Hi, so recently my dad who worked for a city school district was recently laid off as part of a budget deficit. He’s in his early 60s so he was thinking about just retiring if he has to but was originally going to work for 5-10 more years to pay off debts and help us with college.
My parents are divorced and my mom,the primary, is on disability so her FAFSA EFC is 0. So for public schools it doesn’t really matter since they only get her information. Neither of my parents previously planned on helping pay for school since neither of their own finances are that great.
However a few of the ones I’ve already applied to and plan to apply to, require CSS which I had to have home fill out, but that was before he lost his job and they’re all already sent.
So my question is just how do I proceed in terms of financial aid and stuff? The CSS requires your 2018 Tax Report so his previous income is on there. How will this impact how much financial aid I receive?
The CSS has room to add additional information and explanations for “Special Circumstances”
Unfortunately, once submitted, you can’t upload changes to CSS.
What you can do is have your father write a letter detailing the changed circumstances (documentation, in the form of a layoff or dismissal notice might be requested at some point) and submit the letter to the colleges where you are applying for financial aid.
This student needs to contact each of her colleges and ask how to get a special circumstances consideration or professional judgement. Schools have a process for this…and usually it’s not just having a parent write a letter detailing the change. The student needs to find out what EACH school requires, and do that.
Right now, your school is using prior, prior (2018 income). Sorry about your dad’s layoff, but it is also happening at the end of 2019. Is he getting severance? There is probably not going to be a change in his 2019 income. Be prepared for the fact that you may not see a change in your financial aid for the 2020-2021 school year.
Income for 2020 will be dependent on him getting another job, collecting unemployment, collecting his pension, etc (this will affect your junior year of college).
Hopefully your dad will find another job, or your mom will find a job, or something like that.
This year, your 2019 income was used.
For 2021-2022, the 2019 income will be used…so you will have the same issue as now because your dad worked the bulk of 2019.
I think the question is…will your dad look for another job, or will his pension be sufficient for him to live on.
Keep in mind also, if he collects unemployment, this is considered income also.
You say your parents aren’t helping you pay for college anyway…so…I’m not sure why your dad’s income matters. Regardless of the college costs, you are being asked to pay it all. And yes, I understand that at some of those Profile schools, your dad’s income will be considered. That’s where you need to ask for a special circumstances consideration.
One thing that is important. Some schools will not even review a special circumstances consideration for job loss until an amount of time has passed…maybe 60-90 days. This is because there is an expectation that the parent will find another job. This varies by school.
Yes, the CSS Profile is administered by the College Board. BUT once the Profile has been submitted, there is nothing the CB will do for you in terms of changes. Any changes or information after submission must be done with each college directly, not with the College Board.
Did you think the CB could help this student convey the parent job loss and reduced income to each of her colleges? If so, that is not the case.