What was the point of making the FAFSA shorter and easier to fill out IF...

[JFS in IL]

most schools then turn around and demand the CSS Profile in addition to the FAFSA? Hubby has been working on the d*mn thing for several weekends now. He reports that compared the the CSS Profile, FAFSA is a snap.

I am just glad I do not do the financial aid stuff (but I do keep on top of everything else).

[Jane in NC]

The CSS Profile was horrible! I called the College Board to ask for clarification because I felt the questions were ambiguous and invasive. The joke that a friend and I had when we were doing our CSS Profiles was "If you could sell a kidney, how much would you make?"

I have been working on the FAFSA which is indeed simple when compared to the other. I have noticed that some schools which do not require the Profile have their own documents which ask Profile-like questions.

The thing that I am uncomfortable about is submitting tax returns to financial aid offices. I have yet to see statements on how these documents are stored and destroyed. Have you? And what is the deal anyway? Do schools sometimes ask for these for verification or is this a regular request?

[Kareni]

Of the ten schools that my daughter applied to last year, I can only think of two that were FAFSA only schools. Most of the others required FAFSA and Profile while one or two others required FAFSA and their own form.

Virtually all of the schools required verification from us; therefore, our tax documents were mailed far and wide. I agree, Jane, that it was disconcerting to send these out to all and sundry. I only hope that the colleges take good care of all this personal information.

Regards,
Kareni

[JFS in IL]

I well remember the RANT my dad made when I, the oldest kid, was going to college and he was required to submit his tax info (I needed a student loan). Eventually he did do as requested (otherwise I would have been at Bank of Dad for all my needed funds, and he did not like THAT idea either!!!)

My hubby's dad never remembered to sign one financial aid form when hubby was going off to law school...hubby did not like to pester him to sign it - result was a $20,000 loan paid off only earlier this year (!!!) instead of probable large aid package (hubby was one of six kids in a lower-income family!!)

Submit tax forms, blood test, kidneys - whatever hoops must be jumped through, do them, to avoid big student loans!!!

[Kareni]

...

Submit tax forms, blood test, kidneys - whatever hoops must be jumped through, do them, to avoid big student loans!!!

First born child.

Oh, wait. I did end up sending that to the college.

Regards,
Kareni

[MSPolly]

First born child.

Oh, wait. I did end up sending that to the college.

Regards,
Kareni
:lol: .....right there with you all

[Carmen_and_Company]

First born child.

Oh, wait. I did end up sending that to the college.

Regards,
Kareni

Me, too--sigh.

[Brenda in MA]

The thing that I am uncomfortable about is submitting tax returns to financial aid offices. I have yet to see statements on how these documents are stored and destroyed. Have you? And what is the deal anyway? Do schools sometimes ask for these for verification or is this a regular request?
Jane,

Before sending in the tax forms, I would check with each school that says they want them. Last year, when we completed the profile, it spit out a form that said that certain schools wanted copies of our tax returns. Since I wasn't sure exactly which forms to send in, I called them. They each told me that it wasn't necessary to send in the tax forms unless my son enrolled there, so I should wait until he made his decision. I felt a little bit better about that and had to send the forms to only one school.

HTH,
Brenda

[Nan in Mass]

Haha!!!! (We just finished Rumplestiltzkin in Latin so this caught my eye right away LOL.)

[Jane in NC]

Thank you for that tip, Brenda. My husband has been the victim of identity theft (fortunately caught early before any damage was done but nonetheless a total pain in the you-know-what) so I tend to be a bit paranoid about handing out private data. This makes me feel better.