Tips for Completing the CSS Profile and FAFSA
We have identified and listed below tips on aspects of the Profile™ and FAFSA forms applicants most frequently find confusing. Before you start filling out the forms we encourage you to review our tips. Helpful explanations of questions asked are also built into the Profile™ and FAFSA forms.
Returning students who have received BU need-based scholarship aid in the past are not required to file the Profile™. The BU Scholarship Assurance guarantees that, as long as your total aid doesn’t exceed the cost of attendance, your BU scholarship aid will be renewed at the same level each year of your undergraduate study.
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Always use your legal name and correct Social Security number.
When completing your Profile™ and FAFSA, refer to your Social Security card and be sure to use your correct Social Security number and legal name as they appear on your Social Security card. The student applicant’s Social Security number is required on all applications. Misplaced your Social Security Card?
Know when to file your CSS Profile™ and FAFSA.
The FAFSA is required each year of all first-year, transfer, and returning students to apply for federal and state financial aid. First-year and transfer are also required to file the CSS Profile™ to apply for BU scholarship aid. Returning students who have not received BU need-based scholarship aid in the past are also required to file the CSS Profile™ to apply for BU scholarship aid. Note: first-year and transfer filing deadlines and returning student filing deadlines.
Have you already received a bachelor's degree?
You will be asked this question in three different ways on the FAFSA. Be sure to answer these questions consistently. A bachelor’s degree is an undergraduate college degree typically completed in 3 – 5 years. Most students applying for undergraduate financial aid have not received their first bachelor’s degree prior to entering BU. If the FAFSA you are completing is for an academic term in which you will still be an undergraduate working toward your first bachelor’s degree, you should answer “No” to the question on the FAFSA about whether you will have already earned a your first bachelor’s degree.
Interested in Federal Work-Study?
To be considered for Federal Work-Study, be certain to answer “Yes” to the FAFSA question “Are you interested in being considered for Work-Study?”
Use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool when filing the FAFSA
We encourage you to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) when completing the FAFSA. Using the IRS DRT will make completing the FAFSA easier, ensure that accurate income information is entered on your FAFSA, and simplify the verification process in the event that you are awarded federal financial aid and selected for federal verification.
Report education tax credits.
Education tax credits reported on your US tax return are excluded from income in the need analysis formula. The amount of education tax credits (also called the American Opportunity Credit or Lifetime Learning Credits) that you or your parents claimed on a US tax return should be reported as “Additional Financial Information” on the FAFSA and as “Income and Benefit Information” on the Profile™.
Report tax-deferred contributions to your pension and retirement savings.
Payments to tax-deferred pension and retirement savings plans (paid directly or withheld from earnings) include amounts reported on your W-2 form in box 12a through 12d (codes D, E, F, G, H, and S). The amounts must be reported on your FAFSA and Profile™ as untaxed income. If you overlook reporting this information and are offered financial aid on the basis of that incomplete FAFSA data, we may have to reduce your award later.
How to report business and/or investment farm value on the Profile™ vs. FAFSA.
The value of any family-owned business should always be reported on the Profile™. On the FAFSA, however, do not report the value of a family-owned business if your family owns more than 50% AND the business has 100 or fewer full-time employees. Business and/or investment farm value incudes the market value of land, buildings, machinery, equipment, inventory, etc., less business and/or investment farm debt.
Sign your FAFSA!
To complete your FAFSA, you and your parent must sign the application. Processing of your financial aid application will be delayed until a FAFSA has been submitted with both signatures, which may result in a reduction of your award.
Do not update your FAFSA unnecessarily.
Once you have submitted your FAFSA and you have received your Student Aid Report (SAR), please do not make any changes to it unless the SAR instructs you to do so. The information reported on the FAFSA is supposed to be a snapshot in time.
