FAFSA vs CSS Profile asset mismatch - can't edit CSS profile figure

Ugh, CSS Profile is way more of a headache than FAFSA! I had a similar issue last year. Once you submit the CSS Profile, you usually can't edit it directly online. You'll need to contact the college's financial aid office AND the CSS Profile customer service. The school ultimately has the final say on what numbers they use, so explaining the situation to them is most important.

Financial aid advisor here - this happens more often than you might think. Here's what you should do: 1. Document the correct asset figure and why it needed to be changed on FAFSA 2. Contact EACH school's financial aid office that received your CSS Profile 3. Send them a written explanation of the discrepancy 4. Most schools have a "Professional Judgment" or "Special Circumstances" form you can submit The CSS Profile and FAFSA use different methodologies to calculate your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) anyway, so small differences aren't unusual. But you do want to correct significant errors.

dont stress 2 much about it CSS and FAFSA never match up exactly anyway...my sons school didn't even mention the difference when we had diffrnt numbers. they just went with whatever gave us LESS money lol

I had to deal with something similar. The CSS Profile doesn't let you edit after submission, but you need to call both College Board AND the financial aid office at your daughter's school. Be prepared to wait on hold forever trying to reach College Board - I spent 3+ hours trying last semester and kept getting disconnected. I finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) to hold my place in line and call me back when an agent was available. Saved me hours of frustration! They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ Anyway, once I got through to College Board, they told me they can't change it directly but sent notes to the schools explaining the correction. Then I had to follow up with each school individually.

i think ur overthinking this... schools know that parents make mistakes on these forms all the time. just call the school and explain. they probably have a form u can fill out. my brother got into nyu and they had like 5 different supplmental forms for everything

To follow up on my earlier comment - the key issue is how significant the asset difference is. If we're talking about a few thousand dollars, it might not impact the calculated Student Aid Index (SAI) or the institutional methodology calculation much. But if it's tens of thousands, that could definitely affect the aid package. Remember that CSS Profile schools often look at assets FAFSA doesn't (like home equity, small business value, etc.). So the formulas are different regardless. I recommend preparing: 1. Documentation showing correct asset values 2. A timeline of when you discovered the error 3. Copies of your updated FAFSA Then request an aid reconsideration based on the corrected information.

Thank you all for the advice! I called my daughter's college financial aid office this morning and explained the situation. They were actually really understanding and said this happens frequently. They're sending me their "Financial Data Correction Form" where I can explain the discrepancy and provide documentation. They said the $27,000 difference could potentially impact her aid, so I'm glad I caught this. They also mentioned they'll need verification that I made the FAFSA correction as well. It's stressful dealing with all these forms, but I'm relieved there's a process to fix it!

I'm curious - was the error in the retirement assets section? Because technically retirement accounts are not supposed to be reported as assets on either FAFSA or CSS Profile. That's a common mistake!

As someone who just went through this whole CSS Profile correction nightmare last year, I can confirm that retirement asset confusion is THE most common mistake! I made the exact same error with our IRAs and 401k accounts. What really helped me was creating a spreadsheet tracking which schools I contacted, when I called them, and what documentation they needed. Each school had slightly different requirements for their correction forms. Also, keep copies of everything you submit - one school "lost" my paperwork and I had to resubmit. The good news is that excluding retirement assets will likely IMPROVE your financial aid since it lowers your reportable assets significantly. Just make sure you're consistent about excluding ALL retirement accounts (401k, 403b, traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, etc.) from both forms going forward. You've got this!

As a parent who went through this exact same situation two years ago, I want to reassure you that this retirement asset mix-up is SO common! I made the identical mistake with our 401k and Traditional IRA - included about $35k that should have been excluded. Here's what worked for me: I called the financial aid office first (as you did - great move!), then followed up with a detailed email summarizing our phone conversation and attaching supporting documentation. I included screenshots of the FAFSA correction, our retirement account statements with the balances highlighted, and a simple explanation of the error. The correction actually INCREASED my son's aid package by about $3,200 because our reportable assets were significantly lower without the retirement funds. Most schools processed the correction within 2-3 weeks, though one took over a month. Pro tip: If you have multiple schools, ask each financial aid office if they can share the corrected information with other CSS Profile schools. Some will do this to save you time, though most prefer you contact them directly. You're handling this perfectly - catching and correcting this mistake now will definitely help your daughter's aid package!

I'm new to this whole financial aid process and reading through all these comments has been both terrifying and reassuring! My daughter is a junior so we're just starting to research FAFSA and CSS Profile requirements. The fact that retirement assets shouldn't be included is news to me - I definitely would have made the same mistake you all did! Quick question for those who've been through this: is there a good resource or checklist somewhere that explains what assets TO include vs what to exclude? I want to get it right the first time if possible. The CSS Profile instructions seem really confusing and I'd rather learn from everyone's mistakes than make my own! Also, should I be keeping detailed records of our asset values throughout my daughter's junior year, or is it okay to just gather everything when it's time to actually fill out the forms senior year?