The CSS Profile and the colleges that use it
Some colleges want more financial detail than the FAFSA collects, and they gather it through the CSS Profile. Here you can learn which colleges ask for it, what it covers and how to handle its fees and extra paperwork.
Who runs it and who asks for it
The College Board runs the CSS Profile, an online aid application separate from the FAFSA. A few hundred colleges, most of them private, use it, along with some scholarship programs. They rely on it to hand out their own grants, while federal aid continues to come from the FAFSA alone.
Each college's aid website states whether it requires the Profile and by what date. Those dates often fall in the fall for early decision or early action applicants and in winter for regular applicants. The Profile usually opens on October 1, around the same time as the FAFSA, so both can be done in one sitting if you gather documents first.
What the form asks that the FAFSA leaves out
The Profile goes further into family finances. It can ask about the value of the family home and what is owed on it, money held in retirement accounts, business and farm details, and expected changes in income. Colleges decide individually which of these answers they count and how heavily.
Many colleges also want information from a parent who does not live with the student. That parent may need to complete a separate noncustodial section, and a college can waive the requirement when contact is impossible or unsafe. Request the waiver directly from each college, since one school's decision does not carry over to another.
Some colleges then ask for tax returns and other records through a document service the College Board operates. Others collect documents through their own portal, and each college's checklist tells you which route applies.
Request the waiver directly from each college, since one school's decision does not carry over to another.
Fees and fee waivers
The Profile charges a fee for each college or program that receives your report. Fee waivers are available to many students, often based on family income, and the College Board decides them within the application itself. Look at the fee screen before you submit so you know what will be charged.
Send the Profile only to colleges that require it. A college that relies on the FAFSA alone gains nothing from a Profile report, and the fee for it is spent without purpose. Keep a list of required schools beside their deadlines, and add to it as you apply.
Steps to take this week
- List which of your colleges require the CSS Profile
- Note each college's Profile deadline
- Gather tax returns and account statements
- Ask about a noncustodial parent waiver if you need one
Who decides
Each college's financial aid office and the College Board
The CSS Profile serves the colleges that ask for it, so send it only where it is required and meet each college's own date.
