I have filled out a FAFSA. I am unsure as to whether I need to fill out a CSS or to what exactly this CSS profile is. Can someone fill me in on whether I need to do that? To my knowledge the CSS costs money to fill out, and i'm not sure whether its a flat rate or if it adds as more colleges get on your list.
Some of the schools I'm applying to are Stanford, Cornell, UVA, & UPenn.
Are you applying for admission for fall 2013? Of so the FAFSA for that year is not available until January 1, 2013.
The schools on your list require the submission of the CSS Profile to be considered for their institutional need based aid. You will have to check each school for the deadline for submission of the Profile.
Thespins...if you are applying for admission for fall of 2013 then you can NOT have completed that FAFSA already. It isn't available. If you completed the 2012-2013 FAFSA, and submitted it, it will NOT do you a speck of good for financial aid consideration for the 2013-2014 school year...which is when YOU are starting college.
You cannot fill out the financial aid forms for the school years beginning in fall of 2013 yet because the information needed is earnings for 2012 as will be reported on the tax return. The year isn't over yet so you don't know what the exact figures will be for sure. But now you've had practice filling out a FAFSA so no harm done. On 1/1/2013 the forms you need will become available. They are not even up yet.
Make sure when you fill them out that you pick a day when the bank accounts are not filled with money waiting for the bills to be paid because the asset values are reported as of the filing date. Pay day is not a good time to file and if you have money sitting there to pay for a new roof, you better get it paid first. If you, the student, have savings, you might want to ask your parent to open up an account in one of their names and ssn and you reimburse them for your expenses so that you don't have assets to report. Student assets are hit right off the bat at 20% wheras parents' have an allowance and are assessed at 5.6%.
