--- title: "The Insider: Your Expert Guide to College Admissions | Applying for Financial Aid (4)" description: Applying for Financial Aid | The official blog of College Coach, a division of Bright Horizons. Our expert view on all things college admissions. (4) --- [![College Coach - Your College Admissions Experts](https://info.getintocollege.com/hs-fs/hub/146790/file-1518948603.png "College Coach - Your College Admissions Experts")](http://www.getintocollege.com/) - [Blog](https://146790.hs-sites.com/blog) - [Contact](https://146790.hs-sites.com/contact) - [Login](http://passport.getintocollege.com/Account/Login) # The Insider: College Admissions Advice from the Experts ## [Early Decision Risks: Missing Out on Financial Aid](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/318510/Early-Decision-Risks-Missing-Out-on-Financial-Aid) Posted by [Shannon Vasconcelos](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/author/shannon-vasconcelos) on Tue, Oct 01, 2013 @ 04:50 PM - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](https://info.getintocollege.com/hs-fs/file-331167262-jpg/images/coco_130820_0252.jpg) ](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/318510/Early-Decision-Risks-Missing-Out-on-Financial-Aid) With October here, temperatures are dying down and [the college application process](http://www.getintocollege.com/why-college-coach/understand-the-admissions-process) is just heating up!  Many high school seniors are contemplating making an Early Decision (ED) application to their first choice college, a binding admission process through which the student guarantees a college that, if accepted, they will attend and withdraw all outstanding applications to other schools. [Read More](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/318510/Early-Decision-Risks-Missing-Out-on-Financial-Aid) Tags: [Applying for Financial Aid](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/topic/applying-for-financial-aid) ## [2014 FAFSA Changes for Students of Unmarried and Same-Sex Parents](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/288240/2014-FAFSA-Changes-for-Students-of-Unmarried-and-Same-Sex-Parents) Posted by [Robert Weinerman](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/author/robert-weinerman) on Wed, May 01, 2013 @ 09:55 AM - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](https://info.getintocollege.com/hs-fs/file-17859038-jpg/images/_mg_4960.jpg) ](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/288240/2014-FAFSA-Changes-for-Students-of-Unmarried-and-Same-Sex-Parents) College Coach learned today that the Department of Education (DoE) is changing the way the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (the FAFSA) defines a student’s family. Starting with the 2014-2015 FAFSA, which becomes available on January 1, 2014, students will be required to provide information about the adults in their custodial household without regards for marital status or gender. You can read the DoE’s announcement of these pending changes here: [http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/education-department-announces-changes-fafsa-form-more-accurately-and-fairly-ass](http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/education-department-announces-changes-fafsa-form-more-accurately-and-fairly-ass). [Read More](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/288240/2014-FAFSA-Changes-for-Students-of-Unmarried-and-Same-Sex-Parents) Tags: [Applying for Financial Aid](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/topic/applying-for-financial-aid) ## [College Financial Aid Myths & Rumors Dispelled!](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/282232/College-Financial-Aid-Myths-Rumors-Dispelled) Posted by [Robyn Stewart](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/author/robyn-stewart) on Fri, Apr 05, 2013 @ 01:01 PM - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](https://info.getintocollege.com/hs-fs/file-17860668-jpg/images/_mg_5667.jpg) ](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/282232/College-Financial-Aid-Myths-Rumors-Dispelled) Spend 10 minutes speaking with the parent of a high school senior and I guarantee that I will spend some time dispelling some half truths that have emerged from today’s college financing process. Anecdotal stories – you know the thing you heard that happened to your neighbor’s son’s friend’s cousin – all seem to have these magical happy endings that we desperately want to replicate. [Read More](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/282232/College-Financial-Aid-Myths-Rumors-Dispelled) Tags: [Applying for Financial Aid](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/topic/applying-for-financial-aid) ## [Applying for Financial Aid: When a Sibling Attends Private School](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/281497/Applying-for-Financial-Aid-When-a-Sibling-Attends-Private-School) Posted by [Shannon Vasconcelos](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/author/shannon-vasconcelos) on Wed, Apr 03, 2013 @ 10:30 AM - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](https://info.getintocollege.com/hs-fs/file-17861684-jpg/images/_mg_5869.jpg) ](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/281497/Applying-for-Financial-Aid-When-a-Sibling-Attends-Private-School) **If we are paying for private high school for our younger children, will colleges recognize this expense and give us more financial aid for our oldest child?** [Read More](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/281497/Applying-for-Financial-Aid-When-a-Sibling-Attends-Private-School) Tags: [Applying for Financial Aid](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/topic/applying-for-financial-aid) ## [Financial Aid Applications - The FAFSA and the PROFILE: 5 Important Differences](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/258874/Financial-Aid-Applications-The-FAFSA-and-the-PROFILE-5-Important-Differences) Posted by [Shannon Vasconcelos](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/author/shannon-vasconcelos) on Mon, Jan 14, 2013 @ 02:05 PM - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](https://info.getintocollege.com/hs-fs/file-17849937-jpg/images/dollars_and_sense_2012.02.10_v1.jpg) ](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/258874/Financial-Aid-Applications-The-FAFSA-and-the-PROFILE-5-Important-Differences) So you just clicked the “submit” button on your child’s FAFSA, and maybe you’re thinking, “Phew!  