<p>I never submitted the CSS profile for financial aid but i did submit a FAFSA. According to FAFSA, my EFC is $0 (in other words, very low income) so will a private school probably still offer me adequate aid? Also, when/by what means do privates normally notify you of the aid you are receiving? Basically, money is the primary factor in my decision between Trinity College (CT) an a UC (either Santa Cruz or Santa Barbara).</p>
<p>Depends on the school and their policies.</p>
<p>If the school requires CSS then they use FAFSA for determining federal aid and CSS for determining institutional aid. If you did not file CSS at a school that requires it, then your aid will be limited to federal (and possibly state depending on the state) aid and you will not be considered for institutional aid. So a school that requires CSS will not probably offer you adequate aid if you did not submit the CSS. Even with a 0 EFC the maximum federal aid will not cover the cost of most 4 year state universities and certainly nowhere near cover the price of a private university. (the largest federal grant is the Pell which the max is $5550).</p>
<p>Schools that require only FAFSA will base their aid on FAFSA information. So you should be considered for both federal (and State) and institutional aid if the school offers any (not all do). Whether the aid is adequate depends on the schools policies for aid.</p>
<p>OK, thanks. I can’t remember if the college required a CSS (they probably did). I’ll most likely go to a UC then. Those cover about $24k for me so I’ll need to get about $6k in loans which isn’t too bad.</p>