OMG! FIRST!

If the 2009 return gets to IDOC on Feb 12, will this be sufficient time for you to access it, or do you want 2008 returns?

Sent 'em yesterday by fax. How long would it take for processing?

i am international student from India
i've got doubt about sending parents income tax returns
my father is dead and my mom is unemployed and doesnt receive any kind of income
so what are the documents should i send as my mom doesnt need to file a income tax returns and also cant get a wage statement since she is unemployed???

and also i forgot to mention that i have already sent CSS profile

@ MIT Hopeful Dad

As long as you get the 2009 returns in iDOC by the 15th.

@ mrmish

Give us a few days, but as long as they're here by the deadline you should be just fine.

@ navin

Send us a note to finaid@mit.edu explaining your family's situation. We should be able to satisfy your "tax return" requirement that way.

Hi-

I have completed FAFSA & CSS Profile. IDOC has been processed today, [02.11.10], is that means I met the priory deadline?

Best regards, -Masod

[correction]: priority* deadline?

I have completed the CSS profile and it's already been received on M.I.T tracking services. I am an international student and if I'm correct, the FAFSA does not apply to me (please correct me if I'm wrong). What should I do? Should I simply not send anything and wait for is there something I can do to substitute for the FAFSA?

@ Masod

Yes, you're good.

@ Keshav

International students do not fill out the FAFSA. Is this showing as a requirement on your MyMIT? If so, please contact our office (617-253-4971) or finaid@mit.edu and we'll correct that for you.

@finaid:
thanks for answering me
i have already sent a letter informing about our family situation but i cant see it in MyMIT tracking
and also i have a similar problem like Keshav its showing me FAFSA and Students Security Card as not received

@finaid:
okay i will send a note to finaid@mit.edu as you have stated
i am grateful for our answer

for your answer*

I'm confused by the faxing of the 2008 returns. Do you want everything? Should we put our SSN on the form/ sign the form?

I saw my financial aid tracker the last time I logged into MyMIT, so I know what it looks like, but I just logged in again and I can no longer find it...help? Thanks!

Nevermind! I logged out and then logged back in, and it's there now.

Also, if we fax it /on/ the 15th, would that be okay? I won't have access to a fax machine until then.

I am an international applicant from Vietnam. I submitted my financial aid application a few weeks ago. My father was employed and my mother was a housewife, so I thought we didn't have to fill out the Business/Farm supplement. However MyMIT still announces that the Business/Farm supplement is missed. I tried to contact the Financial Office twice via email but haven't heard back. So does that mean I have to fill out the form? I'm kind of confused since the Business/Farm supplement is unnecessary in my case.

And if I have to, is faxing it or emailing it to the office considered acceptable?

Is it required for international students that they fill out the CSS profile? All I know is that it requires credit card for payment which I don't have. I have faxed the international student financial aid application and the statement of income tax deduction from my father's salary. But MyMIT tracking shows that it has not been received yet.

@Anonymous: The fee for sending the CSS profile is quite a matter to us, so I decided to send the paper application instead. And here is my FA application status as appearing a few days ago:
"International Student Financial Aid App [received]
CSS Profile [waived]"
I guess you should wait a few days for it to be processed.

@npm12
Thank you so much for helping me out.

@Finaid:

I have a question regarding calculating EFC. I have a difference between the EFCs calculated by the federal method and MIT EFC Calculator. I got $322 EFC from federal method (FAFSA), but about $12,000 EFC from the institutional method (MIT Calculator). Apart from understanding the huge difference between the two values, I want to know how much money to expect for FA. Of the two, which formula does MIT use in its Financial Aid?

Thanks for the valuable information.

Hello, I am a permanent resident. I sent all my Tax forms to the Financial Aid through EMAIL, because thought I was in the international section.Do I have to send them again viva the IDOC???

EDIT for above:

I am a Canadian Permanent Resident.

MORE CORRECTION! "SORRY"

I am a Canadian permanent resident. I sent all my Tax forms to the Financial Aid through EMAIL, because I thought I was in the international section.Do I have to send them again viva the IDOC???

