NO, unless the stepparent lives with the parent & student.

There are only about 205 private and a few state colleges (U NC Chapel Hill is one) that require the CSS, but virtually every school requires the FAFSA. The CSS comes from the College Board; the FAFSA from the Dept. of Ed. Unlike the FAFSA, the CSS asks lifestyle questions such as information about home equity, the value of retirement acct's, annuities, cash value of life ins., autos leased or owned, payments to private high schools, etc. They give credits for certain items, and over the years the EFC (Expected Family Contribution) has been pretty close to equal. One year the EFC at Duke was less that the FAFSA EFC. The formulas are too complicated to do it yourself, so use a computer and hope for the best. This year NYU decided to require the CSS & UCLA did not.

On line, carefully, and with the help of an expert. It is unwise to do a paper form, so go to www.fafsa.ed.gov, and be sure to avoid www.fafsa.com!

Yes! Yes! Yes! You should fill out the FAFSA, regardless of your family's financial status. First, at least 2/3 of students get financial aid, which includes families with income over $100,000. Hence, you have a great chance of paying less than the college's full sticker price. Second, not all financial aid is need-based; others are merit-based. You still need to fill out the FAFSA to qualify for any merit-based grants and scholarships from a college. Third, filling out the FAFSA allows your family to use unsubsidized PLUS loans and unsubsidized Stafford loans to pay college expenses. The advantages of unsubsidized Stafford loans are slightly lower interest rates and no interest payments while you are attending college. Last, unexpected things in life can happen in life. When you fill out the FAFSA, the college can account for any changes in your financial aid eligibility status. In summary, you should fill out the FAFSA regardless of your family's income status because the loss of not doing so may be greater than you anticipate.

Yes. The favorable loans accessible only via FAFSA might be desirable now or later in the year, and there is no obligation to accept them when they are offered to you. Something terrible might happen to the family finances during the year and without the FAFSA on file, the financial aid office won't be able to help you. Some scholarships, even if they are not need-based, require FAFSA filing, and you might not apply for those until later in the cycle. You can't predict the future; get the FAFSA filed.

The FAFSA is a piece of the Federal Government’s program to foster financial access to college, and is a tool used by schools to determine a student’s eligibility for federal, state, and college-sponsored financial aid, including grants, educational loans, and work-study programs. In contrast the CSS Profile is a College Board sponsored application that seeks a broader understanding of a student’s financial situation and of the ability to pay the costs of higher education. It is not used by all and plays a bigger role in the higher priced schools. Indeed, given the range of costs in higher education, each school assesses the information in the context of their own costs and some schools have additional questions on the Profiles that they consider that are not a part of the considerations of others. The ultimate goal is to determine how much a student and their family can contribute and how much is needed from the school—or in conjunction with the information stemming from the FAFSA review, the government—to allow a student to attend a school.

It is all done on line. Any applicant should access the site, look at the instructions, preview what it needs, and then after gathering all the needed information you and your parents can take care of it in a fairly efficient manner. The directions are clear and straightforward and there are lots of explanatory notes and answers to common questions. All of that helps the process. It is well worth the effort to preview it so you can assemble the variety of financial information you need, but all of it is information that a person will generally have to do their taxes and their normal financial affairs. It is important to be accurate and complete.

There are places to offer fuller explanations of one’s income and assets so it is not solely about amounts. Take the opportunity to explain things as fully as possible. They will also see tax records so the fuller picture will be reviewed. Take the time to offer as complete an application as you can.

The answer to this question is pretty straightforward. While the FAFSA seeks information about both income and assets, it is less asset-focused than the CSS Profile.

The CSS profile is used by a selection of universities (the list can be found on the CSS webpage) and should be completed if you are planning to attend one of these universities. The FAFSA is free and provides Federal Student Aid, whereas the CSS costs money and will provide additional information to those schools listed on the CSS website.