CSS/ Financial Aid PROFILE
The CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE is a financial aid form which is only required by some colleges and scholarships. This form has extensive questions about expenses and it allows for the explanation of special circumstances, which gives families the opportunity to better represent their financial situation. However, the form itself is not free. Students who are required to complete this form must do so if they want access to institutional aid and should pay particular attention to the school's deadlines since some are as early as the fall of senior year
Students and Parents should collect the following financial documents:
- The PROFILE can only be competed online at www.collegeboard.org
- Registration for profile has to be pilled out first time through
- The PROFILE is not required by all schools. The list of schools that require the PROFILE can be found at https://profileonline.collegeboard.com
- Students should check with each college/university for the school-specific deadline adn to double-check if the school requires the form
- This form costs $25 for the registration fee and the first college, plus $16 for each additional college/university. The PROFILE is the only financial aid form that costs money
- Students who use an SAT fee waiver will automatically receive a PROFILE fee waiver. In order to use this waiver, the student must complete the profile using the same account they used to register for the SAT
- Students who did not use an SAT fee waiver or who log on with a different account may receive a fee waiver based on their household income. Eligibility will be determined by the information provided while completing the form. Students who indicuate receipt of food stamps, TANF, or who have free lunch eligible incomes, automatically get a fee waiver. Qualified students will be informed on teh billings screen that they do not need to pay
- The fee waiver covers up to 8 schools
- The PROFILE asks for information about three different years: the current and previous year's taxes, as well as a projection for earnings in the upcoming year
- The PROFILE requests information regarding the non-custodial parent. Depending on the schools the student lists on the form, the non-custodial parent may be asked to fill out an additional form called the non-custodial parent profile
- Unlike the FAFSA or the TAP application, the PROFILE has a special circumstances section for the student/parent to explain any unusual or extenuating circumstances
- Corrections to the PROFILE must be made by hand and mailed out to each college's financial aid office
- Undocumented students can fill out the PROFILE
Students and Parents should collect the following financial documents:
- W-2 forms and other records of money earned for the year preceding*
- Federal Income Tax Return - IRS Form 1040, 1040A, 1040EZ, foreign tax return, or tax return for Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the US Virgin Islands, teh Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia or Palau
- Untaxed income records - Social Security, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, welfare, or veterans benefits records
- Records of savings, stocks, bonds, trusts, and other investments
- Current bank statements
- Current mortgage information
- Your most recent business and investment mortgage information, business and farm records, stock, bond, and other investment records