married woman must provide father's tax info for CSS profile ?!??!?

[Laliejour]

I got married in 2019, although I’m not a mature student, and haven’t lived with my father for 2 years now, and hope to start college in the fall of 2020. When filing my CSS profile, they ask for my father’s income taxes for 2018 and 2019, which has to be a mistake right ?

I have a Jan.15 ED2 deadline and I don’t know what to do!!!

[Sybylla]

CSS schools can ask whatever they please. FAFSA only schools are a different matter.

[TomSrOfBoston]

What you do is provide what they are asking for or forget about any financial aid from that college.

[twoinanddone]

They are asking for 2018 tax information from your parents because you weren’t married in 2018 and that’s the tax year they base the FA on. You can ask for professional judgment after you’ve filled out the forms.

[MYOS1634]

There aren’t that many married applicants so you probably got something automated.
Were you living with a parent in 2018?
Are they requesting your father’s/Parent’s tax return IN ADDITION to yours and your husband’s, or JUST your parents’?
Because if they’re requesting JUST your parents’, it does seem strange. Considering you’re married, they’re supposed to ask for your and your spouse’s tax returns; if they asked for JUST your parents and not yours or your spouse’s, I’d say it’s a likely mistake on their part, something didn’t process correctly.
Some colleges specifically (not CSS itself) will request parents’ tax returns or proof of income (or lack thereof). Was this a request by a specific college, several requests, or a general CSS mail?
The CSS Profile system treats applicants like 99% applicants, if you’re the 1% that don’t match their prescribed applicant categories/sections you have to contact them because exceptions exist, etc.

AFAIK, CSS Profile cannot just “ask whatever they please”. They can ask for whatever they please regarding the family unit but not for the relatives (ie., they can ask about any remarried parent, non custodial parent, siblings’ trust funds and investments, but they can’t ask about uncles, grandparents, godmother, cousins, or anyone who’s not identified in the family unit). Some specific grad schools (eg., ivy) ask about parent assets/investments but even there, there are limits.

1° if this came from a specific college, do you know which college? Or was it just generic? Contact the college’s financial aid office directly to see what they recommend.
2° then see if you can have a waiver for the “parental” questions (there is such a thing but I don’t know how it works and how it’s decided).
However
3° I understand you’ve already contacted them and have not been able to talk to anyone. Would you have time to call tomorrow? Or reach out using the “chat” feature?

Here are some links from College Confidential:
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1196219-independent-students-w-question-about-css-profile.html
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/2046852-css-profile-as-independent-adult.html
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1929860-css-profile-and-independent-students.html

@kelsmom : any suggestion to get a reply from CSS?

[kelsmom]

The student should contact the school to find out what they want from her. They may very well expect parent information.

[mom2collegekids]

There are some/many CSS schools that make it clear that “being married” does NOT mean that parents’ income will be excluded. Likely that is because they don’t want students getting married just to avoid including affluent parents’ incomes.

[sybbie719]

Being married will make you independent for federal aid. In most cases, it will not make you independent for institutional funds. Many schools already have , systems in place, where your parents income and assets will still be required if you are under 25/26 years old and cannot prove that you have been self supporting for a number of years.

for example
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@USC

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Dependency Status

Strict guidelines set by both the federal government and the university govern dependency status. Almost all undergraduates are considered dependent for the purposes of awarding financial aid.

Undergraduates who meet certain conditions may be considered independent for the purposes of receiving federal and state aid (such as the Cal Grant, Federal Pell Grant and Federal Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans). For complete details, please review the application instructions for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

To be considered independent for the purposes of receiving university financial aid, undergraduates must meet one of the following conditions:

You are at least 26 years of age by December 31 of the academic year you are admitted to USC.

At the time you complete your FAFSA, and at the time of entry to USC, you are married.

At the time you complete your FAFSA, and at the time of entry to USC, you have children who will receive more than half of their support from you during the award year and the summer preceding the award year.

You are an orphan or ward/dependent of the court.

You are a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces with at least one year of full-time active duty service for purposes other than training.

