What is the Css profile form?

If your child is applying to one of the close to 300 private colleges in the country that require the CSS Profile form to apply for financial aid you will need to complete this form in addition to the FAFSA. The CSS Profile form is a financial aid application used by these schools to determine eligibility for their own institutional aid that they have available to distribute to students.

How To File:

The CSS Profile form opens up on Oct 1st each year to be filled out for the following school year. Each school will have their own deadline for when the form needs to be submitted so pay attention to the deadlines for the schools you are applying to.  The form can be submitted through the College Board website at https://cssprofile.collegeboard.org  and you can use your student’s account from where they viewed their SAT and AP scores or create a new parent account if you do not want your child to see your financial information. If the student's parents are divorced or separated and a college requires a noncustodial profile, that second parent will need to create their own separate College Board account using their personal information to complete a separate profile.  

How much does it cost to submit?

Unlike the FAFSA which is free to submit, there is a fee to submit the CSS Profile Form. The fee is $25 for the first college and $16 for each additional college that it is sent to. There are fee waivers offered for families which an AGI of less than $100k/yr.

What does the CSS Profile Form look at?

·       Home Equity

·       Retirement accounts

·       Business Assets

·       Other resources that can be used to pay for college, scholarships, etc.

·       Financial income from non-custodial parents in situations of separation or divorce

·       Parent expenses (mortgage payments, medical/dental expenses, tuition for another child, etc.)

 Every college uses a different formula for how they assess the information provided on the CSS Profile form. Some schools, for example put a lot more emphasis on home equity than other schools might.

 The CSS Profile form can be frustrating because it is more involved than the FAFSA and some schools may require you to upload documents (tax returns, W2s,etc) through the College Board’s IDOC system. You will receive an email from the College Board if any colleges require you to upload documentation. Good luck, you got this!