MIT Finaid Office is Making Me Cry - Vent with Me!

Parents Forum
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<p>Not really: these frustrations are par for the course, and there are no actual tears, but.....</p>

<p>What is the number one piece of finaid advice people give? Get your materials in on time.</p>

<p>For me, that meant:
filling out the Profile in October,
updating it in December,
putting the accountant on red alert in January,
filling out the FAFSA,
watching the mail as each 1099/W2 rolled in,
rushing them to the accountant on Feb. 1st,
getting the taxes back on Feb 3rd (yay, accountant!)
updating the FAFSA immediately
trying for two days to login to IDOC while the site hung
finding out, when MIT suddenly updates their financial aid tracking, that they want 2007 taxes (corporate and personal) and the business/farm supplement
spending entire evenings packaging documents for MIT finaid and IDOC,
and getting everything in the mail by February 5th!! Yay!!</p>

<p>It was close, but I felt I had a pretty good chance of making the 2/15 deadline, and I certainly couldn't have done it any quicker.</p>

<p>Now, of course, they claim they never received the 2007 corporate returns or the business/farm supplement. Naturally, these were in the same envelope as the things they did receive. Naturally, the harried person on the phone couldn't even check the paper file to see if there was a mistake in logging things in. Even though we had just identified a similar logging mistake during the same phone call. Her statement: "just send them again - don't worry, you won't be late."</p>

<p>I know, I know, I'm just lucky there is a finaid office - nobody owes my son money for college. And whatever hoops they want me to jump, I will just jump.</p>

<p>But CC is the place where I can say: UGHHHHHHHHHHHHH! (c'mon, say it with me!)</p>

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<p>I'm sure that this is hard for the colleges, too, but I am finding the whole financial aid process really complicated.</p>

<p>I feel for you!</p>

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<p>I am with you with a giant UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Just got our taxes finished today, now will copy and prepare for IDOC, etc....It seems to me that there must be a better way for the process to work!!!</p>

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<p>Pretty painful to think about doing all of this for multiple schools with 10% admissions rates. Frankly,. for all the schools that are need blind, why don't they figure out these packages after acceptance? Given that they are formulaic, they wouldn't need much time with good software.</p>

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<p>"for all the schools that are need blind, why don't they figure out these packages after acceptance? "
Because, the truth be told , they are not totally "need blind", especially these days.</p>

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<p>I think that each school may determine "need" somewhat differently. Families may need to know aid package before accepting offer. Hugs to you menlomom.</p>

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<p>I can't imagine who really gets all this on the officer's desk by 2/15.</p>

<p>Maybe if your finances are very simple.</p>

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<p>I have had better luck using fed ex rather than USPS. It should not matter but somehow that fed ex envelope has an impact on them. (plus the tracking is better).</p>

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<p>


</p>

<p>^^Amen to that</p>

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<p>The MIT financial aid office is pretty lenient in terms of materials -- you won't be penalized if the forms actually got misplaced and your replacement forms are late.</p>

<p>One year my dad turned in our financial aid forms in July, and I still got the same amount of aid as I had the previous year. :)</p>

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<p>My in-laws gave H a little scanner for Christmas, but it doesn't work with his version of windows so he put it on my desk. I've got to say that I haven't loved any piece of electronic equipment as much as this since the microwave. No, take that back, since I got the fuzzy logic rice cooker, that's pretty great too. It's so fast and easy to use, and it scans letter or legal size, and smaller things too. If you have access to a scanner, scan in all those documents and save them, then email them and follow up with a phone call. If they lose the documents you can just resend the email.</p>

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<p>I hate this process, and I have very little help in it. I am so confused 24/7 when I'm working on it. We sure can't afford an accountant either.</p>

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<p>When DD applied to USC we resent the HS app materials 3 times, I think they were just so backed up they were behind on logging in!</p>

<p>We did not receive our final 1099s until just this past Tuesday!!:eek: and our accountant is supposedly standing by, but I am not sure the OPs 2 day turn around is likely!!</p>

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<p>Colleges also accept estimated taxes that can be updated whenever taxes are completed.</p>

<p>I must say your accountant sounds wonderful. I'd like his number. Ours makes us wait and wait.</p>

<p>H's business supplement and business taxes are very complicated, but the guy is annoying. H refuses to change.</p>

<p>Anyway, FA often asks for things right up to the times the awards are made.</p>

<p>As mollie said, you initiated the process on time. I wouldn't worry at all.</p>

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<p>We had a couple of screw ups with MIT fin aid and they were always great about it...they seem to reward "good faith effort" vs. perfection. Plus they took a couple of late fees off our account, most of which were my fault- I didn't give any excuse, I just called and said, "gee I noticed a late fee" and the nice fin aid rep said, "Would you like me to remove it?" and I said, "oh how nice of you thanks".</p>

<p>So don't sweat it... plenty of time to get upset later on!!!</p>

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<p>My only son is a college senior and I think the relief of not having to fill out financial aid forms this year is almost greater than the relief of making the final tuition payment.</p>

<p>Tip: make sure you keep copies of everything for future reference. Print out the Fafsa worksheet AND YOUR ANSWERS and make sure you'll know where they are next year. You'll be glad you did.</p>

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<p>Do we have the same accountant? Each year I'd package everything up by March 1st, and every year I'd get the return back April 7th. I got tired of this (DW and I like to vacation while last minute filers are at home filling out forms) and handed in the package February 7th. Accountant left a voice-mail April 14th saying the return was done but wouldn't reach us until after the filing date "So please send the IRS a Form 4868." Following year, new Accountant.</p>

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<p>We learned that our accountant does the returns as he goes, but then he uploads them all to a printing service in one batch, hence the April 14th arrival despite turning in info early.</p>

<p>Zip- do you have any info about how long we need to keep this stuff? I have been told just until your kid graduates should be fine???</p>