<p>I have a lot to say which I categorized in case my concerns are not yours…</p>
<p>WHY “NEEDACCESS”
My daughter is a sophomore at USC (undergrad). USC is requesting many students seeking university aid to complete it this year & with a deadline of 3/3. If you count the number of undergrad schools using “needaccess” you will see there are only about 4-5. So I wonder what is the character/nature of this application that makes it especially appropriate for grad/PhD candidates and not undergrads. (And why would USC decide to use it vs their usual CSS Profile.)</p>
<p>Some of you are discussing whether to complete the CSS Profile or “needaccess”. The initial announcement on the USC FA page said all students (families) seeking aid were to complete FAFSA. They were to complete another form, ONLY if USC FA requested them to do so, and that form would be EITHER the CSS Profile OR the “needaccess” application; BOTH were NOT to be completed. I would never suggest that we presume we can choose whichever we desire - to me, we’d only be asking for trouble.</p>
<p>I also have to ring in on something else being discussed. Subsequent to reading the announcement on the FA page, USC sent a 2/3/14 email to both my daughter and I (because I am set up to receive such notices) saying they are switching to “needaccess” - “As part of our ongoing efforts to reduce processing time and eliminate unnecessary information…” (It is the letter others have copied into this discussion.) Read carefully for it does not say the switch is to reduce students’/families’ time, but rather USC FA’s time. For our family, it most definitely has not resulted in reduced preparation time, nor reduced the information we have to supply. (More on this later.)</p>
<p>The whole application strikes me as the university mining for every tiny asset they would deem usable toward the student’s bill. (They are especially seeking data on student or family businesses.) It is their prerogative to uncover student and family resourcses; it is their money we are seeking. My guess is that they are looking for more confidence in their method of determining the university aid to students. – In Spring 2012 when my daughter was still a hs student applying to the university, I had a conversation with a FA officer. Relating to my particular situation, he remarked that USC FA had not yet been told by the higher powers to reign-in the University aid, but it was in the air that it was coming. I suspect the switch to “needaccess” at this time has something to do with that. Why else would they be making this switch? Knowing the university is in the midst of a very major fundraising campaign makes it a little hard to reconcile to their maybe wanting to cut back on their aid awards, but I guess I really should keep those thoughts separate. Any aid my daughter is awarded is due to the generosity of others, so I can’t have any anger that the “needaccess” analysis may result in a lower award for her and a higher EFC for us… although certainly that is a concern of mine as I’m going through this process. The reason she is at USC is due to their having made it “affordable”.</p>
<p>DIFFICULTY OF “NEEDACCESS”
- Some of you say it is easier than the CSS Profile. That is not my opinion.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>There is a learning curve which could account for some of my opinion, but I really don’t think that is the case. Granted, unlike CSS profile, it is not seeking 3 years’ scenarios 2012/2013/2014, but it seeks a lot of picayune data and estimation scenarios which require a lot of number crunching and a lot of brain-strain.</p></li>
<li><p>The way I work, I make notes to explain things to myself for subsequent years. For several question Blocks, my notes are far more detailed and lengthy than anything I ever did for the CSS Profile just to help myself with the logic of how to approach arriving at what they are looking for.</p></li>
<li><p>Of course “needaccess” is not open for assistance beyond 8pm eastern time M-F nor weekends - the times when most of us would be working on this thing. …but then was CSS’ hours any different?</p></li>
<li><p>As part of their offering, I printed the worksheet AND instructions as part of my preparations. On my paper, I noted every Block having unclear instructions. Then I went into the actual application to see if there were better instructions for these Blocks. The system, however, does not allow you to advance to subsequent pages unless all Blocks with an * (required field) is filled-in. Just for the purpose of advancing to get an idea if these instructions were any better, I filled some with dummy answers. Ho-ho, just as I suspected, the instructions are identical to what I had printed out. So… I called “needaccess” and told the rep I had questions on 32 Blocks where what they were seeking was unclear! The rep stayed with me for one-and-three-quarters hours until I understood them all. She was very patient and professional despite my exasperation. (Note: Some Blocks’ questions have a “CST #” vs a “Ref. #”. CST means a customized question from the school, but “needaccess” has the familiarity with these questions to be able to answer them.)</p></li>
<li><p>Although someone in this discussion commented that they were able to complete the “needaccess” w/o completing their Federal taxes first, I don’t think that would be a typical scenario, so don’t be misled into thinking you’ll get this thing done quickly. Today is my 5th day working on this application with many hours a day devoted to it. I know I will not finish it tonight, either. To lend some perspective, I have completed the CSS Profile since 2009 and do our family’s taxes, so I’d say I have an aptitude for this stuff. Further, my husband and I and soph. daughter have nothing beyond the ordinary things of savings/checking/cash/IRA’s/ 401k/mortgaged house/cars without loans, so mine is maybe “easier” than others.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>TIPS
- Be especially wary of Block 33u and its counterparts (parent/student/2013/2014). I told my husband that anyone who doesnot do their own Federal tax preparation will be easily fooled into giving an incorrect number because 33u (and counterparts) is comprised of several components. And be very careful of the wording for Block 6x. The “needaccess” rep confirmed that money earned over the summer but saved (not spent) is not to be counted. A point to ponder for the instruction: if you haven’t spent money, then isn’t it being saved for expenses to come? </p>
<ul>
<li><p>At the end of the application there is a place to provide notes to the FA office.</p></li>
<li><p>Last but not least, BE CAREFUL because the system WILL SIGN YOU OUT WITHOUT ANY WARNING AND YOU WILL LOSE THE DATA YOU’VE BEEN INSERTING ON YOUR CURRENT PAGE. In the introductory information, they do not tell you there is a timer. And there is no “Save” button, either. How professional is that??? I discovered if you click “Previous” at the bottom of a page, the data you are inputting on your current page will be saved; then you can click on “Next” (or forward? or advance?) to get back to the page you were working on.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Also, for what it’s worth, I happened upon this music which did wonders to help my concentration and motivation. Good Luck to us all! <a href=“- YouTube”>- YouTube;
), so I can’t advise about whether it is easier or more complicated - sorry :(</p>