The CSS Profile

The CSS profile is the form many private LACs use to determine the financial needs of families. Other schools, including most SUNYS, use the FAFSA, or both. The advantage of the FAFSA, as I understand it, is that it looks at income only, and is not concerned with home equity, an advantage for families whose homes have increased in value significantly over the years.

Over the summer, we read a book, "How To Pay For Your Child's Education Without Going Broke." Using the book, we were able to determine our EFC, estimated family contribution to the COA, cost of attendance to college. Using an on-line EFC calculator, our estimated EFC was frightening. Using the workbook, we got a better, but still upsetting number. On College Confidential, a website devoted to the posts of college seeking families, I learned that regarding EFC, there is shock, denial and then acceptance. We are moving through the phases.

Our family completed and submitted our CSS profile last night. Elsa is applying to her top school ED and this form was due earlier this month. We missed the deadline, but were told by the FA office that if we got it in in the next few days that we would be in good shape. These decisions are big and complicated. The FAFSA needs to be completed as soon after January 1st as possible. One's tax forms for the previous year should be completed and submitted as soon as possible as well.

For more information about the CSS profile, go to collegeboard.com. About the FAFSA, look at fafsa.org. There is also lots and lots of information on collegeconfidential. com. I read the Parent Pages, Financial Aid pages and the College Admission pages regularly. But, if you are new to this process, be prepared to feel a but upset and panicky after viewing many posts. Avoid the "chance me" posts for sure!

Additional Colleges

I am hoping to be able to post observations and photos from my friend Heather's latest college visits to St. Lawrence College as well as to Juniata College in PA. In the interim, Elsa has done overnights at Wesleyan and at Haverford. She has enjoyed the experiences immensely.



Recently, Wesleyan hosted an all day open house which our family attended. It was great. There were financial aid workshops, admissions workshops, tours of dorms, of the athletic center, of the campus, of the sciences, etc. Students spoke, the president spoke, Elsa attended a class in her area of interest and we got to eat on the campus and experience real college food.



While were were in town, we stayed with family and were lucky enough to tour Trinity College on a cold Sunday afternoon. The college is beautiful, if not just a bit deserted, but located in an area of town that must make some families from pristine suburbs more than a bit nervous. Coming from NYC, we are consistently un-phased by such "less than stellar" neighborhoods, but I can just imagine the CC posts about Hartford, CT!

Interviews and Overnights

This fall, Elsa has been trying to narrow the list of colleges to which she will apply.

One way to do this is to spend the night at a college and possibly attend classes during the day. Athletes are often invited by coaches to attend games, to eat and to stay over with members of the team with which they would play, if accepted. This weekend, Elsa had two overnights scheduled: Smith and Mount Holyoke College. The Smith overnight was rather loose, but very pleasant. Elsa enjoyed her host, Meredith, and her house very much. She wasn't able to attend classes, but she did see a practice and she got to sample Smith food. She had a wonderful time.



















The Mount Holyoke overnight was a more structured event called Focus on Athletics. Prospective athletes for many sports were invited to attend a series of events including a performance by an a capella group, a panel discussion, a campus tour, an overnight and the opportunity to attend classes during the day.







Elsa attended, but later did not feel well and ended up not spending the night. It was a well organized and welcoming event, and I felt that it gave an honest inside view of the school. Many students who love the school now were skeptical in the beginning and not necessarily looking for an all women's college to attend. Many now feel that they definitely benefitted from the experience and believe in the value of single sex education for women. Interesting!





The weekend began when the Beacon soccer coach, Kevin Jacobs, drove the varsity team to Wesleyan for a tour and a meeting with the women's soccer coach. From CT, they traveled to Amherst, his almer mater, to meet with the Amherst women's coach. The team spent the night at the house of a former professor (how generous!) and then had a tour of the campus the next day. Elsa missed these festivities as she was at Smith. Mr. Jacobs kindly dropped her off. But we did join the team on Saturday for the Williams/Amherst women's soccer game, an annual rivalry, to see former Beacon teammate Chelsea's new team play. It was a rainy afternoon of great soccer. Unfortunately Chelsea did not play. Williams won 3-0, although Amherst looked strong in the beginning and challenged Williams several times.

Elsa has four more overnights scheduled before she will make her final decisions. Whew!