<p>I was filling out the CSS last night. Interesting the questions asked regarding which colleges the student is applying too. My older D is attending a Private LAC and I did not have to feel out the questions about consumer debt etc. So, I have a question??? The more consumer debt the more aid??? Just a thought. Not a good reason to go into debt but who knows. Anybody have any answers???</p>
<p>Consumer Debt does not give you more aid- they don’t consider it at all in the CSS.
Buy this book-
Kalman A. Chany and Geoff Martz, The Princeton Review: Paying for College Without Going Broke, 2005. ISBN 0-37576-421-6 ($20.00). 352 pages. Revised annually.
The new version was released today on Amazon-</p>
<p>Medical Debt is considered but not Credit Card Debt.
The book is a must, if you cant afford to buy it you can find in on google and see the pages- and take screen shots. very helpful.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Paying-College-Without-Admissions-Guides/dp/0375429425[/url]”>http://www.amazon.com/Paying-College-Without-Admissions-Guides/dp/0375429425</a></p>
<p>Thanks Middle school Mom. If they don’t consider it then why do they ask for the info?? Just curious?? I will have to pick up a copy of the book.</p>
<p>i just got my copy in the mail today!</p>
<p>Yes, so did I, very disapointing, no more IM in the EFC Worksheets, no more IM tables for calculating your IM EFC… Read pages 321-324…</p>
<p>If they don’t consider it then why do they ask for the info?? </p>
<hr>
<p>Can’t tell you how many times I wondered that over the years as I completed the Profile. It’s not easy to get all that info together, but it wouldn’t be so bad if I thought it might make a difference!</p>
<p>SLUMOM, thats terrible that the book no longer gives you the info needed to calculate the IM EFC, apparently because of the College Board not releasing the formulas.</p>
<p>As if there weren’t enough reasons already to hate the College Board. How many bazillion dollars do they rake in every year?</p>
<p>does anyone have the OLD formula if there was one- maybe we could break it down and figure the increase of IM for EFC- i ditto you on the college board and the “control” they have on the college market.</p>
<p>I recommend buying the 2010 Edition of Paying for College Without Going Broke, then doing the EFC Calculator on College Board Website, for College Year 2011-2012, then comparing results, seeing what is different to get an IM EFC. </p>
<p>Amazon will still offer the 2010 Edition, used or new!
You will probably be able to figure out your EFC this way.
Yes, another reason to hate the College Board. Write your Congressman, why should we be left in the dark? To enter into this financial commitment without being able to calculate a ball park figure for our families? How outrageous!!!</p>
<p>Congress has nothing to do with IM. Congress makes the rules for FM, which are published & available (through the link provided here). IM is what some institutions use to allocate their own institutional funding. If you have an issue with an individual school and the way it uses IM (know that each school can do whatever it wants with the information collected on the Profile), you will have to take it to that school.</p>
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<p>What is the difference between doing the calc on the CB website
vs doing it from the book? Any idea- everytime i do the cal online
it seems to come up different- the problem i see is they look at the profile
assets, etc then come up with your aid package. I have had a EFC come up
0 before or close then figure on a College Site on estimate aid
and it comes up different- if anyone has a real clear method to figure this out please post-
how have parents done this that have kids in college already?
Depending upon the school they each have their own endowment or money allocated for aid,
some schools meet 100% need others do not and make up the package with loans, grants and work study and merit aid. also age is a factor-</p>
<p>“Is the college authorized to discuss the family’s information with the student or to release the family’s information to financial aid agencies and scholarship donors providing aid to the student? As part of this release, is the college authorized to release to the student upon
request any form containing parental financial information (including the parents’ tax form(s))? SQ-779
Columbia University”</p>
<p>A flag goes up when I think about authorizing a school to release my financial records to outside parties. Am I not already doing that by filling out the CSS/FAFSA? I would really appreciate some advice as to how others interpret this request. Thanks.</p>
<p>This thread is two years old.</p>
<p>New to this. Was I supposed to ask my question somewhere else? I thought it was relevant to this topic.</p>
<p>Usually it’s better to start a new thread than to revive one that is two years old.</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>