find out about extending the deadline, ask also if they might be willing to provide you a CSS Profile fee waiver code. Each code would be good for that one school only, but if one or more of your schools would be willing to provide a waiver code, that would save you a chunk of money on CSS Profile fees.</p>
<p>The purpose of the fee waiver codes is to make the financial aid process affordable for families who are not low enough income to qualify for the CSS Profile automatic fee waiver, but for whom paying the Profile fees is still a financial hardship. So ASK!</p>
<p>Thanks, dodgersmom, but unfortunately I already paid all the CSS fees. I searched high and low on this site for a way to reduce CSS fees, but I found nothing :(</p>
<p>Sorry, I only discovered this myself a couple of weeks ago. It really is a well-kept secret!</p>
<p>The problem is that these waiver codes actually cost the colleges more than the CSS Profile fee itself - so they’re not cheap. If the colleges advertised that the codes were available, it would cost them a small fortune.</p>
<p>I guess the lesson is that, if you can’t afford something and need the price reduced, ask. The worst anyone can say is no. (And this is a life lesson . . . it also applies to that apartment you find ten years from now that’s just ever so slightly out of your price range. The landlord might think you’d make a great tenant . . . so ask! 
)</p>
<p>Absolutely contact the financial aid offices at each college and let them know your problem. Some of them may tell you right out that you are losing out. Some schools only guarantee full need met for those who meet the deadlines, and for those who do not, some of them will not get that guarantee. Also if it comes down to it, when things run out, that’s it. That can mean loans and workstudy instead of grants in some cases.</p>
<p>Is it possible to file the tax returns immediately, and do a 1040X redo later? If a lot rides on this, I would do that.It would be more trouble in that you would have to report the redo to your college later and possibly get adjustments but with some schools the aid you get freshman year sets the tone for the rest of your time at the school.</p>