If you plan to apply for need-based financial aid, there are two aid applications that you need to know about:
- Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
- College Scholarship Services (CSS) Profile
When families apply for federal financial aid, they will complete the FAFSA, which is required by colleges to determine eligibility for federal aid. However, some colleges use an institutional method for determining eligibility for non-federal aid. These institutions will turn to the CSS Profile application, which is administered by the College Board, for this purpose.
The FAFSA is the federal aid form that roughly 18 million financial aid applicants complete each year. It is used to determine eligibility for:
- Federal government grants, loans, and work-study
- State government grants and loans
- Need-based grants and sometimes merit scholarships at nearly all public universities and most private colleges
- It typically becomes available Oct. 1 of the student’s senior year. However, this summer, the Department of Education (DOE) stated that the FAFSA will miss the normal October 1 deadline, and they will have a soft launch or beta test to selected organizations. So, the formal FAFSA 2025-26 launch date is planned for December 1, assuming these beta test groups are successful.
The CSS Profile is the College Board’s financial aid application that approximately 186 colleges and universities require for undergraduate admissions. Nearly all schools that use the CSS Profile are private. Also, keep in mind that some scholarship organizations may require it as well. It too becomes available on October 1 of the student’s senior year and unlike the FAFSA, there is no delay. It’s available now!
All CSS Profile schools use the FAFSA to determine which of their applicants qualify for federal and/or state financial aid, as well as the institution’s own need-based financial aid. However, the CSS Profile schools want to dig deeper than the FAFSA when assessing who qualifies for their own aid. These schools require a more thorough assessment of the family’s financial strength, and therefore, the application is much longer and more detailed than the FAFSA.
The underlying financial aid formula that the FAFSA uses to calculate the Student Aid Index (SAI) (Please Note: Some CSS Profile schools use the term Expected Family Contribution [EFC] instead of SAI) is known as the Federal Methodology (FM). In contrast, the formula used by CSS Profile is known as the Institutional Methodology (IM).
As a result, the IM often yields a higher SAI for many families than the FM. Moreover, because there is no uniform IM formula that the Profile schools use to determine aid eligibility, the families SAI that is generated from the application can also vary significantly for a family. For example, families are often surprised to learn that some colleges consider all of their home equity in the calculation while others may cap it at a certain limit. Families are also surprised by how time-consuming, difficult, tedious, and sometimes expensive the CSS Profile process can be because unlike the FAFSA which is free to complete, the CSS Profile has a cost.
In short, the most prestigious colleges in the country, such as the ivy leagues, use this application to determine whether a student will receive aid to their schools, and these schools have millions of dollars available to award to students. Since these schools will cost a family six figures to attend, families will want to try to qualify for as much aid as possible!
Below is a synopsis of 7 things you should know about the CSS Profile.
1. As cited above, nearly 200 colleges and universities (mostly private) require the CSS Profile. To find out if your schools of interest require the Profile, take a look at the CSS Profile Participating Schools list.
2. Parents can access the application from their student’s College Board account. If your student has taken the SAT, PSAT or AP exams, they should already have a College Board account and can use that same login information to complete the CSS Profile. Here is a link that explains more about how to create a parent account. Also, keep in mind that if you have multiple students applying to the same college, they each need to have their own account.
3. The CSS Profile requires more detailed information about your finances – that is, both the student’s and parent’s finances. So, be sure to allot enough time to gather the required documents needed to complete the application, such as your two-year old federal tax return (i.e., if your child will be entering college in 2025, then you will need your 2023 tax return), current bank statements, current mortgage statements, and records of savings, non-retirement account balances, (i.e., stocks, bonds), trusts, etc. for the student and the parents. Also, please be aware that the application is not as quick as the FAFSA, which is why you will need to set aside a block of time to complete it. In fact, the College Board recommends that you will need roughly 45 minutes to 2 hours to complete it. In addition, some schools will require you to upload this information via a portal called the IDOC (Institutional Documentation Service).
4. How the CSS Profile treats divorced or separated parents will vary by school. Many universities utilizing the CSS Profile will also require financial information from the non-custodial parent. If the non-custodial parent is remarried, some schools might require the new spouse’s income too. As you can imagine, this can have a significant impact on the family’s aid eligibility. You can often find out which schools require the noncustodial parent to provide their financial information by checking out the CSS Profile Participating Schools list (see the CSS Profile Non-Custodial Parents column).
5. The CSS Profile deadlines also vary from school-to-school. As mentioned above, the application became available on October 1. I always recommend that families complete it as soon as possible, as some aid is awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. So, be sure to check with each school you’re applying to for the appropriate filing date (i.e., if applying early decision or early action, there may be an earlier deadline than if applying for regular admission).
6. There is a cost to complete the CSS Profile. The cost is $25 for the initial application to one school and $16 for each additional school, unless the family’s Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) is below $100k, the student qualified for an SAT waiver, or is an orphan or ward of the court under age 24 – then, there is no cost.
7. Be sure to review your information thoroughly and carefully before submission. If you notice a mistake after submission, you are only allowed to make one correction on the CSS Profile per academic year. After that, you will need to reach out to your institution(s) financial aid office directly to make additional corrections. In addition, while you are allowed to add more schools to the Profile after submission (remember, there is a fee), you cannot delete them.
If you need assistance and/or have questions, there are ways to find help within the application itself as well as from the College Board. Within the application, parents can use the question-mark help icon, the search feature located at the top of the screen, and the CSS Profile Application Help Desk.
You can also review the CSS Profile Helpful Tips and Resources to aid you in completing the application.
Lastly, we also have you covered. If you want to learn how we can be of assistance, please schedule a complimentary consultation.