Very confused about the IDOC

I am not understanding this process. So I filled out the CSS and submitted it to my colleges that requested it, but now this IDOC thing shows up.

It says I have 5 colleges where submitting documents through the IDOC do not satisfy their requirement for the documents (tax returns/W2s) and I will have to submit it directly to the institutions. Then I go to my “Document Management Dashboard” and it includes 6 different colleges in the list of colleges requesting documents.

Then I get an email from Northeastern saying I need to submit my documents…

So, which colleges do I send these documents to? How do I send them? Do I mail them? I don’t like the idea of sending these personal documents through the mail. Will all the other non-listed schools (the ones which received my CSS profile) get these documents if I upload them through the IDOC?

I’ve had a few issues with IDOCs, too. First off, from what’s been happening on our IDOCs page, it seems to me that a school cannot grab your docs until you’ve actually applied. Though I can’t confirm that, it appears to be the case on my account. Second, if a school requires that you send the docs directly to the school, then they may have a submission page on their website (but you may have to apply first, get a link to the online applicant portal, then find submission page). This list shows which schools use idocs (last column on right). https://profile.collegeboard.org/profile/ppi/participatingInstitutions.aspx

You could also call the FA office at the school to find out. It’s confidential info, so you wouldn’t want to just be emailing or faxing it just anywhere.

This is part of the pain of applying to a lot of schools. If it isn’t clear whether to use IDOC or not, call the FA department at the college on Monday. If they don’t use IDOC, the website usually says what options you can use. Some schools will have you fax or email a .pdf. I kept a spreadsheet to track it all because it was confusing!

Thanks for the tips, will do.

Second question regarding Northeastern - they say that I need to submit my documents through the IDOC but Northeastern does not show up as a listed school requesting documents on the IDOC dashboard. How can I add it? Or will the documents go automatically regardless of whether its listed or not?

what is IDOC?

@annamom

The IDOC is the “Institutional Documentation Service”. It becomes available after you have submitted the CSS profile to your colleges. Some colleges require you to submit copies of your financial aid documents (tax returns, W2s, etc.) online to the colleges that require them. The trouble is that not all colleges use the IDOC so you have to physically mail (some colleges ask that you email or fax them instead) the documents in to those.

@annamom Once you submit the CSS profile for schools that require it (similar to FAFSA but more questions), you will be directed to IDOC website to upload tax documentation.

@shkodra14 My vague memory is that you don’t choose schools in IDOC but rather in CSS. If you’ve submitted CSS to a school, then the school will ask IDOC for the documents. At least that’s how mine seems to be working.

^^^
For clarification: many schools that use Profile do not use IDOC as a means of collecting the tax documents that are required.

@BelknapPoint what do the colleges use? email ?

It could be any number of things, depending on how the school prefers to operate: email attachment, fax, U.S. mail, FedEx, UPS, uploaded using a website or applicant/student portal, etc.

We only had one school that requested more documents after CSS was processed and my daughter is uploading them to her profile account with that school. I was afraid we were going to have to fax them but uploading them directly to her account worked. We did not mess with the IDOC at all because we had someone try to file a tax return with our information this year and we couldn’t even use it for FASFA or anything else.