@ Helena - Yes we need all schedules and W2s.

@12npm12 - If either of your parents is self-employed, you would need to submit a business/farm supplement. You can fax or email it. If neither is self-employed, send us a note explaining that there is no self-employment or business ownership to finaid@mit.edu and we'll remove the requirement.

@ Anonymous - If filling out the CSS Profile online is a hardship, you may submit the paper International Student Financial Aid Application directly to our office (it is linked at http://web.mit.edu/sfs/forms_and_publications ).

@ Clara - MIT uses an institutional methodology for calculating the EFC, so the figure you got from the MIT calculator may be more accurate. However, keep in mind that is just an estimate based on the figures you input. SFS carefully reviews each case individually, so your actual EFC may differ from either of these numbers. We use the FAFSA to calculate your federal aid eligibility (such as Pell, SEOG, and federal loans), and the MIT methodology to calculate your institutional aid eligibility (such as the MIT Grant).

@ C2 - the process may seem a little more confusing for Canadian applicants this year. Canadian applicants do not need to fill out the FAFSA, but you should be filling out the "domestic" CSS Profile (for US Citizens and Permanent Residents) and NOT the International Profile. However, you were right in sending your tax returns to SFS. As long as we have your complete T1 General with all schedules, you should be fine. US Citizens and Permanent Residents should be sending all 2009 tax information to IDOC.

I hope this information helps! As always, please feel free to contact our office if you have more specific questions!

My father is self-employed. When submitting the CSS PROFILE, I answered all the questions in the Parents' Business (BA) section. Do I still need to submit the CSS Business/Farm Supplement?

@ Stryder - If you already completed the Business/Farm supplement online as part of the CSS Profle, you do not need to submit a separate one unless there are additional businesses to report.

You may also reference the "Business/Farm Supplement" section found at http://web.mit.edu/sfs/financial_aid/prospective_freshmen_US.html if it is a simple Schedule C entity.

Hi. Thank you so much for your quick reply. I'm afraid that I forgot to mention that I'm an international applicant (from India). Is the requirement the same? (I don't know what a Schedule C entity is).

Oops - sorry for the assumption! It's almost the same - just disregard the "Schedule C" reference (that's a U.S. tax return thing). If you completed it as part of the CSS Profile, you don't need to submit a separate one unless there are multiple businesses (in which case we'd need a business/farm supplement for each one).

Thank you!
I'm still a little confused: my father has two firms actually. In the Parents' Business (BA), the CSS Profile asked me to answer questions for each of the two firms. The questions were basically the type of firm, market value and other basic details. On the other hand, the CSS Business/Farm supplement form is much more comprehensive. Do I need to send the Business/Farm supplement? :)

If we don't yet have 2009 tax forms completed, do we submit 2008 forms using IDOC or do we just send the 2008 forms directly to MIT and then send the 2009 forms via IDOC?
For the Business/Farm supplement, if we don't yet have 2009 information available, do we complete the business supplement using 2008 information and submit via IDOC? Or do we wait for 2009 information to complete the form? Or complete it now using 2008 and again when 2009 becomes available?
Thanks

Stryder - did you fill out the business/farm supplements for each business online as part of the profile? If so, then you should be good. You can double check by calling or emailing our office to be sure.

@ needhelp - Hopefully this will clear up the 2008 vs 2009 tax returns confusion many of you have!

If your family's 2009 tax forms will not be completed until after February 15th deadline, you can send your 2008 tax returns, w-2 forms and all schedules directly to MIT Student Financial Services, preferably via fax or scan/email (but we will accept mailed forms).

We will still require you to send the 2009 tax returns, w-2's and all schedules to IDOC when they become available.

You should fill out the business/farm supplement as best as you can with 2009 estimates (include a note with this form that these figures are estimated). You can then send updated information when it's available.

I'll do that, thanks!

