<p>My mom is refusing to do the CSS profile, and she says that she won't do the IDOC either- she thinks that it's unfair and a scam to have to do the CSS profile in addition to FAFSA, which I get (I think it's horrid that we have to pay to get financial aid), but she's using my financial aid as a way to rebel or something...she's been pushing me to apply to only really hard schools (Brown, Princeton, Cornell, Yale...) because they're probably the only ones that will give us money beyond normal (even though I have a sibling in college, my mom is a single mom, and she's making $80,000, FAFSA is very stingy with us because we have a large sum of money saved from my dad's life insurance policy that isn't intended for our college years but for things like houses and retirement), but now she's refusing to do the CSS profile (which I've read is what leads schools to adding beyond the normal financial aid package/adding institutional aid) and saying that "state schools are just as good as private schools", that I should have applied to less difficult schools so I could get merit aid, and that she's not going to spend her money for retirement for my college...I don't know how to convince her that she has to do the CSS profile; that it's my future that's at stake...I just don't get it, if she didn't want to deal with sacrificing her own money and all for her kids, why'd she have kids? I don't care if she decides not to pay for a big chunk (she's even said that she refuses to pay for me what she's paying for my brother at UConn, $27,000), I'm willing to take out a few loans, do work-studies, get scholarships, work summers, WHATEVER, but I won't have any chance of making it out of college without considerable debt if she doesn't do the financial aid profile that can get me enough money...I've gotten information packets from school and everything, but she still keeps saying that she "won't cooperate" and that she'll do "everything but the CSS" and I'm "on my own here". How do I convince her to do the CSS profile?? I'll even pay the fine, I have a bit of summer money! She refuses to give any information for that or for the IDOC, and I'm pretty sure I need a lot of her financial information in order to do them! (If I don't, that'd be great)</p>
<p>First of all, FAFSA does not give aid. It is simply the form used to calculate an expected family contribution for federal aid purposes. And yes, federal aid is limited … as is aid from schools that use only the FAFSA, generally speaking.</p>
<p>The CSS PROFILE is needed in order to get aid from the more generous schools (IDOC is just a document collection service used by some schools). If your mom is pushing you to apply to the schools you mention, she must understand that complying with their requirements is the only way to get aid.</p>
<p>I am not sure that these schools will look at your financial situation in the way you hope, but you will never know if your mom refuses to complete the paperwork. In order to get the schools to look at your insurance money situation as you hope, your mom will have to do even more … she will probably need to call the aid office to explain, because the school will not ignore the insurance assets unless they feel there is reason to do so (meaning, your mom has to make a case).</p>
<p>Why should your mom have to pull from her retirement funds so you can go to undergrad? First off I’m sorry about your father but I’m going to be honest here and say I agree with her. However, I am also not supportive at all of people trying to “hide” their assets or saying “well this doesn’t count because I intend to use it for x,y,z”. No, they are your assets. It is clear to me your mother is trying to perhaps hide something. Might not want to push her.</p>
<p>Why not try some state schools? And then you can do wherever you want for grad school…find a school that will give you merit aid and good luck.</p>
<p>Those colleges will not give you a dime of their institutional need based aid until your financial aid application forms and supporting documents are submitted. Translation…you will get NO aid beyond the Direct Loan if all you complete is the FAFSA (and the school requires Profile and IDOC).</p>
<p>That’s fine if you are prepared to pay $60,000 a year to attend.</p>
<p>If i were you, I’d be submitting an application or two to some affordable colleges that are FAFSA only schools.</p>
<p>First of all, your FAFSA EFC is generally the least you will have to pay before getting aid. The PROFILE schools tend to have formulas that are less generous. So look at what your estimated EFC will be on some of the calculators, and that will give you the MINIMUM that you will be paying before getting financial aid.</p>
<p>However, if your stats are such that Brown and other such schools are possibilities for you, those stats can likely get you some nice merit money. I would suggest looking at such schools and get moving on scholarship apps as deadlines of what’s left will be ending soon. Also, as others have said, look at the FAFSA only schools. </p>
<p>You can also talk to your guidance counselor or minister or other adult in your life to perhaps have a word with her about giving PROFILE and IDOC a try for financial aid. But if she has a dollar limit as to what she wants to pay, that is her business. It;s not your money, and she can spend it or not as she so pleases. She does have to plan for the rest of her life on whatever she did get in insurance proceeds, and I would not advise her to spend substantial amounts of it on college. There are plenty of options out there for you to get a college eduation without her spending a lot of money.</p>
<p>Your mom is not obligated to give you any of her money yet she has said she will contribute $27,000 to your education. If you have the “smarts” to get into some of the schools you are listing you have the smarts to find a school where you can meet that budget either at a public university or to a private school that will give you enough merit to bring your costs to $27,000 - there are private schools that do not use Profile. In Michigan Hope and Hillsdale are just two examples of very fine colleges that do not use Profile and there are hundreds and hundreds and hundreds more. I’m sorry, but what your mom does with her money is entirely her decision and she is under no obligation to fund a private school education for you if she decides she does not want to. Perhaps you can share what it is you are looking for in a college and people can point you toward some possibilities. Looking outside your region might help as the rest of the country is not so hyper focused on the Ivy League colleges and the private college costs tend to be alittle lower.</p>
<p>There are still schools that take FAFSA only. Look into that. DITCH the CSS Profile! If you cant afford to fill it out yourself it is BETTER to not worry about it and go to a FAFSA only school.</p>
<p>One problem - you might have to consider going to a COMMUNITY COLLEGE (CC!) for the first two years to save money and then transfer to n instate public using the transfer articulation agreement.</p>
<p><a href=“I%20think%20it’s%20horrid%20that%20we%20have%20to%20pay%20to%20get%20financial%20aid”>quote</a>, but she’s using my financial aid as a way to rebel or something…she’s been pushing me to apply to only really hard schools (Brown, Princeton, Cornell, Yale…)
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<p>No scam. IMO, Profile makes it much easier to apply to multiple schools. Think about it as a sort of Common App for financial aid. Without Profile, each school would ask for docs in different forms, formats, and styles. It would be a real bear. </p>
<p>As an example, when my D applied to colleges a few years ago, one school she applied to used fafsa, and their own docs, which required online input; in essence, they weren’t asking for anything different than what was already submitted to Profile. Their server froze frequently. It took several hours to complete that ONE fin aid app. I would have easily paid the few bucks for Profile. (The college finally joined the Profile service.)</p>
<p>That being said, Brown, Cornell, and many top privates require Profile.</p>
<p>I think your mom is panicking because she’s seeing how much your sibling’s college has hurt her…so, she’s realizing that she can’t be as generous with you.</p>
<p>Accept what she can give you and strategize.</p>
<p>What are your stats? </p>
<p>What is your home state?</p>
<p>I know that there was a widowed mom in a similar situation last year. Her D got into Georgetown and G’town included the life insurance payout when they computed the aid…which meant little aid.</p>
<p>While you can apply to CSS schools and hope for the best, it’s very likely that these schools won’t give you the aid that you need, so protect yourself and apply to some schools that will give you huge aid for your stats.</p>
<p>You can try for merit scholarships which do not depend on financial need:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-20.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-20.html</a> (safety candidates)
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1461983-competitive-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-4.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1461983-competitive-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-4.html</a> (match/reach candidates)
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/649276-nmf-scholarships-updated-compilation-57.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/649276-nmf-scholarships-updated-compilation-57.html</a> (if you have National Merit)</p>