GENERAL ADVICE FOR COMPLETING FORMS
1. Almost everyone will need to fill out two forms: FAFSA (www.fafsa.ed.gov) and CSS PROFILE (cssprofile.collegeboard.org) as well as forms from some individual colleges. 2. Here is some contact information for help with the FAFSA: 1-800-433-3243 for general information about the process www.fafsa.ed.gov for questions about any technical issues you may have while completing the FAFSA 617-536-0200 for the ASA (American Student Assistance) College Planning Center at the Boston Public Library, an excellent resource for all types of aid questions (scholarships as well as need based aid) 3. Read all instructions carefully with any aid form. These forms cannot be filled out without using the instruction sheets. Remember to give information about parent AND student income. (Also remember that the YOU/YOUR pronoun refers to the student, not the parent.) 4. The FAFSA does not ask for some of the detailed information that most private colleges need. If a college to which you are applying requires the PROFILE as well, it will be listed with a code number in the PROFILE registration form. If you have not registered for the PROFILE by the January before the fall when you plan to matriculate, you are already a little behind. You should register by January 1st in order to get the PROFILE forms in on time. 5. In addition, some colleges have institutional forms that must be filled out. Either those forms came with the application or the college will ask for additional information later this winter. (You need to meet each college’s deadline.) 6. When you complete each form (FAFSA and PROFILE), save a copy of each for your own files. 7. The FAFSA forms can now be submitted as early as October and must be submitted no later than February 15th. (Forms submitted after that date might delay your financial aid award. Double check the submission deadline for each college on your list.) DO NOT BE LATE. If even one college has a February 1st deadline, file the form by that date. 8. You will receive a SAR (Student Aid Report) from the processing center shortly after you submit the FAFSA. Look for it; it is your acknowledgment. Look at it; it contains all the information you provided on the FAFSA. If you have corrections, make them ASAP to avoid delays in processing your application. Also, this is your chance to have the information sent to up to 10 additional colleges. (You are only allowed to list 10 on the original form.) Save the SAR; you may need it in later dealings with the financial aid office at the college where your child matriculates. Please note: If the changes you make on the SAR are significant, send a copy to the 10
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