CSS Profile

What is CSS?

The CSS is an online application to determine eligibility for non-federal financial aid, which is administered by the College Board, creator of the SAT®. Not every college requires it, but nearly 400 colleges do, so be sure to first check the list of schools to determine whether your child needs to complete the application. It's also important to see if the school requires students of divorced parents to complete the additional Noncustodial PROFILE.

Unlike the FAFSA, there is a fee to apply. The first application is $25 and reports to additional schools are $16 each. Fee waivers are granted to high-need students, generally for household incomes of $45,000 or less per year.

Both the CSS application and the FAFSA can be filed as early as October 1 and should be completed as soon as possible to take advantage of aid that is distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. All schools have their own deadlines in place for the CSS, but many require students to file the profile two weeks before the college's priority admission application deadline.

If your child is considering attending one of these schools, they will be required to fill out the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE alongside the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®). The CSS Profile can be a large resource for college funding, in addition to the FAFSA.

Here's what you need to know before your child starts the CSS application:

  • Filling out the CSS PROFILE does not take the place of the FAFSA. Rather, it is an additional application for nonfederal financial aid.

  • The FAFSA awards families with federal grants, scholarships and student loans while the CSS helps schools award non-federal institutional aid.

  • It is important to know that the CSS has some significant differences from the FAFSA, in particular the way it calculates certain assets.

Example: The FAFSA considers cash gifts - such as from grandparents to grandchildren for college - as a part of parents' total assets. The CSS counts it as parental income thus decreasing a dependent student's eligibility for aid.

  • The CSS takes a closer look at family finances than the FAFSA does. The CSS evaluates a family's medical bills and school costs for younger children, among other factors, to determine a family's expected contribution. FAFSA looks strictly at numbers such as income and family size, so families must discuss personal situations and hardships directly with schools. For some students, this could mean more financial aid opportunities are available through the CSS.

Tour The CSS Profile Overview

The CSS Profile Tutorial

Helpful Tips and Resources

CSS Profile Website

CSS Profile Fee Waiver

  • Documents at the ready – You will need your most recently completed tax returns, W-2 forms and other records of current year income, records of untaxed income and benefits, assets and bank statements.

  • User Account – If you have a College Board account, sign in using the same credentials (.pdf/258KB). This will save you time and help us apply fee waivers you received to your CSS Profile application.

  • Save and Return – You do not need to complete the entire application at one time.

  • Deadlines – To make sure your application will be considered on time, submit your CSS Profile by midnight Eastern Time of your earliest priority filing date.

Instructions and Help