<p>Is anyone else frustrated that it will be another month or more before music schools release offers, yet some of them are asking for final tax information by February 15th? We've barely received the documents we need (W2s, etc) to file taxes, and there is just no time to get it done before the deadlines. Are estimates acceptable for CSS? Can we upload IDOCS to College Board after the Feb 15 deadline? Since it's highly possible that our kids may not be accepted at some of the schools that require this information, it's a huge amount of work to do the estimates and file the documents. Grrrrr.</p>
<p>This is standard. you must do it. Yes, it can be an estimate although it should be as accurate as possible. In May you’ll send the school your student chooses to attend a copy of the actual tax return - at which time they may amend your offer if it differs significantly. DO NOT miss the deadlines. In following years, the deadlines will be later - usually in mid March.</p>
<p>Thank you SpiritManager. It’s so hard to tell from the college websites that estimates are acceptable. I submitted FAFSA in early January, but forgot to include a small inheritance, so had to send corrections this weekend. CSS went off this morning, but I was getting a little freaked out about the due dates for the IDOCS component. Since music is so hit or miss, we’re ending up sending CSS to five schools at $16 per school…</p>
<p>I feel your pain - we are in the same boat with CSS. FAFSA can be estimated and updated later… Traveling Thursday night to another audition which leaves tonight, tomorrow and Wed to get this done.</p>
<p>^Exact same boat. I’m pedaling as fast as I can …</p>
<p>Here’s a helpful hint - If you are doing CSS and need to print the IDOC cover page and you are using a Mac…you must use Safari… It will not work with Firefox…</p>
<p>SimpleLife, your S is applying to graduate school, correct? Do parents fill out the FAFSA for graduate student applicants or does only your son submit his? I have heard that for grad school they consider only the student’s income, not the parents’. Was I misinformed?</p>
<p>Wow - I just had a heart attack. I just checked all the schools my daughter applied to, and none of them mention the Feb. 15 deadline. They all say to file FAFSA as soon as possible after Jan. 1, but no later than March 1 (actually, U of Mich said April 30, which seemed odd).</p>
<p>saxlady, sorry to startle you. Some, but not all, colleges have a Feb 15 “priority” deadline. There is no explanation of what “priority” means, at least on the CMU site.</p>
<p><a href=“actually,%20U%20of%20Mich%20said%20April%2030,%20which%20seemed%20odd”>quote</a>.
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<p>It is odd, and it’s sorta wrong, in that while UMich will take it and package you as late as April 30, IMHO it won’t necessarily net you the same consideration. So, Ignore that and get your stuff into UMich by Feb. 15 as well if you’re able. Trust me on this. The sooner you have the info in, the better your chance at maximum funds if you’re eligible for any need-based aid (or merit, for that matter). So if you’re eligible, for example, for any state grant aid, etc., you want to submit by Feb. 15 so that it processes by the March 1 state deadline.</p>
<p>kmcmom13, thanks for the advice. I am totally new to this and am learning the ropes. So that is where some of the schools come up with the Feb. 15 deadline, because it takes that long to process it? So even though some schools don’t mention it, we should try to do it anyway? Is it just first come, first served for this money?</p>
<p>According to what I know about Fafsa and student aid processing, the earlier you get it in the better. Even if you don’t have your taxes done for 2012, you can estimate in there, and then update it once you are done with your taxes (I usually procrastinate with my taxes, filing them late, generally because I owe money usually, this year I got them done and filed about a week ago…new record…). It is a pain because w2’s and 1099’s often aren’t done until mid february…but again, it is better to file as early as possible from what I can tell.</p>
<p>My kids’ schools said that they do not process any financial aid until the priority date - so someone who submits three weeks before the priority date presumably does not receive any more aid than someone who submits on the priority date. Every school may do it differently, but I specifically asked our schools.</p>
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<p>Oh, dfbmd1, I wish it were so! There are actually SOME schools that DO require the parents’ information for grad school apps, even though the student is “independent” in the eyes of the FAFSA. My son has applied to 2 schools that require the parent’s data, tax forms, W-2’s, the whole bit. </p>
<p>Thankfully, I JUST finished my taxes, my portion of his FAFSA, etc. Thank goodness. What a ton of work. Now, it’s off to the post office …</p>
<p>^I’m surprised you even noticed, remembered, and made the connection that my son was a grad student applicant. What attention to detail! lol! ;)</p>
<p>Do you know whether some schools require parental info for graduate school applicants even if the applicant is independent? My music major child is not at the grad school search stage yet but my older one, who is not in music, has already graduated from college and is self-supporting, and by the time she applies to grad school will not have been our dependent for at least 2 years. Anyone have any experience with this?</p>
<p>When my D applied to 5 schools all of them considered her independent and our info was not required. This is the norm. Parent SIMPLELIFE might be able to fill you in, as her son’s experience has been different.</p>
<p>When my oldest applied to grad schools (not in music) some schools considered her independent; others looked at parental income. We didn’t see a pattern. In other words, for example, UPENN looked at our income but Bryn Mawr did not (this was for social work.) She was 23 at the time and had been living independently for 2 years.</p>
<p>^ and ^^^
Yes, dfbmd1. That is what I’m saying. All grad students are considered “independent.” Some schools require parental data for independent students. If your kid doesn’t want to apply for aid, then she won’t have to supply parental data to those schools. If she does want to apply for aid, then she’ll have to submit parental data to the schools that require it.</p>
<p>If the school considers parental income, the financial aid offer will be much lower (generally speaking.)</p>