The FAFSA is a federally generated financial aid application program. It is primarily used to determine your eligibility for federally funded aid, and access to the Direct Loans.
The CSS Profile is administered by the College Board. It is used by a number of elite private colleges and a few public universities. This form, when required, is what colleges use to determine the awarding of their institutional need based aid…and that is what you really want at these pricey colleges. The Profile takes a deeper dive into your finances than the FAFSA does.
You need to complete whatever is required for financial aid application submissions for each college….so check their financial aid sections.
Here is the easy answer. Both forms use prior prior tax year information. Both forms are usually available for submission on October 1 of the year before you are entering college. (Note…this year the FAFSA is new and is all screwed up so it wasn’t available until January, and won’t be submitted to colleges until March…but that should JUST be this year).
So…prior prior year tax information is used for FAFSA and Profile. BUT do keep in mind that assets are reported as of the day you submit the forms.
I think this is a little inaccurate. It’s not that the schools “don’t believe you”. It’s that they want documentation that what you are putting on the forms is accurate.
The FAFSA automatically links to the IRS for importing your tax return information. And it’s not because the government doesn’t “believe you”. It’s because they want this info to be accurate.
Unless I’m missing something, this student wants to be on the east coast preferably in DC. Perhaps @Nontraditionalist333 will completely clarify this. And if it’s the case, we can hone in on what he wants…not other things.
We don’t yet know anything budget wise but I simply showed a way to get to DC if he’s unable to formally study there full time. When you have budget limitations, you often have trade offs.
There are less expense schools. For example the four NC promise schools might be $20k all in.
Until OP runs net price calculators, there’s no way to know the reality of what they seek.
The OP has run some net price calculators. As I noted upstream, there is no way to know how accurate they are for transfer students.
@Nontraditionalist333 your loan limits via the federally funded Direct Loan are limited annually. I believe for first year students the limit for independent students is $9500. If you need more loans than that amount, you would likely need a qualified cosigner or someone to take the loans for you.
I fully understand that you want to be in DC or on the east coast someplace for your college studies. I think you have a chance to do this…but it’s certainly not a guarantee.
Please do check the policies for transfer students and aid at your target schools.
I fully understand that you want to leave CA. How many more years of college do you need for completion of your bachelors? Would it be worth it to stay in CA and get that done, or is that a compromise you don’t want to make?
Time to also mention that for any national security position, or in the foreign service, you will need a clearance. Be advised that any recent drug use ( yes, including marijuana, and it does not matter if it is legal in that state) can be disqualifying. The feds do not accept drug use, regardless of state laws. Since you have several years ahead of you, act accordingly.
I compromise I don’t want to make. This fall I will have 60 credits to transfer, so I only need to years to finish. If I can get a total costs (including housing) to be around 20k a year, I can manage that
So you are hoping that all of your credits from college will transfer? Is that correct? I sure hope for your sake that happens.
$20,000 a year means that you need about $65000 to $70,000 a year in aid to attend the schools on your list. You do not want to take loans out even for two years in that amount, in my opinion.
I think admission for you could happen at the schools of your choice…but I’m not sure about affordability. Like I said, you need to check policies for transfer students and awarding of need based aid. I hope this all works out for you!
As others have said, you have an interesting profile. As it’s so unusual, however, there are questions as to how it will be received; regularly chancing methodology is not necessarily likely to work here.
It sounds like Georgetown, GW, and American are on the list and likely Yale. If you really want to be in D.C., I would include an app to George Mason which is just a few miles from downtown D.C. The Schar School of Policy and Government offers great opportunities for research and connections. You may also want to check out Catholic U. which is located in D.C. and has a variety of programming from intelligence studies, international business, peace and justice studies, etc.
D.C. has a lot going on for someone interested in international studies, but so does New York City. I would take a look at Fordham, NYU, and Seton Hall in particular. Add on Columbia and CUNY City College, too. City College’s Colin Powll School for Civil and Global Leadership should definitely be of interest. It also has the Frances S. Patai Program in Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Studies, which might interest you, and there are programs in other departments that could gel well with your interests.
