Financial Aid Apps — FAFSA and CSS Profile

Greetings and happy autumn!

Many of you have expressed how important financial aid is for your family, so I want to make you aware of a very important date: October 1. Two very important financial aid forms open on this date, and it is imperative to get them filled out ASAP to meet deadlines and ensure the maximum financial aid benefits for college.

These two forms are the FAFSA and the CSS profile. The FAFSA is free, the CSS profile is about $25 (and worth it). These forms can be arduous, and their completion can be delayed if you lack the necessary documents to fill them out properly. I hope the following two checklists ensure all the necessary paperwork is ready to go for your family when you sit down to apply for financial aid.

FAFSA Checklist
CSS Checklist

Prevailing wisdom says that you should get your FSA ID at least three days in advance of sitting down to fill out the FAFSA. Here's a video that shows you how.