Thank you.
However, in regard to the business supplement, it will be very difficult to make 2009 estimates, since our 2009 figures are likely to be VERY different from 2008 due to the poor economy and other changes in circumstances. I feel like I'm just making wild guesses. Should I still try to complete the form making estimates for 2009?
And do I submit it via IDOC or directly to MIT?
Thanks.

Hello, I hope someone can help me!
Today I have checked my MyMIT account to fill out the financial aid forms, but I have seen that the links are not there anymore. I dont understand what could have happened. I haven´t sent anything yet since I was revising the forms to fill it out today.

Thanks so much! Now, I am set and just need to relax and wait to see if I get accepted or not.
Side question: Approximately, when will the result be released?

@ needhelp - don't worry too much about it. Your information will need to be updated regardless when the 2009 figures are available. Your 2008 returns and business/farm supplement with estimated figures would produce a tentative financial aid package. That package will be adjusted based on the actual 2009 numbers when we get that information. You can submit the business/farm supplement with your 2008 returns directly to MIT.

@ delta - Have you indicated on your admissions application that you are applying for financial aid? If the tracking was there before, try refreshing the page, or exiting the application and going back in. Maybe one of the admissions officers can help troubleshoot?

@ C2 - Keep watching the admissions site for the decisions release date announcement - we don't have control over that :)

Hello,
I have checked my myMIT account but have not found a financial aid tracking link. I have already sent my CSS profile and 2008 tax returns. How will I be able to know if MIT received them?
Thank you.

yea just as delta said, I can't see my financial aid information, also when will decisions for the noncustodial parent waiver come out?

@ Alex - the financial aid appeals committee meet once a week for non-custodial waiver appeals. It can take a couple of weeks for a decision depending on the volume. Your financial aid officer will be in touch with you when a decision has been reached.

@ Everyone having trouble with the tracking - it looks like there are some technical issues going on with that, and we've been told that the powers that be are working on resolving those issues. Please be patient!

The financial aid tracker on my myMIT page has disappeared. I've submitted FAFSA and CSS, but haven't submitted my parent's W-2 or tax returns yet. Has this happened to anyone else, and is it something to worry about?
Thanks

@ Finaid

Ah, thanks =D
Well, all I got to do is wait now, and btw, all my Financial aid stuff are finished!!
RELAX TIME, Which just a way of saying: MORE TIME FOR SCHOOL WORK!@! >:D

My parents are 99% sure we will not qualify for any financial aid. Is it still required we fill out the forms? Thanks.

Should we put our SSN on the returns? Should we sign them? Do you want a cover page?

Thanks..

Dear Finaid,

I have submitted my CSS more than 2 weeks ago and yet it is not appearing in MyMIT. Do I need to do anything?

Radhika

Hello,

I am an international applicant from Lebanon. I submitted my CSS profile and left a note that I do not have any tax returns/documents to send.
I sent two "Non-tax International Filer's statements" (for both my parents and myself) through IDOC and faxed to finaid office about 2-3 days ago.
However, in finaid tracking (MyMIT), I still get:
"Required for Packaging
Parent's 2009 Foreign Income Tax Return"

Please inform me if it's only a processing problem (I should only wait), or if I should I E-mail a note to finaid (similar to the one I left in my CSS profile) saying that I can't send any tax documents.

Thank you.

Hello,

I am also an applicant from Lebanon, and I have a couple of questions that I need to ask:

1- I already sent a copy of my parent's salary information through e-mail to Student Financial Services, do I need to send these through IDOC as well? Should I even fax them to MIT?

2- My father is retired, and I could only get the retirement salary sheet that was issued to him. Is that enough?

Thank you in advance,

David

@ David

I sent an E-mail to finaid asking how should I send documents. They said that I can mail or fax them to 617 253 -9859 (Financial Aid office).

I hope this can help.

Good Luck!

@Anthony

That was great help, thanks a lot. You put my mind at ease.

Hope to see each other there.

Good luck on your Baccalaureate

David

@Anthony

That was great help, thanks a lot. You put my mind at ease.