Glad to be done applying for financial aid!”  Well, take a deep breath, Moms and Dads, because you may not be done with financial aid applications yet.  Many schools (about 300 of the close to 4,000 colleges in the US, almost all of them private) require an additional financial aid application called the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE.  Why the extra form?  The PROFILE allows colleges to collect more information than the FAFSA so that they can conduct a rigorous analysis some colleges believe provides a more realistic measure of a family’s ability to pay.  There are many differences between the FAFSA and the PROFILE, below are some of the most important ones for students and their families. [Read More](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/258874/Financial-Aid-Applications-The-FAFSA-and-the-PROFILE-5-Important-Differences) Tags: [Applying for Financial Aid](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/topic/applying-for-financial-aid) ## [Financial Aid: the Sibling Factor](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/249069/Financial-Aid-the-Sibling-Factor) Posted by [Robyn Stewart](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/author/robyn-stewart) on Wed, Dec 05, 2012 @ 02:40 PM - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [Read More](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/249069/Financial-Aid-the-Sibling-Factor) Tags: [Applying for Financial Aid](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/topic/applying-for-financial-aid) ## [Financial Aid for Students with Divorced Parents](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/211660/Financial-Aid-for-Students-with-Divorced-Parents) Posted by [Robert Weinerman](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/author/robert-weinerman) on Fri, Aug 31, 2012 @ 06:00 AM - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](https://info.getintocollege.com/hs-fs/file-17860668-jpg/images/_mg_5667.jpg) ](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/211660/Financial-Aid-for-Students-with-Divorced-Parents) Applying for **financial aid** is tough for students who have parents married to one another. It’s even tougher for students whose parents are **divorced**, remarried, or were never married. [Read More](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/211660/Financial-Aid-for-Students-with-Divorced-Parents) Tags: [Applying for Financial Aid](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/topic/applying-for-financial-aid) ## [What Does Your Financial Aid Award Letter Mean?](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/123292/What-Does-Your-Financial-Aid-Award-Letter-Mean) Posted by [Shannon Vasconcelos](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/author/shannon-vasconcelos) on Fri, Mar 30, 2012 @ 02:33 PM - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](https://info.getintocollege.com/hs-fs/file-17850493-jpg/images/dollars_and_sense_2012.03.30.jpg) ](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/123292/What-Does-Your-Financial-Aid-Award-Letter-Mean) A **financial aid award letter** can come with a lot of conflicting emotions:  excitement, disappointment, and, more often than not, confusion.  There is little uniformity among award letters, so comparing offers between schools often feels like comparing apples and oranges.  If you want to be a discerning consumer, you need to understand the differences between three main types of aid — **grants & scholarships, loans, and work study** — and understand which questions to ask about each.  It’s important to compare apples with apples and ascertain which college will provide your family the best value: [Read More](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/123292/What-Does-Your-Financial-Aid-Award-Letter-Mean) Tags: [Applying for Financial Aid](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/topic/applying-for-financial-aid) ## [How to Ask for More Financial Aid](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/103738/How-to-Ask-for-More-Financial-Aid) Posted by [Shannon Vasconcelos](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/author/shannon-vasconcelos) on Fri, Feb 17, 2012 @ 05:01 PM - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](https://info.getintocollege.com/hs-fs/file-17849937-jpg/images/dollars_and_sense_2012.02.10_v1.jpg) ](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/103738/How-to-Ask-for-More-Financial-Aid) If you’re the parent of a high school senior, you’ve likely completed the [FAFSA](http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/) by now. And if your child applied to any private colleges, you may have also completed a [CSS/Profile](https://profileonline.collegeboard.com/prf/index.jsp).  So congratulations!  The most difficult part of the **financial aid application process is over**.  You can now sit back, relax, and let the money roll in, right?   [Read More](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/103738/How-to-Ask-for-More-Financial-Aid) Tags: [Applying for Financial Aid](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/topic/applying-for-financial-aid), [Finding Scholarships](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/topic/finding-scholarships) [Previous Page](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/topic/applying-for-financial-aid/page/3) [All Posts](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/all) ### Need help with the Common Application?  [![common application help](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/146790/cb1db37b-0d15-41e3-988b-213bb2724008.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/146790/cb1db37b-0d15-41e3-988b-213bb2724008) ### Get the Insider Advantage  College Coach experts, all former senior admissions and financial aid officers, are available to work privately with your student to achieve admissions success. 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