$40,000+ a year for college may be prohibitive. We urge you not to rule out applying to a certain college on the basis of cost, since the only way to know for sure if it is affordable is to apply for financial aid. However, as you will see below, financial aid is both complicated and unpredictable, so read this section carefully, make charts to keep yourself organized, and ask lots of questions.
Financial aid is assistance to help families meet financial need, the difference between the total cost of a college and the expected family contribution. By federal law, the primary responsibility for funding college costs rests with the family, insofar as they are able. Paying for college is assumed to be the family's top priority, after basic expenses have been met, but before family vacations, new cars, etc. Financial aid is meant to supplement – not replace – the "family contribution." If you are receiving federal aid, you cannot receive more money than the amount of financial need you show.
Demonstrating financial need can be complicated.
This federal financial aid form requires no fee for processing or sending results to colleges. The FAFSA is the only form required to apply for federal aid. It must be sent to each college where you apply for financial aid. This form, available online at www.fafsa.ed.gov, cannot be submitted prior to January 1, but should be submitted as soon as possible thereafter. Do not wait to complete your taxes unless you can do them very early. Instead, use estimated information. Check each college's financial aid deadline, and submit well before the first of these. Never miss a deadline. Even being one day late may eliminate your eligibility for grant funds.
Many private colleges feel that the formula used by FAFSA is overly simplistic. For instance, the FAFSA asks no questions about home ownership or home equity, doesn't ask for financial information from the non-custodial parent in a divorced family, and doesn't take into account private school tuition for other children. In addition to creating inequities in assessing the financial strength of a family, colleges often cannot afford to follow this formula in allocating institutional aid (the colleges' own financial aid money). Hence, CSS (the College Scholarship Service) developed a supplementary form, called PROFILE, which charges a fee per college. The PROFILE should only be sent to those colleges that require it. The PROFILE can be completed online at www.collegeboard.com. Submit the completed PROFILE at least a couple of weeks before the first college's deadline.
These forms result in different expected family contributions. FAFSA, whose formulae are called Federal Methodology, assesses your eligibility for federal aid. PROFILE, which uses Institutional Methodology, determines eligibility for the college's own funds. Most selective, private colleges require both FAFSA and PROFILE, while most public universities require only FAFSA.