<p>I have run the financial calculators on the College Board website; our EFC via the CSS is just about double that via FAFSA. So I have some questions about schools that require both forms.</p>
<li><p>Is there any way of guessing where financial aid is likely to fall along the spectrum – less than the CSS might indicate we need; somewhere between; who knows?</p></li>
<li><p>One college to which our daughter may apply has an EA (not ED) program: if applying EA (by November 1) you file the CSS with application, and the FAFSA in February; and if applying RD you file the other way around. Why? Is there any advantage/disadvantage to either way and would you forego EA?</p></li>
<li><p>One school asks only for the CSS with application; and then wants the FAFSA by April 15. What then is the point of the FAFSA, as it seems too late to be used to determine aid?</p></li>
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<p>Pretty much every school asks for FAFSA, that gets you federal aid eligibility like Pell grants, etc. Then the profile lets them decide how much more to give you. If you have $0EFC on FAFSA, then you would get a Pell of $4800ish plus your state may have a grant and their could be a few other small SEOG grants, etc. You may even get the ACG, if you qualify academically.</p>
<p>I assume, but do not recall for certain, that even if the Profile puts your EFC higher, you still get the FAFSA derived grants. Then the school decides your home equity means you can put in $20,000 EFC....so, you might have a package of $4800 Pell, $650 ACG, $6550 state grant for $12k total. Your school has a COA of $50k, you now need $38k more for the school year, the school may then give you loans for the rest! Loans are aid in their eyes/</p>
<p>So, in my humble experience, if FAFSA schools are the way to go, don't even bother with CSS schools. One of my Ds had 4 FAFSA & 2 other acceptances. There is no way we would have chosen to use the other school packages, as I cannot afford to access that home equity that was derived not from brilliance, but simply from living in the house while those around appreciated.</p>
<p>Seek FAFSA schools and seek lower tier privates with merit aid if you want a private school.</p>
<p>Some fafsa schools also have their own FA forms, and some of those ask about home equity. You might want to find out if home equity is capped, and look at each college's own FA forms. I don't know how you tell about FA. My kid had a package from a school that meets 92% of need and it was not nearly as good as a school that meets 85% of need (on average). Schools that only meet 65% of need were horrible when it came to FA, but some of those offered generous merit aid (if your kid loses merit aid by not meeting the gpa required, yikes!).</p>
<p>As we have been in our current home in Southern California for over a dozen years, we do have a fair bit of home equity. How do you find out if schools cap home equity? I can't find it on many websites. Will financial aid staff tell you?</p>
<p>I cannot see why they would not be upfront if you contacted the financial aid office and requested to speak with a financial aid counselor (I would make sure that you are not speaking with a student). It really should not be a mystery, or a secret. If their form asks questions like, "when did you buy your home?", and "what was the purchase price?", and "how much of a mortgage do you currently have?", etc., then ask them also what they do with this information. You can find most of the college's additional forms on their websites.</p>
<p>To answer your second question (about EA and the order in which you file the forms:
If you apply EA (or ED), colleges want to be able to give you a tentative financial aid package with your acceptance. So they ask for estimated numbers on the Profile. But they can't ask for FAFSA - it's not made available until January 1 for the following academic year. Once you file FAFSA, and your final numbers on the Profile and FAFSA (following your tax return filing), you'll get your final FA package.</p>