<p>I'm having a bit of a problem. I'm not exactly sure about the other schools I'm applying to, but I applied EA to Emerson College, and I was looking at the info for financial aid - it says the forms are due January 15th. I mentioned this to my dad, who is an accountant, and he got very stubborn and insisted that he doesn't care what the schools say, he will file the forms in February, and it is impossible to do it any earlier. He says this is what he did with my sister (who went through this a few years ago) and that it won't make any difference. Am I hurting my chance at financial aid by letting my father do this? Fill me in!</p>
<p>My advice is to ask Emerson's financial aid offices. E-mail them and then show your dad their answer. That's better than asking a board of anonymous strangers such an important question.</p>
<p>FAFSA can be filed January 1st.
If your dad works for a company- his end of year pay stub will have his 2005 info on it- even if he works for himself- he will have some idea of income for 2005 by end of year.
FAFSA can be amended- but it is critical to apply by deadline- they are there for reason .
We have filed FAFSA as early as possible ( Jan 1st) and amended it 2 or 3 or even more times. Meeting the deadline is the important part.
PROFILE which many private schools use can't be amended- however- schools generally request info on their own form- which you can show up to date info</p>
<p>You can always check with Emerson- but if they say their deadline for EA is Jan 15- I don't see why they would give a later deadline to a family just because the filer of the forms says he will do it later.</p>
<p>Dawn- explain to your dad that filing the forms in January is saving your place in line for the univeristy funds, using estimated numbers. Then when your tax returns are completed, you can edit and correct the numbers.</p>
<p>Each school has it's own deadlines and if you miss that date, even by one day, you will not be considered for any unversity grants, as they use up the monies on the people who file on time.</p>
<p>The school knows you will have to do corrections, W2s, etc are not even due until the end of January, but they need to know who is applying and where that EA money may be used!</p>
<p>I'm sure that Emerson won't give the OP's family a later deadline. I would bet that applying late will jeopardize the OP's receiving funds. Since her dad is stubborn, I think he's more likely to believe an e-mail from Emerson's financial aid office than to believe the OP or us.</p>
<p>In order to receive an initial offer, Student Financial Services will need some preliminary data. Please understand the initial award will be tentative." A tentative award is one that is not finalized. A tentative award is based on your preliminary data and may change once your financial income and asset information is submitted and reviewed. To receive an initial tentative award, Early Action Applicants must submit the following information no later than January 17th:</p>
<p>I agree with the others that if your family does not put in some preliminary numbers you could be out of the money. Since the school states that it can & will amend your offer based on your final information, it is in your best interest for your family to submit all of the information when it is due.</p>