FAQ’s About College Board’s
CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE®
One or more of the colleges that your student is applying to may require completion of the CSS/Financial Aid
PROFILE®. To determine if any of your student’s colleges requires the form, please visit the school’s financial
aid website. Some private colleges gather this additional information because they have their own scholarship
and grant money to award and want to look at the entire financial makeup of a family; not just their income
and assets. Each college may utilize this information differently for their own funding purposes (for federal
money they must only consider information listed on the FAFSA). If you have specific questions regarding how
information you provide will be taken into account in their financial aid decisions, please contact each financial
aid office to inquire.
When accessing the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE® form, log in using your student’s established College Board
account created when he/she registered for their SAT’s. The form is linked to your student’s social security
number and College Board will not allow a parent to create a separate username and password. When
completing the form, be aware that there are specific sections for the parent and the student. The parent’s
section is gray and each page has a P at the end of the title. The student’s section is blue and is labeled with
an S.
Remember, you can register for the CSS Profile early, and when you do, we encourage you to print a copy of
the Profile form which will list all the questions you will be required to complete as part of the online process.
This information has been compiled to assist you when completing your student’s CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE®
form. If you have any questions about the content, call the Center for College Planning at 888.7.GRADUATE
ext. 119 or the College Board at 305-829-9793.
What documents or information will I need to have before completing the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE®?
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Student’s College Board username and password
Social Security Numbers and birthdates for student and parent(s)
Parent tax documents for 2012 and 2013 if available
Student tax documents for 2012 and 2013 if he/she filed or will file
Value of all investments including retirement accounts
Value of assets parents hold in the student’s sibling(s) name(s)
Monthly mortgage or rent payment
Purchase price, year purchased, amount owed and fair market value on all property (if applicable)
Amount spent on out-of-pocket medical and dental expenses for 2013 and an estimated amount for
what will be spent in 2014
Amount of child support paid or received for all children in 2012, 2013 and 2014 (if applicable)
Business or farm information (if applicable)
I thought I didn’t have to provide retirement information on any of the financial aid forms, why are they
asking for it on the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE®?
Value of retirement accounts do NOT need to be entered into the FAFSA form, however, they ARE required on
the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE®. Place a check mark in the box next to each type of retirement plan that
Parent 1 and Parent 2 (if applicable) has, and list the combined value of them (separately for each individual
parent) where it requests the total value. The college has the discretion to utilize this information in their aid
calculations. Direct any questions about consideration of these retirement funds to the financial aid offices at
the individual colleges.
Why do I have to include child support that I received? Is it for all of my children or just the one heading off
to college?
The CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE® asks about all income and assets, as well as debt and monthly expenses.
Because child support is money used to maintain a household, colleges want that information. Include the
amount of child support you received for all of your children during the 2013 calendar year. If child support
will be ending due to your student graduating from high school you can note that, and the amount that it will
decrease by, in the Special Circumstances section (discussed later in the handout).
I thought information relating to a family business of less than 100 employees does not have to be
included?
The value of a family business is NOT considered on the FAFSA form, but it IS taken into account on the
CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE®. Provide the information to the best of your ability. Consult your family’s business
accountant to help you determine what figures to use if the questions are unclear to you. If necessary, there
is a space in the Parent’s Business section to explain your responses.
What can be included in family medical and dental expenses?
Anything that your family paid in out-of-pocket costs for medical and dental expenses can be included.
Examples include: health insurance premiums, co-pays for doctor visits and medication, dental work,
prescription eye glasses or contacts, etc. Give your best guess for your out-of-pocket costs for the 2013
calendar year and project what realistically might be spent in 2014.
Can property taxes be included in my monthly mortgage amount?
Many home owners escrow their property taxes in with their monthly mortgage payment. However, for this
question, after speaking with a representative from College Board, we have been advised to only include the
actual mortgage payment on the home. If you would like to share the amount you pay in property taxes,
provide that in the Special Circumstances section of the form.
Published: October 2013
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Information about the non-custodial parent
If you are single, separated or divorced, you will need to provide contact information for your student’s noncustodial parent. Some colleges will ask this person to complete an abridged version of the CSS/Financial Aid
PROFILE®. Know that he or she will not be able to view your financial information, as you will not be able to
view theirs. The financial aid offices at the respective colleges will be the only ones able to access both sets of
data. If you do not know the non-custodial parent’s contact information, or he/she refuses to complete the
form, contact each college’s financial aid office. They will determine how to proceed with your student’s
financial aid application.
