Many independent colleges and private scholarship programs require more data than is requested on the FAFSA form to analyze your financial circumstances. The form used in this process is the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE , which is evaluated by the College Scholarship Service (CSS), a division of the College Board organization.

CSS adds the additional data from your CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE to the information provided by the Federal Processor to recalculate your Expected Financial Contribution (EFC) using the "Institutional Methodology." The College Scholarship Service then sends a report to the colleges or programs you designated on your CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE registration form. The adjusted EFC figure becomes the basis for awarding institutional financial aid awards.

Questions to consider:

When should I start this process?

How do I get my CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE application?

When should I send in my CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE registration form ?

What happens after I send in the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE registration form?

How do I get information about filling out this form and when I should send it in?

What happens after I send the actual CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE form in to the CSS?

When should I start this process?

In early September, determine which schools require the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE. Consult the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE Registration instruction booklet, ask your counselor or career center specialist, or call your target college financial aid offices.

How do I get my CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE application?

Fill out the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE Registration Form to start the process in motion. The CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE registration form should be available at your high school counseling or career center. (If not, call the CSS branch of the College Board to request one). The registration form asks you some basic questions that help CSS to develop your financial aid application (the actual CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE). The primary purpose of the registration form is to collect background information about your family, and to have you make a list of the colleges which you want to receive the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE. This Registration form also indicates how much you need to pay CSS in registration and processing fees for each of the schools listed.

When should I send in my CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE registration form?

Send the Registration Form in to the CSS address provided as soon possible. Keep in mind that many independent colleges may have financial aid deadlines that are earlier than others.

What happens after I send in the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE Registration Form?

A few weeks after sending in the PROFILE Registration Form you should receive your CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE forms in the mail from the CSS. With this form you will be able to apply for institutional aid at the colleges you designated. Those colleges will get the information you provide in these forms and use it to calculate your eligibility for institutional aid. In some cases, they may even let you know if you are eligible for federal aid also. (Remember, if you are found eligible for federal aid, you WILL have to fill out the FAFSA forms.) The CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE includes some generic questions that all PROFILE applicants have to respond to, questions that pertain to only the schools you applied to and any supplemental financial aid forms that individual colleges want you to fill out.

How do I get information about filling out this form and when I should send it in?

A Cover Letter will tell you what you need to do and inform you about all financial aid deadlines and requirements for the colleges you designated on your PROFILE Registration form. The CSS basically explains to you when you should be submitting the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE form to meet the needs of the colleges you are applying to. In order to make sure you meet all deadlines for colleges, you must submit the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE form to CSS before the first college financial aid deadline that is listed for you in the cover letter.

What happens after I send the actual PROFILE form in to the CSS?

A few weeks after you have submitted your CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE form, the CSS will send you an Acknowledgment Letter that will provide you with important information about your Expected Family Contribution as calculated using the Institutional Methodology. This EFC amount is what the colleges use to determine your family's actual need for financial aid. With this "need" amount established, the CSS also indicates whether or not you may be eligible for federal financial aid in addition to institutional aid. If this is the case, you will need to complete the FAFSA side of the Financial Aid Road Map to officially qualify for federal funds. This Acknowledgment Letter also provides you with the opportunity to list any other colleges from which you would like to receive the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE form.

At this point, the CSS has sent on your CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE information to the target colleges you selected. Those colleges will use the information on the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE, along with the analysis done by the CSS, to determine your eligibility for institutional (college-based) aid.