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Whew! The shoemaker’s children have no shoes. That’s just to say I’ve endured four hours filling out the CSS Profile for my own daughter’s financial aid application. It’s not confusing when it’s for someone else, but when it’s your own…Here’s some extra tips I learned.
Don’t be modest on expenses
If you’re filling out the Profile (or the FAFSA, for that matter) before you have actually done your taxes, it’s an estimate. Estimate as accurately as possible, but estimate it on the high side when you’re figuring out what, for example, medical expenses might be. Don’t fail to include the cost of any health insurance premiums and deductibles in that estimate. You can always revise later, for the final application.
Be conservative on assets
For example, what is your house really worth? Don’t use the current assessed value (it’s probably high these days). Try to establish a price that a realtor would list it at if you had to sell rapidly. It’s fair to subtract the cost of needed repairs. Look up how much housing prices have fallen in the last two or three years. On the other hand, don’t lie—there’s been murmurs that colleges are using Zillow to double check prices if it seems outrageous. So if you live in Winnetka, you probably can’t put down $80,000.
Explain away
There’s a section for extra explanations and I recommend filling it up if anything is even slightly unclear. I noted explanations for at least five questions where I felt I could make a case for different interpretation. If you don’t have enough room in this section, send a snail mail letter to the school(s). It doesn’t hurt to try.
Read all the FAQs and explanations
You think you have a weird question? Check out what other parents have asked and you’ll probably learn something.
And lastly, my sympathies. I only had to make two calls to the College Board for our rather unique situation, and I think I know what I’m doing! I still think they have a mistake on the form (understating taxes paid for the self employed). Each application is unique and I’d advise allocating at least an afternoon, AFTER you’ve completed an initial run through of your taxes. Thankfully, it was a rainy day today.
