Common App asking for 'gross income' vs AGI - which one for FAFSA consistency?

its asking for gross income not AGI. on common app u put total income b4 any deductions. for FAFSA u'll use AGI which is line 11 on 1040. they're different forms so they want different numbers.

The Common App is specifically asking for your total income before any deductions or adjustments, which is different from the AGI that you'll use on the FAFSA. This is standard practice and college financial aid offices understand the difference between these numbers. Just make sure you're using actual gross income (all income sources combined) for Common App and then AGI (from tax return line 11) when you complete the FAFSA next month.

when i did this last yr i just put the same # everywhere bc i didnt know there was a difference lol. nobody said anything so i guess it wasnt a big deal??

This whole system is DESIGNED to confuse parents!! Why can't they all just use the SAME income figure?? I spent HOURS trying to figure out all these different forms last year with my son's applications. Common App wants gross, FAFSA wants AGI, CSS Profile wants something else entirely, and then some schools have their OWN financial forms! It's RIDICULOUS!

Financial aid counselor here. The Common App is asking for your gross income (total income before deductions), while FAFSA uses your Adjusted Gross Income from your tax return. This is intentional as schools use both figures to get a more complete picture of your financial situation. For Common App: Include all income from all sources before any deductions For FAFSA: Use the AGI figure from line 11 of your 1040 tax form There's no problem having different figures on these forms, as long as each is accurately reported according to what's being asked.

When I was filling out my son's applications, I couldn't reach anyone at the Common App helpline or get clear answers from their website. I discovered Claimyr (claimyr.com) which helped me get through to a financial aid advisor at one of his target schools who explained all this. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ. It was so much easier than sitting on hold for hours, and they explained that Common App wants gross income while FAFSA needs the AGI figure.

Just wanted to update everyone - I called my daughter's high school counselor who confirmed what many of you said. Common App does want total gross income before deductions, while FAFSA uses AGI. She said colleges understand this difference and won't flag it as an inconsistency. Thanks everyone for your help!

Great to see this got resolved! For anyone else reading this thread, I'd recommend keeping a simple spreadsheet with all the different income figures you'll need throughout the application process. Include columns for gross income (Common App), AGI (FAFSA), and any other variations schools might ask for. This way you can stay consistent and reference back to what you've already reported. The college application process has enough stress without worrying about income reporting inconsistencies!

This is such a helpful thread! I'm going through this exact same situation with my son's applications right now. Just to clarify what I'm understanding - for Common App I should report our total household income from all sources (wages, interest, dividends, etc.) before any deductions or adjustments, and then for FAFSA I'll use the AGI from line 11 of our 1040. The difference between these two numbers is totally normal and expected by colleges, right? I was getting so stressed thinking I had to make them match somehow!

As someone who just went through this process with my daughter last year, I can confirm what others have said - Common App wants your total gross income (all income before any deductions) while FAFSA uses your AGI from line 11 of your tax return. The numbers will be different and that's completely normal! One tip that helped me: when you're gathering your financial documents, pull out your most recent pay stubs and tax return at the same time. For Common App, you'll add up all the gross income from wages, self-employment, interest, dividends, etc. For FAFSA, you'll just use that AGI line from your 1040. Having both documents in front of you makes it much easier to report the right numbers on each form. Don't overthink it - colleges deal with this difference every day!

I'm just starting this process with my oldest and this thread has been incredibly helpful! One quick question - when reporting gross income on Common App, do I need to include things like employer contributions to health insurance or retirement plans? Or is it just the income that actually shows up on my W-2 and other tax documents? I want to make sure I'm not over-reporting or under-reporting. The instructions aren't super clear about what exactly counts as "gross income" in their system.

This thread has been so educational! I'm a first-time parent going through this process and I had no idea there were different income requirements for different forms. Reading through everyone's experiences really helped me understand that Common App wants gross income (before any deductions) while FAFSA uses AGI from the tax return. It's reassuring to know that having different numbers on these forms is completely normal and expected by colleges. Thanks to everyone who shared their knowledge - it's making this overwhelming process feel much more manageable!

As a newcomer to this process, I want to thank everyone for this incredibly helpful discussion! I was completely confused about the difference between what Common App and FAFSA are asking for, but reading through all these responses has really clarified things for me. It's such a relief to know that using gross income (all income before deductions) for Common App and AGI from line 11 of the tax return for FAFSA is the correct approach, and that colleges expect these numbers to be different. I was worried I'd mess up my child's financial aid by reporting inconsistent information, but now I understand these forms are designed to capture different types of income data. This community is amazing for helping families navigate these complex processes!

This has been such an informative thread! I'm just starting the college application process with my daughter and was completely overwhelmed by all the different financial forms requiring different information. Reading through everyone's explanations has been incredibly helpful - I now understand that Common App wants total gross income (all income sources before any deductions or adjustments) while FAFSA uses the AGI from line 11 of our tax return. It's such a relief to know that these numbers are supposed to be different and that colleges expect this variation! I was so worried about appearing inconsistent across forms, but now I realize each form is designed to capture different aspects of our financial situation. Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences and expertise - this community really helps make a complex process much more manageable for first-time parents like me!

As someone who just discovered this thread while researching the same question, I can't thank everyone enough for these detailed explanations! I was getting so frustrated trying to figure out why different applications were asking for different income numbers - I thought I was missing something obvious. Now I understand that Common App wants our total household gross income (all sources before any deductions) while FAFSA will use our AGI from line 11 of our 1040. It's such a relief to know that having different numbers on these forms is completely normal and expected by colleges. I was actually losing sleep worrying that inconsistent reporting might hurt my son's chances or cause problems with financial aid. This community is incredible for helping confused parents like me navigate this maze of forms and requirements!

I'm new to this whole college application process and just stumbled across this thread while trying to figure out the exact same thing! Reading through everyone's experiences has been such a huge help. I was getting really stressed thinking I had to make all the income numbers match across different forms, but now I understand that Common App wants total gross income (everything before deductions) while FAFSA uses the AGI from our tax return. It's so reassuring to know that colleges actually expect these numbers to be different! I was worried that reporting different amounts might look suspicious or hurt my daughter's chances. Thank you to everyone who shared their knowledge here - this community really makes navigating this confusing process so much easier for parents like me who are doing this for the first time!

As someone just starting this process with my first child, I cannot express how grateful I am for this entire discussion! I was completely panicking about the different income requirements across forms, thinking I was somehow supposed to make them all match. Understanding that Common App wants total gross income (all sources before any deductions) while FAFSA uses AGI from line 11 of the tax return has been such a revelation. I was literally up at night worrying that reporting different numbers would somehow flag our application as inconsistent or fraudulent. It's incredible how much stress this community has relieved by explaining that colleges not only expect these differences but actually use them to get a comprehensive view of families' financial situations. Thank you to everyone who took the time to share their expertise and experiences - you've turned what felt like an insurmountable challenge into something I can actually handle with confidence!

This thread is exactly what I needed to find! I'm a newcomer to the college application process with my daughter and was getting so confused about why Common App and FAFSA seem to want different income information. Reading through everyone's explanations has been incredibly enlightening - I now understand that Common App is asking for total gross income from all sources before any deductions, while FAFSA uses the Adjusted Gross Income from line 11 of our tax return. It makes so much sense that these would be different numbers since they're capturing different aspects of our financial picture! I was really worried that having inconsistent income figures across forms would somehow hurt my daughter's applications or financial aid prospects. Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences and expertise here - this community has transformed what felt like an overwhelming maze of requirements into something I can approach with confidence. It's such a relief to know that colleges expect and understand these variations!