College planner: CSS Profile, FAFSA are the death and taxes of applying for financial aid
You may have heard rumors that the Federal Application for Student Aid is changing and opening later this season. Those rumors are true, but all reliable sources reassure us that this complicated financial aid formula is inching toward unprecedented ease and fairness. If using the terms "government forms" in the same proximity as "ease"’ seems counterintuitive to you, it is. And just when you thought this was the only complicated form you would have the pleasure of completing, the CSS profile comes into view, making the mountain in front of you even steeper. Like death and taxes, these two forms are the certainties of applying to all public and about 400 private institutions in the nation.
College Scholarship Service Profile
The CSS Profile, or College Scholarship Service Profile, is a financial aid form found through the College Board that is only required by about 400 schools in the country. The CSS is linked to institutional aid, or aid from the colleges themselves, not the federal government. The positive is that these institutions have more money to give away than the feds do.
A complete list of colleges that require it can be found at cssprofile.org. You will need the following documents handy to complete the CSS:
Most recent tax returns
W-2 forms and records of current year income
Records of untaxed income and benefits
Assets
Bank statements
The CSS profile considers other facets of the financial picture, including home equity, medical expenses and additional education expenses. Each college may require slightly different information, so pay attention to details. Like the Federal Application for Student Aid, or FAFSA, students need to complete the CSS every year they want institutional financial aid. The CSS also may require information from the non-custodial parent and stepparents.
For the pleasure of filling out the CSS profile, families will pay the low, low price of only $25, for the first college, and $16 for each additional college. That’s right, you pay to fill out the CSS unless your adjusted gross income is less than 100,000 per year, in which case, fee waivers are available.
There are, however, a few advantages to the CSS in that families can highlight extenuating circumstances such as elder care, other educational expenses, COVID-related hardships, etc. Though the schools that require the CSS tend to be those with higher prices overall, their high sticker price leaves room for markdown (what a sales strategy). Not everyone pays full retail, so it is advantageous to search for the discounts that may well apply to you.
Federal Application for Student Aid
The FAFSA is how families apply for college assistance from the federal government. It needs to be filled out every year the student is in college and will snapshot the financial picture from two years prior to the student entering college. It is never mandatory that students complete it. Let’s begin with a few fun FAFSA facts:
Though FAFSA completion is not required for any student, it may be required by the individual college to be considered for scholarships.
FAFSA determines eligibility for Pell Grants, federal subsidized and unsubsidized loans, and federal work-study programs.
Some very important changes to the FAFSA include:
Terminology: The EFC (Estimated Family Contribution) is now replaced with SAI (Student Aid Index)
Multi factor authentication: Students and parents need the FAFSA ID before starting the FAFSA. This may take 3-5 business days. Do not forget to save your FAFSA ID. This backup code will only be given once. Please write it down or tattoo it on your forehead.
Direct exchange: Data is now directly exchanged between the Department of Education and the IRS via W2 forms. Students do not have to see the parent’s financial information. You must, however, authorize the FAFSA to access your info from the IRS.
FAFSA no longer considers the number of children a family has in college at once.
In the case of divorced or separated parents, the parent who provides the most financial support will fill out the FAFSA.
A list of assets that you must include on the FAFSA include:
Vacation home and investment properties
Adjusted net worth of businesses
Stocks and bonds
Adjusted net worth of family farm
College savings accounts
Assets not included:
Family home
If the student has filed taxes, they will also need to consent to have their tax information provided to the Department of Education. In the name of simplification (also called the FAFSA Simplification Act), the FAFSA is generally shorter and simpler in most cases. I won’t hold my breath that it will cause less stress.
What both the FAFSA and the CSS have in common is that they are the necessary hurdles to receiving both institutional and federal financial aid. My best advice is to get started early and be prepared to ask all the questions you need to.
Bonnie Kleffman is a college consultant director at Access College America, a college planning agency in Austin. Learn more by visiting: AccessCollegeAmerica.org.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: College planner: Here are the 2 must-haves to apply for financial aid
