The College Board CSS Profile Explained

If you are applying for financial aid at a college or university that provides institutional grants to private students, then you will be prompted to complete the application / CSS PROFILE funding. The CSS profile (as most people call it) is a College Board service, a non-profit association national association whose mission is to connect students to college success and opportunity.

More than 600 members of the College Board colleges, universities, colleges and scholarship programs use the information collected on the profile of CSS application to help with grant assistance fund for nonfederal student. The federal student aid is determined by the FAFSA application.

When CSS profile file?

Individual colleges have their own deadlines. As you CSS profile file?

Fill the application profile requires that you have a secure browser and because there is a fee, a valid credit card or checking account. Unlike the FAFSA, there is no possibility of submitting a paper form.

If you do not have a computer at home, sign up for your online profile application in your school or local library. Then print the Pre-Application Worksheet and instructions. Back to school or to the library and enter the information, to return to your application using your username and password secure.

What is the CSS profile?

To date, the fee for the initial application and a college or program of the report is $ 25. To send additional reports costs $ 16 per college. Documentation if their parents receive TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) or SSI (Supplemental Security Income).

Documentation if your parents are self-employed or own business (s) and / or farm (s).

The Your personal information, including your social security number.

What are the CSS profile information request?

Colleges use the profile to calculate the share of expected family (EFS) of the cost of education. EFS is the best estimate of the capacity of your family profile (compared to other families) to absorb over time, the costs of education, including tuition, housing and fees. Therefore, the profile calls for a wider range of information than the FAFSA. The profile collects information on estimated income school year family medical expenses, the cost of primary and secondary education, and unusual circumstances. The profile can include family income while damping paper, business, rental or capital losses that can reduce the adjusted gross income.

Some colleges may require additional information, such as tax returns or institutional application. If your parents are divorced, some colleges will also need your noncustodial parent to complete the profile without the CSS protection.

Remember, the College Board does not financial aid granted. Your college decides to grant institutional financial aid.