By Amy, IvyWise College Admissions Counselor
Are you worried about affording college? You are not alone. The financial aid process can feel intimidating and opaque, and you likely have a lot of questions. Let’s start by demystifying the CSS Profile.
What Is the CSS Profile?
Most schools that award institutional funding based on financial need use the CSS Profile from the College Board. It rolls out every year on October 1, and students who are applying to college at that time will also submit the CSS Profile if required by the school.
Submitting the CSS Profile costs $25 to the first college or university — each additional school costs $16. There is an automatic fee waiver if a family’s adjusted gross income (AGI) is calculated at under $100,000. Students may also be eligible for a waiver based on other factors, such as whether they qualify for SAT or ACT waivers.
Note for International Students
Need-based aid for international students is very limited, and most schools do not offer any to international students at all. Be clear on a college’s financial aid policy for international students before applying to avoid wasting time.
FAFSA vs. CSS Profile: How Are They Different?
Many families wonder about the difference between the FAFSA and the CSS Profile. The FAFSA is required for the distribution of all federal need-based aid (for example Pell Grants, student Stafford loans, and parent PLUS loans), and is required at virtually all postsecondary institutions in the U.S. Only the custodial household fills out the FAFSA, and the form has its own unique methodology for determining financial aid.
Some colleges will award their own institutional funding based on the FAFSA, but generally speaking, the more money a college has to give away, the more detailed and customizable they want the information they collect to be. The CSS Profile is much more detailed and involved than the FAFSA and uses its own methodology. Therefore, institutions will often use the CSS Profile or their own form — UChicago, for example, uses the UChicago Financial Aid Worksheet available through the student’s application portal.
Colleges can set their own parameters on the CSS Profile. Many schools require both biological parents — whether they are the custodial household or not — to provide their financial information. It’s important to research the policy of each school on your college list that requires the CSS Profile.
How Do I Get Started?
Set aside a good chunk of uninterrupted time to start the CSS Profile — though the good news is that you don’t have to complete it in one session. The CSS Profile is labor intensive because it looks at your family’s income, assets, and debts, such as educational debt, private school costs, retirement, medical expenses, car purchase prices, mortgage, etc. Here is a general list of documents you will need to fill it out.
To access the CSS Profile, use the account you made to register for the SAT or AP tests. If you don’t already have a College Board account, you can create a new one. Custodial parents and students will share this account for CSS Profile purposes — only non-custodial parents need to make their own accounts. Take your time, read the instructions carefully, and double check your answers.
Tips for Filling Out the CSS Profile
Deadlines are important. Not meeting them can be incredibly costly. It is crucial to be organized. For each school on your college list, keep a spreadsheet of:
- Financial aid deadlines.
- Required documents.
- Whether or not they require the non-custodial profile (if applicable).
- Non-custodial waiver policies.
- Whether the school uses IDOC for original document submission.
Other Recommendations and Considerations
1. Use Net Price Calculators (NPC)
Tools like Net Price Calculators and MyinTuition are great for estimating your financial aid before applying. All colleges that accept federal aid are required to have a net price calculator. To find one, search: “[College Name] Net Price Calculator.”
2. Don’t Assume Costs Are the Same at Every School
Colleges have unique financial aid policies so it’s best to complete NPCs for a range of schools — Ivy, small liberal arts, flagship state school, etc. — to get a general idea of expected costs. These estimates can be useful when making a college list, as they will give you an idea of what you might pay at each school.
3. Explore Merit Scholarships
If you are a no-need or low-need family according to the CSS Profile — and money is still a factor in your college decision — consider schools that award merit scholarships. Additionally, you can check out websites like scholarships.com to find corporate, private, and member organization scholarships.
4. Make Sound Financial Decisions
Avoid major purchases, such as a high-end car or a home upgrade (e.g., new home purchase or major renovation), during the financial aid process. Colleges look at every single detail of your family’s finances and decisions and expect parents/guardians to prioritize college costs.
Private school is considered a choice and only marginally affects financial aid in the family’s favor. College costs, on the other hand, are not considered a choice and can be factored into the CSS Profile formulas.
5. Consider How Colleges Will Assess Your Financial Health
When determining an aid package, colleges consider a family’s overall financial health. They assess factors such as retirement savings relative to age, limitations on earning potential (e.g., health issues), and educational debt for other children. Borrowing is expected — if a family has a mortgage and/or a car loan, colleges can reasonably expect to award student loans. Not wanting to pay or borrow is not the same as being unable to.
But what about special financial circumstances?
- Colleges will sometimes consider unusually high medical expenses in their calculations, but this is generally only a factor when the costs are so high they exceed standard tax deductions.
- Home improvements do not directly impact family contribution calculations, even if they are “necessary.”
- Supporting relatives outside the immediate family can sometimes be taken into consideration, but this factor does not directly impact the family contribution.
6. Contact the Financial Aid Office for Tricky Family Situations
Colleges can often help or guide families with tricky situations caused by divorce, separation, or death. Stay in close communication with financial aid officers.
In cases where a student has no contact with non-custodial parents, a waiver can be submitted. However, this process takes time and requires letters from people that can vouch for the no-contact relationship. It is easier to get a waiver when first applying for aid — if the non-custodial parent submits documents one year, they will likely be expected all four years except under extraordinary circumstances.
Conveying Special Circumstances
Financial aid officers are there to help, but they can’t respond to what they don’t know. The more you share, the more they can understand the situation as a whole and the more they can potentially respond. Just keep in mind that they work with a lot of families and have a greater perspective on need than any individual family — financial aid offices must be fair and consistent across families in their treatment.
What If I Need Help or Make a Mistake?
The College Board has a robust FAQs section as well as helpful online tutorials for custodial and non-custodial parents. If you need to speak to someone, you can call College Board, but you can also call the college’s financial aid office! Financial aid officers are there to help and are often the absolute best help and resource out there.
If your question is detailed, ask to speak directly to a financial aid officer. You might also ask if there is an officer assigned to prospective applicants and/or incoming first-year students; if so, speak to that person, even if you have to wait or call back.
If you discovered you made an error after submitting your CSS Profile, you can make a correction by clicking on the “Correct your CSS Profile” tab. However, you can only correct once. After that, you’ll have to contact each institution directly to register the change. Therefore, proceed with caution, take your time, and double-check your answers!
Filling out the CSS Profile for need-based aid applications can be daunting the first time through it, but it can literally result in hundreds of thousands of scholarship dollars over the course of four years! Therefore, it is well worth your time and effort.
At IvyWise, we guide students through every facet of the college admissions process, including financial aid. We help demystify the process while ensuring that students maximize their chances of admission, as well as financial aid and scholarship opportunities. Take the first step toward a more efficient college admissions process and contact us to schedule your complimentary Discovery Call.
