Financial Aid Advice

[snowbeltmom]

I am just beginning to wade through the whole financial aid process, and I am finding it to be overwhelming. Do you have any suggestions on where I should begin?

 

I have read posts on College Confidential that a student's financial aid package can vary widely from school to school. I have also read of cases where a family's EFC was way more than the online calculator predicted. What are some reasons for this?

 

How can you determine if a school uses the FAFSA, the CSS, or its own financial aid calculator?

 

 

My dh has his own business, we own multiple rental properties, and our taxes are complicated. Is our situation going to make it more difficult to use the online calculators?

 

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[Jane in NC]

 

How can you determine if a school uses the FAFSA, the CSS, or its own financial aid calculator?

 

I would look at the school's financial aid website. Some colleges require the CSS for all financial aid requests; my son's college only uses it for Early Decision. Thus if I look at the CSS site to see the list of colleges that accept it, I find my son's school on the list. But most applicants do not use it.

 

My dh has his own business, we own multiple rental properties, and our taxes are complicated. Is our situation going to make it more difficult to use the online calculators?

 

I suspect that your situation may not fit neatly into the online calculators but why not give several a try. Also, the FAFSA site has a preliminary worksheet available on the kind of data that is entered. Perhaps this will help you when filling in estimates.

[creekland]

Start a thread on college confidential's financial aid forum (if you haven't already). There are some very wise gurus on there, some work in the financial aid office(s).

 

Otherwise, I'd probably be looking mostly for merit aid that isn't dependent upon need if at all possible.

 

I'd also be putting numbers into college financial aid calculators... if there were a couple of colleges my kiddo really liked, I'd be contacting their financial aid offices to see what I could learn.

 

With the CSS, investments really count...

 

In our experience with owning a business, colleges wanted us to substantiate our income with our tax returns, but they were understanding that's it's been some trying years in the economy. Well, most were understanding. Furman remains the exception wanting us to come up with 33K + student loans. Um, no. Most others met need down to our EFC or close to it. But you do have to get a handle on what that EFC is going to be.

[Starr]

In the end you won't really know until all of your income and tax info is reported. The government marks the complicated ones for review and all your info has to be sent to the college. Use the calculator on the FASFA site and fill in everything to get an idea. Once your student is accepted and you get the financial aide package you can negotiate with the colleges. Be sure and follow the emails and info once you fill out the FASFA and give them whatever info asap. You can approximate after the first of the year and amend once you complete your taxes. Don't wait until April to do your taxes or you might miss out on aid because it is already dispersed. Also many college consider you taking out loans as part of their package. When they say they say a student is left with a certain amount of debt that does not mean the parents as well. You of course they consider able to pay more. It very different from school to school.

[snowbeltmom]

She might not have a choice. We get K-1 forms ( I think that is what they are called) and we don't get them until the beginning of April every year. We have our taxes done and at the accountant in January or early Feb every year at least our part of the forms, deductions, etc but she can never file it until April because she is always waiting for those forms. By law they don't have to send it until then. Supposedly, you can fill in what you think is estimated on FAFSA and that is what you should do in January if you have a reasonable idea, then revise it to the correct figures in April.

Our accountant doesn't file until April either. I don't know anything about the process (other than I find it a huge pain making sure I have included all the documentation each year that begins arriving in January) and if there is a reason that he needs to wait until April.

 

I am not looking forward to this aspect of the college search. Luckily we have a few years to try to get it figured out.:ack2:

 

Thanks for all of your replies.

[creekland]

We seldom send our taxes in until April, but we do figure them out as early as we reasonably can and file the Fafsa based on it. Then we send in final figures (which aren't much different) later. I think this is common with most who are self-employed. Colleges must be somewhat used to it. We haven't had any difficulties.