CSS Profile

WHAT IS THE CSS PROFILE?

A CSS Profile, or CSS Financial Aid application is required for some colleges to award scholarships and grants. You may need to complete a CSS Profile in addition to a FAFSA.

All college students should plan to submit a FAFSA, to be sure they receive federal student financial aid. The financial aid application is also used for most state and private loans and scholarships.

Some colleges and scholarship organizations require an additional financial aid application to help them award institutional grants and scholarships - the CSS Profile.

What Is CSS PROFILE? - CSS PROFILE (College Scholarship Service Profile) is a form, from the College Board for the high school seniors and college students who are applying for financial aid.

Many private colleges and universities in the United States (including most Ivy Leagues) require students to submit a CSS Profile in addition to FAFSA to be considered for receiving institutional financial aid. College Board has the list of its member institutions that require the CSS Profile.

CSS PROFILE vs. FAFSA

The CSS Profile is much more detailed than the FAFSA form. The Profile collects detailed and comprehensive information on the students and their parents’ income and assets of all types, whereas the FAFSA collects information on income and only limited types of assets. Consequently, there are more than twice as many questions in the CSS Profile as there are in the FAFSA.

Many colleges and universities with early acceptance programs, i.e. Early Action (EA) and Early Decision (ED), refer to the CSS Profile for preliminary financial aid considerations.

Another difference between the CSS Profile and the FAFSA is that the CSS profile is not free whereas the FAFSA is free. There is an application fee for filing the CSS profile. This application fee is $9.00 for current academic year applicants. Additionally there is a Reporting Fee of $16.00 for each college or university to receive the profile. Low income students may request fee waivers.