<p>Hey! For the last 6 months I have been working my tush off getting an application ready for Boston University ED program. I had been asking my dad to have the CSS profile ready for November 1 because that's when it was due and I wanted to get it sent in. When I came to him 2 weeks ago to ask if he had done the profile yet, he told me that my guidance councellor told him that it wasn't necessary for the profile to be in on the due date. I told him that the application said it was due November 1, but he decided to listen to my guidance councellor instead. Grr! He told me that he wanted to meet with an advisor to help him fill out all the forms the "right" way so we could get the most finaid as possible. I told him that we wouldn't get any finaid if the application isn't on time. So, yesterday, November 2, he decides to call BU admissions and ask if it would be alright to send in the profile late. Of course, they said no. Then he changed the status of my application to regular decision without even telling me and I am ****ed. I didn't ask him for ANYTHING except that one thing and he let me down! GRR! SOO ANGRY! But anyway, my question is what exactly is on the CSS profile that my dad needs to meet with an advisor so desparately? Could he just fill out the profile then get help with the FAFSA form? If I can't do ED to BU, then I want to do ED to Tufts, but the deadline for the CSS profile is November 15. I'm not sure what to tell him. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!</p>
<p>It sounds like he is really being pretty dumb - like he wants to fill it out "right" by manipulating or moving around money. BUT IT IS TOO LATE. They will require the tax forms once they are complete, etc.</p>
<p>if people want to maximize aid by legal but unethical methods, they need to have moved the money around earlier.</p>
<p>If money is going to be an issue, and it sounds as if it is just by the fact that your father is hesitating to get the forms completed (I don't know your financial situation so I can't tell you whether he can't or won't pay the money) Maybe it is a blessing in diguise that you are applying RD. </p>
<p>You should NEVER apply ED unless you know that paying tuition is not going to be an issue for your family. While YOU may want something, the schools will be looking to your PARENTS TO WRITE THE CHECK. I believe you must be realistic in the fact that both of these schools are in excess of 40K for the cost of attendance. So basically what you are asking your parents to do in ED is should you get accepted if the school gives you no aid, they will do whatever to come up with $40,000. And what happens if they do not have the money? Daughter's friend got accepted to BU last year, the school gave her $33,000 in loans, family could not afford to take on that kind of debt so she went somewhere else.</p>
<p>Even though it is getting late in the game, you have a responsibility to talk with your parents about what they are realistically able and willing to pay for your education and either be prepared to take out huge loans or look for a school that is affordable.</p>
<p>I hope all of this works out for you</p>
<p>I think Sybbie is right on with her post. BU is not one of those schools that gives 100% of need. Plus financial aid methodology often results in a "need" figure that may not jive with what your family feels they can afford. A huge loans may not be what anyone wants here. A year at BU is $45K a year, no chump change. If you are counting on financial aid, do consider throwing in a financial safety school, as that type of money is not easy to come by. Every year I see families in crisis when financial aid and scholarships fall way short from expectations and the money is just not there to pay the cost. Better that you a financial safety YOU pick instead of having to take what is left in the spring if it turns out that the costs of your top choices are impractical for your family to pay.</p>
<p>Wickedsmaaht, my S applied ED to BU. We filed the PROFILE even though he is not applying for financial aid. The admissions office told us we needed to file it for merit aid consideration. </p>
<p>I submitted the PROFILE online on 10/26 and indicated that it be sent to BU, but his applicant status page says "no financial assistance documentation has been recorded."
Does anyone know if there is a time lag--like 7-10 days--before receipt of the PROFILE is recorded in an admissions office? I would have thought it was practically instantaneous.</p>
<p>By the way, regarding "filling out the forms the right way," I nearly choked when I clicked SUBMIT on the PROFILE and was told I needed to file a Business/Farm Supplement. It was absolutely impossible to guesstimate. Finally we gave up, competed the personal information (name, etc.), and sent it with a copy of the Schedule L. Better to send the form done half-assed than not at all.</p>