CSS Profile - Because There Is Always Room For Another Step

hitchcock profile
Originally uploaded by a75

Among all of the ED and EA deadlines, many schools throw in another pesky item that is easy to forget: the CSS Profile.

The CSS Profile is a handy scholarship tool, created by none other than our friends at the College Board. It allows schools to evaluate family income and assets and it provides additional details to the information required on the FAFSA. Another bonus is that it is able to be completed prior to January, which is how long you have to wait for the FAFSA to be released. So with the Profile, schools can use it to estimate Financial Aid packages for Early applicants.

Not every school asks for the profile, but I recommend checking the Financial Aid website of every school you (or your child) is applying to to check and see. Much of Financial Aid is about meeting deadlines, so filing the CSS Profile is not something you want to put off. Many schools have this form due much earlier than the FAFSA (many Nov 1 or Nov 15) so don't delay and get working on it. In general, it will normally be required at private schools and some out of state public schools, but not at CUNY or SUNY schools.

Remember students that graduate from high school this spring and matriculate this fall need to fill out the CSS Profile for 2011-2012, the school you when they will be requesting aid.

There is a fee for filing the profile (this is something run by the College Board after all), but in the scheme of things the cost should be small relative to the possible gain of getting grants and scholarships. I recommend everyone file for aid even if they think they will not qualify. One, you may qualify even though you thought you wouldn't and two, your school may require students file for aid in order to get merit scholarships. (The reason for this is they want to be 100% sure they can't get any state or federal money for you).

In a time when many students are furiously working on essays and applications, the CSS profile is a task many parents and guardians chose to take on (since it deals with so many financial details). Treat it as a way to work side by side as a family and make sure that both college applications and financial aid documents make it in by the deadlines.