This link offers tips and information for those completing the non-custodian form:
https://ncprofile.collegeboard.com/ncpWeb/pageflows/NCP1415/Help/getHelpContent.do?relativePath=/pro
file/html/1415_ncp_before_you_begin.html&contentTitle=Before You Begin
How do I determine the amount of wages my student will earn during the summer and the next academic
year?
If your student worked last summer, use roughly the same figures unless you know that he or she has plans to
work either more or less hours. In terms of the amount of wages your student hopes to make during the
school year, only list a figure if there is a job already lined up. While working and earning a certain amount of
money may be the goal, unless there are concrete plans established, do not include a figure.
What should I put when they ask how much the parents think they will be able to pay for the next year of
college? Should I just list the EFC (Expected Family Contribution) provided by the FAFSA?
When determining how much you as parents think that you can contribute towards that upcoming year’s
college expenses, list a number you are comfortable with. Colleges do not award grant and scholarship money
based on what you think you can contribute, but rather they consider a host of other factors and then make
their determination. This question is designed to let the colleges know if the family is able and willing to
contribute towards the cost of college. Do not list an arbitrary figure. Try thinking about your monthly bills
and determine if there is a dollar amount you can re-direct to college expenses every month. If there is,
multiply that number by 10 and add in any money that you plan to use from savings as well.
What are some items that I should include in the Special Circumstances section?
If there is any information that you would like the financial aid office to know about your family’s financial
situation before making their award determination, that should be communicated in this section. Examples
include: An increase or decrease in salary, high medical expenses, loss of job, possible unwillingness of the
non-custodial parent to provide college support (if there is an unwillingness to complete the non-custodial
form, call the financial aid office), expense for care of an elderly parent, etc. You are given 27 lines to share
information and if you need more space, document it on a separate piece of paper and mail it to each college.
Published: October 2013
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Why do I have supplemental questions to complete?
Each college has the ability to customize the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE® to include questions relevant to their
financial aid process. At the bottom of this section you can view which questions were asked by each college
(some colleges choose not to ask any additional questions). Some of the questions may seem duplicated;
however they may have been asked in a slightly different way and are required by different colleges. Answer
all of them to the best of your ability and call the financial aid office at the individual college if you would like
to question how they will consider this information in their financial packaging decision.
What is IDOC and why do I have to send them my tax information? Can I trust them?
While there is an IRS Data Retrieval Tool tied directly to the FAFSA form allowing you to pull information from
your taxes directly to your financial aid form, there is no such tool available through College Board. In order
for colleges to verify information that you have provided, they may need copies of your tax forms and other
supporting documentation.
IDOC, or the Institutional Documentation Service, is administered by College Board. Colleges may choose to
utilize this service to collect tax information as well as other supporting documents from families. If you
receive a letter stating that one or more of your colleges request your information to be submitted to IDOC,
know that they are a reputable and trusted service. Only send your information if requested; some colleges
choose to have information sent directly to them. Each college has their own protocol that they follow; be
sure to adhere to each one’s in order to receive the maximum amount of aid for your student.
There are other companies that offer this service. If the request for information doesn’t seem quite right, call
the college to verify that company’s status as a contracted servicer with the college.
Need More Help?
Phone: 305-829-9793
Phone lines are available M-F 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
E-mail: help@cssprofile.org
Watch: Free On Demand Webinar:
Completing the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE- What You Need to Know
https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/get-started
Published: October 2013
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Registering for the CSS Profile
Go to www.student.collegeboard.org/css-financial-aid-profile
Click on Fall 2014/ Spring 2015
Click on Register for Profile in upper left
Updated: October 2013
Begin entering information, keep note of student vs. parent sections, to navigate
through form, use buttons at bottom of form, not browser forward/back buttons
Once you continue through the registration pages and the registration review,
you will have completely registered. If you click continue or “Start Profile
Application” you will then begin the actual application or you may log out to begin
the application at another point.
You may also print the Customized Pre-Application worksheet which will list all
the questions you will answer, filling this out ahead of time may make the online
form easier to complete.
Updated: October 2013
Need More Help?
Phone: 305-829-9793
Phone lines are available M-F 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
E-mail: help@cssprofile.org
Watch: Free On Demand Webinar:
Completing the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE- What You Need to Know
https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/get-started
Updated: October 2013