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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Yeah, no.  You see, there’s something called the CSS that delves deeply into your finances.  Sometimes you’re even asked what cars are in your garage.

Don’t count on aid for your kid even if you’re just a couple years from retirement.  Oh, and you’ll be expected to drain your other kid’s 529 account too.[/quote]

My alma mater, after reviewing our CSS submission, said we had "too much in retirement." I retorted that the university did not teach me to raid my retirement savings. The real issue here is the wealthy establishment types who drive financial aid policy, and cannot fathom how someone could fund retirement yet not fund college plans. Even when presented with proof of 5 figure out out of pocket annual medical expense, the alma mater just wanted to know how long I would have these expenses! This is from a university rated by Forbes as A+ for financial health. I should never have given tens of thousands of dollars to my alma mater - I should have invested it for future children, but what did I know in my 20s and 30s? [/quote]

What is the CSS and how is it different from FAFSA.  We did FAFSA in case we wanted our kid to be able to take a loan (the calculated parent contribution was like 500K, so no chance of other federal aid).  The schools where our kid was offered merit aid didn't ask for anything (or anything beyond FAFSA).  Is the CSS something that we need to do or is it only if a school asks or you are seeking aid beyond federal aid?[/quote]

It depends on the school.  Some don't ask you to fill it out if you are not applying for FA from school, but some do, if you are applying for merit scholarships.  I guess they want to see if some aid they are offering can be recorded as non-merit, probably makes them look better.[/quote]

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