Q: I won’t qualify for financial aid. Do I need to fill out the FAFSA? A: Yes! Regardless of whether you think you’re eligible for aid, you should complete the FAFSA. You have to complete it if you (or your student) intends to take out federal student loans, which are available to anyone regardless of need. If you have any…
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CSS PROFILE
Here is an article I wrote for another advisor’s site on college affordability.
If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, this is a bit of a refresher post. There are three aid formulas: Federal methodology (FM), based on the FAFSA; Institutional Methodology (IM), based on the CSS PROFILE; and Consensus Methodology (CM), which uses both aid forms. Each is a different way of calculating a family’s
With price gains in most housing markets nationwide over the last few years, parents need to understand how aid formulas treat home equity. The good news: the FAFSA doesn’t consider home equity. The bad news: the CSS PROFILE requests information on home equity, and schools using the CSS PROFILE may calculate your home equity’s value for EFC purposes in one…
Perhaps the #1 most-frequently-asked question about the CSS/PROFILE is “How am I supposed to answer question 160A?” (“Enter the amount your parents think they will be able to pay for your 2017-18 college expenses.”) It’s a trap, right? A higher-stakes version of the “name your price” offers musicians put out there for concerts and downloads. Answer too high and you…