Our EFC exceeds the COA at the colleges DS has been accepted to. However, DS may need to take out a student loan to help cover a small portion of the cost. I know that that submitting the FAFSA is required for him to be eligible for an (unsubsidized) loan. But do we also need to submit the CSS to schools that require it, given that we know he won’t get any financial aid from the schools? Thanks.
No. CSS/Profile has nothing to do with qualifying for federal loans.
Schools don’t require you to fill out CSS Profile. People choose to do that if they want to be considered for institutional aid. No one has to.
FAFSA is needed for fed loans, as you know.
Take the subsidized loan so interest doesn’t add up while he’s in school.
If, as OP says, the EFC exceeds the COA at the student’s colleges, it’s very likely that the student does not qualify for subsidized loans.
OP may be ineligible for Sub. Federal Loans; however, if OP pays the interest while the student attending schools, the loans amount won’t go up either.
I agree, but a student without “need” still must submit FAFSA in order to get unsubsidized federal loans to which he is entitled, correct?
This refers to schools requiring Profile only (if they don’t require Profile, this does not apply): While schools technically cannot require Profile for a student who wants only an unsubsidized loan, you need to contact the aid office to find out how they handle this sort of thing. Yes, you can get it without filing Profile - but you’ll need to ask for it. You will not receive an aid package, most likely, since you didn’t complete the normal financial aid requirements for the school.