Hope we see each other there.

Good luck on your Baccalaureate.

Oops! Sorry for the double post.

It appears that Finaid never answered either of Helena's questions, namely:

"Should we put our SSN on the returns? Should we sign them? Do you want a cover page?"

How are you supposed to know who the forms are from, unless you actually read the tax information to find out? Like Helena asked, would you like us to label the pages with our name, or sign them? Or create a cover page? I am also very confused.

i am an international student from india.
i have already sent CSS Profile and my parents 2008 incone tax papers.
As tax year in India ends on #1st March so statement from employer or income tax papers for 2009 will only be ready till late april or may.
so o wont be able to submit them before the results are out
is there any problem if i am not able to submit these papers..

its 31st March and not #1st

MyMIT account still shows the same message. I think I should fax them and then mail them. What if my documents reach late by mail?

I have already faxed the financial aid application. How long will it take to show up in the financial aid tracker?

Thanks!

Hey, i'm in the bahamas, and we don't file taxes here. However, I've sent in my parents' wage statements, but they havent shown up on my myMIT tracking page. Should I be worried?
I've called the finaid office, but obviously, it's a sunday, and no one answered. Please let me know as soon as possible!
Thanks a lot.

@someone

I don't think you need that because I got all my Tax files finished and my parents were the only one who sign it.

This website here tells you everything:
http://web.mit.edu/sfs/financial_aid/prospective_freshmen_and_transfer.html

@ Edward
I think it will take 1 to 3 days because they received mine in 2 days. No worries man, it will be fine >:D, except when you put in the wrong fax number >=|

Anyways, HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR, VALENTINES DAY, AND VANCOUVER OLYMPICS! (This is the craziest day ever =D)

@C2

That page told me nothing, however, after delving deeper, I did find this:

"If you will not be able to send the 2009 income tax return through the IDOC service by February 15, 2010, send your 2008 income tax returns, W-2 forms, and all schedules directly to Student Financial Services. You will be required to submit the 2009 Tax Returns to IDOC when they are available."

This doesn't really say anything more than I already knew, and I still don't know what information they want on the 2008 tax forms.

Thanks in advance for any help!

@ Someone

I believe all you need to do is write your full name and date of birth at the top of any forms that you are faxing. That is what I have been doing for all of my schools, and I have not had any problems. Hope this helps!

My parents have not received their 2009 tax returns yet so I have faxed the 2008 materials. However, FAFSA for 2010-2011 required the 2009 tax return statements so I was not able to fill one out.
I think I may be overlooking a very simple solution to this, however I am quite worried my mistake will strike me from any consideration of Financial Aid from MIT if I were to be accepted.
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Hi,

I am an international student from Myanmar. I feel there are a lot of confusions regarding submission of necessary parents' financial documents, e.g. through fax, mail or email.

I finished CSS profile online a week ago. I emailed Business/Farm Supplement and parents' income tax return forms to finaid@mit.edu 3 days ago.

Since I am not sure, I mailed the Business/Farm Supplement form and parents' income tax form on 13 Feb (post mark date). However, due to Chinese new year holidays, the documents will only reach around 22 Feb.

I wonder if all the submissions will be sufficient.

MY Fafsa and css are in but I'm just gonna send in the tax returns,etc to IDOC on the 15th. 1. Is my financial aid package considered late? 2. If so, how is my aid affected?

I'm confused about the CSS profile. A lot of the information that I need for it isn't on hand and according to the MIT financial aid website it says answer to only CSS Supplemental Questions specific to MIT. What does that mean? Isn't the whole thing supposed to be filled out?
Also do 2008 Tax forms sent through scan and email is fine through the email given above, correct?

Apparently I'll probably file this late. Which would mean wasting money, yet again, to get no money.

Dont even mention it! I would die if I knew that I sent them to the wrong address.

good luck to all of us!

