You may have heard rumors that the Federal Application for Student Aid is changing and opening later this season. Those rumors are true, but all reliable sources reassure us that this complicated ...

While the Free Application for Federal Student Aid FAFSA determines eligibility for federal financial aid, the CSS Profile is used by certain colleges to award non-federal, institutional aid.

Hundreds of colleges use the CSS Profile to award institutional grants and scholarships to students. The 2025-26 form opened on Oct. 1, 2024. Many, or all, of the products featured on this page are ...

The CSS Profile is a financial aid application for school-based aid like scholarships and grants. You’ll still need to complete the FAFSA to qualify for federal and state financial aid. Unlike the ...

If the CSS PROFILE were a TV character, it would be Jan from The Brady Bunch. You'd hear it complaining, "Well, all day long at school I hear how great FAFSA is at this or how wonderful FAFSA did that ...

Some colleges require you to fill out the CSS Profile to qualify for non-federal financial aid. Unlike the FAFSA, most applicants have to pay a fee to submit the CSS Profile. You can still complete ...

Applying to college is an exercise in paperwork: recommendations, essays, the application itself, and the FAFSA — the form that determines whether your student is eligible for federal financial aid.

The CSS Profile is an additional student aid application beyond the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) required at hundreds of private and public schools to be considered for ...

The College Scholarship Service PROFILE (CSS Profile) is an application for non-federal student financial aid that is administered by the College Board, the creator of the SAT. Nearly 400 of their ...

In the all too common situation of a student applying for financial aid for college who has divorced parents, the question often comes up about which parent's assets and income should be reported on ...