You are an unaccompanied minor or youth who is homeless, or who is self-supporting and at risk of being homeless.

If parental information is required when you are admitted to USC, it will be required throughout your enrollment at USC, regardless of your age, marital status, or other changes in circumstances (excluding the death of both parents).

If you feel, however, that your particular situation would justify independent status, you may submit an appeal. Appeals should explain your circumstances in detail and include supporting documentation.

https://financialaid.usc.edu/undergraduates/prospective/special-circumstances.html#/3

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@Cornell

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Independent Students
If you are admitted to Cornell as a dependent student, you will remain as such for your time at Cornell. Even if you are considered independent for federal student aid, Cornell may consider you to be a dependent of your parents when determining institutional aid eligibility.

Cornell will consider you to be independent if:

you are a non-traditional student and have been self-supporting for more than five years; or
both of your parents are deceased; or
you are a ward of the court

Family Circumstances | Financial Aid

@Princeton

Dependency Override Policy
Definition of independent student:
Currently, Princeton students must meet one of the criterion below to be considered financially independent by the University:
Student is over age 25 and has lived as a self-supporting adult for at least two years.
Student is an orphan or ward of the court.
Student is a veteran of the United States armed forces.

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@Stanford

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Independent Students
If you are an orphan, a ward of the court, or have an extremely adverse home situation, we will treat you as an independent student for purposes of Stanford scholarship eligibility. This means that we will not expect you to provide parental financial information as part of your aid application. If you are at least 25 years old and financially independent for the past year, your parental financial information requirement may be waived. Otherwise, your parents will be expected to share with you the primary responsibility for meeting your educational expenses.
Independent Students : Stanford University

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@Duke

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Married Students
Marital status does not usually affect dependency status for the purpose of awarding Duke financial aid. We generally expect a parent contribution toward educational expenses as well as a contribution from a spouse, if the spouse is not enrolled in college. A single student’s standard budget is used to compute financial aid eligibility as a married applicant. The budget will differ, however, for students living with dependent children.

https://financialaid.duke.edu/awarding-and-policy

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@Dartmouth

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Married Students:
If you marry while enrolled as an undergraduate at Dartmouth, you will still be considered a dependent student, and we will continue to expect a need-based contribution from your parents when determining your Dartmouth scholarship eligibility. You will receive no more Dartmouth scholarship assistance than you would have received as a single student. Additionally, depending upon the circumstances, we may expect a contribution from a working spouse in addition to a parental contribution.

You will qualify as an independent student for federal purposes in the year following your marriage.

Students contemplating marriage should discuss the financial aid implications with a financial aid officer.

Older students who are married at the time of admission and who have been independent prior to college enrollment will be considered “self-supporting,” although a spousal contribution will be included as a resource, if applicable.

[thumper1]

They are asking for 2018 tax information from your parents because you weren’t married in 2018 and that’s the tax year they base the FA on. You can ask for professional judgment after you’ve filled out the forms

For the FAFSA, marital status is reported as of the day of filing the form…and if you are married, you don’t include your parent financials even if you weren’t married in 2018…you include your spouse instead.

PROFILE, marital status is also as if the date of filing BUT many Profile schools make it clear that you might not be independent for institutional financial aid purposes, and need to provide parent info.

You need to call the college(s) and ask them. YMMV. Some schools might still require parent info…and others might not.

@Laliejour why are you applying ED if finances are a significant consideration??

[Laliejour]

Thank you to those who gave good advice

I called directly the financial office. The meet need college I am applying to waived the parent info since one is deceased and the other non filing. To students : Don’t hesitate to call! The financial aid counselors are here to help.

Just writing this ending to be useful to others. Colleges aren’t unreasonable so if you’re lower income/first gen with a complicated situation, don’t despair and don’t think a weird CSS Profile request is the be-all end-all, most of the issues you encounter have solutions.

Moreover, this forum is a great ressource, but do not settle for just one answer !

Applying ED to a meet need college is not a bad move : and no college will force you to attend if you can’t afford to.

Good luck to everyone