One of the nice things about George Mason and City College is that they’re public schools, which means they’re also likelier to accept all of your transfer credits.
I would not expect the 9 hours you earned in 2016 to count, but you can verify with the colleges you’re interested in. Most colleges expect classes to be within a 5 or 7-year period or similar.
Missed this with my earlier post. Are you currently taking classes now, and that’s how you expect to get that many? Are you including your credits from 2016 in that total?
So, basically you’re looking to get a scholarship/financial aid that will cover all of your tuition, because you’ll probably need that $20k just for living expenses in D.C. or NYC (and it’s unlikely to be a life of comfort at that amount).
City College’s out-of-state tuition & fees for SY22-23 was $15,290, which seems like it is closest to affordable for you. George Mason is nearly $39k, which is unlikely to be affordable for you, as I doubt they will come down much in price.
One thing to think about is figuring out the costs for your total degree. I suspect that the public schools will be more generous in giving you transfer credits, but will be less financially generous with aid. Private schools might be more financially generous, but they’re less likely to be generous with the transfer credits, requiring a third year from you. Granted, I might be wrong, but I definitely think it’s something you should be aware of.
Although you are definitely interesting to me, I am not sure your application will be be perceived as unusual or unique in itself. There are many students with cool non-traditional backgrounds that apply to competitive colleges each year. Out of the people that fall into this bucket, only a few make it through. Of course, there is also a much smaller pool of transfer applicants at competitive schools.
My point is that you need to likely do a wider search. Regarding the grades, W’s and test optional piece of who you are, you might want to have open phone calls with people from transfer admissions prior to applying to better understand their perceptions. I have found some of transfer admissions to be formulaic. In other words, if you do not get by with your metrics - whether you are interesting or not will be irelevent.
This is why I included California schools (wider search) with DC programs - so - while OP doesn’t want to be in California, it’s the best chance at $20K and comes with DC time / study / internship. There’s also 27 WUE schools and many likely offer DC semesters.
Budget will not be the biggest issue although it’s huge. OP at $20K can look at West Carolina and the 3 other NC Promise universities. Perhaps there’s others at this level - but few - and as a transfer, generally merit is lower.
Gtown is a fine school - but admitted 185 of 2528 transfer applicants and OP doesn’t have a test. They’ll waive it - sure - but will they really? GW, American - unlikely to come close to budget…nor will a UMD or GMU.
Yale - admitted 32 of 1973 transfer applicants.
Sure there’s hope - but you also need to plan for reality. The budget isn’t there and statistically, they are unlikely to achieve acceptance to Gtown, Yale, and others similarly competititive.
When there’s budgets, there are tradeoffs. Some may say - that’s not an option (staying in CA) - but then you’re for most intents and purposes saying - a four year degree isn’t an option (unless you get into a hail mary school).
WUE is often limited for transfer students, if not entirely, by major. Some schools don’t give WUE to any transfers. Another thing for OP to check…which generally means contacting transfer AOs.
And the OP has clearly stated that they do not want to remain in CA. They want to be in DC or on the east coast. I’m quite sure they have read all the suggestions and reasons why CA might be an option to consider.
Frankly, I think we should address what the OP does want now. They can read the other posts for more clarification about CA schools later.
I do agree that affordability is an issue. And transfer acceptances to some places are very low.
Atlanta is considered Hollywood South and has lots of entertainment options. So if an affordable option doesn’t pop up, you could move to Georgia and continue working as an actor. That would get you to the east coast and once you gain Georgia residency, you could think about attending Georgia State which is in Atlanta and costs $8500/year for in-state residents. Plus, Atlanta is much less expensive than NYC or D.C. in terms of living costs, saving you money there as well. If you decide to move to New York City and work as an actor and gain residency there, City College costs $7500/year for in-state residents.