I submitted my CSS profile this saturday and it told me that my app would be sent to you on 22nd now...I had no idea it takes a while. I mailed my IDOC documents today and since I am an international student they would take a week to reach college board. Does this mean I am late for my app? Is this going to affect my aid?? Please reply ASAP...I am really freaking out now!

I believe that, like the application itself, all financial aid materials must be sent on your end by February 15th.

I filled out all the forms on the fifteenth (just an hour ago) as well. I think we should be okay.

^ Yeah, Charles- I really hope so.It would still be nice if someone could confirm it.
Another question though- I applied as a Canadian PR but filled out the International CSS Profile app( regrets on not having read this post earlier!). Is this going to be a big Problem or would it be OK?

My financial aid tracking has disappeared from my mymit account. Is there anything wrong with it? I had submitted my CSS profile on 02/12/2010 and the tracker was saying that they have not received it.

I hope everyone enjoyed a long weekend! Back to your questions..

@ Lauren - Have you tried out our financial aid calculator? http://web.mit.edu/sfs/afford/financial_aid_calculator.html - This should give you a rough estimate of your expected family contribution (EFC). You do not need to apply for financial aid if you don't feel you qualify.

@ Helena - It helps to have your SSN or your MIT Applicant ID # (long digit number starts with a 9) on any paper that's sent to our office. Cover page is not needed.

@ Radhika - It can take some time to download all the information. Since you sent it 2 weeks ago, contact our office, it's possible the system isn't matching your profile with your MIT record (this usually happens if there is a SSN mismatch)

@ Anthony - it can take up to 2 weeks for IDOC to process everything. This is also the case for anything sent to our office - our fax machine is working overtime right now, so it's likely that this is just a processing issue.

@ David - If you already sent it to our office, you're fine. Your father's retirement salary document should suffice.

@ Someone - see my response to Helena :)

@ Divyansh - This is fine, we are aware some countries are on a different tax schedule. Your most recent year's tax return is fine.

@ Anon Feb 12th - If you sent your documents to IDOC please allow up to 2 weeks processing. U.S. citizens and permanent residents should NOT be sending any 2009 tax information to our office. If your 2009 tax information is not available yet, you may fax your 2008 tax returns to our office. If you are an international student and have already submitted your 2009 tax information to us, please be patient. Please only send information to us via one method, less for us to process that way :)

@ Edward - typically it can take a couple of weeks for us to process everything. If you sent your information by the deadline, you should be ok.

@ Brolin - if your country doesn't have a tax filing system, then your parents' wage statements are fine. Please allow us some processing time :)

@ Dosoon - you can fill out your FAFSA with estimated figures. When your family's 2009 tax returns are available, you can make the corrections online on the FAFSA.

@ Lydia - you're fine, don't worry!

@ Anon Feb 15th - This is fine. February 15 was not a "hard" deadline, meaning we wont run out of money to award students. We set this date so all materials sent to us by this date will be reviewed first. Sending late won't affect your financial aid award, just on how soon we can award it (the later you send it to us, the less chance you may have of getting an award letter with the admissions decisions).

@ Worried - no need to worry. See my above answer to Anon regarding late applications. The CSS Profile is a general financial aid application for most schools in the country - there are some questions that are specific to MIT that you should answer. Just fill it out the best you can, using estimates if needed. You can always make corrections later.

@ Ira - no worries. See my above responses regarding late applications.

@ Yashraj - It can take a couple of days for the CSS Profile to show up on your MyMIT tracking, please be patient.

I hope this answered everyone's weekend questions! Remember, it's not too late to apply for financial aid if you need it. We will do our best to make sure everyone with completed financial aid applications has a financial aid award by the time admissions decisions are made.

Cheers!

I sent in my parents' 2009 tax documents to IDOC already but we didn't have my parents' business tax documents ready yet; should I send another packet to IDOC with my parents' 2009 tax documents and the business tax documents when they're done or should I fax/email the business tax documents when they're done?

Thank you very much!

I am an international applicant and have submitted my CSS and have sent the income tax returns documents. Do I need to submit International Student Supplement form for Financial Aid also??