CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE

MASSACHUSETTS EDUCATIONAL FINANCING AUTHORITY

CSS/FINANCIAL AID PROFILE®

•College Board’s online financial aid application

•Required by almost 400 colleges/universities and scholarship programs

•Used to award non-federal financial aid funds

•Opens October 1st each year

•Customized to each student: each student’s PROFILE application is based on answers given during registration

•Available for both domestic and international students

What is the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE?

•Collects more detailed information than the FAFSA

•Allows schools to ask their own supplemental questions to anyone applying to that institution

•Includes a space for you to provide a note to the financial aid offices regarding special circumstances

Why Do Institutions Use the PROFILE?

Start Here: student.collegeboard.org/profile

For high school seniors

List of colleges that use the PROFILE

Create College Board account

Participating Institutions and Programs

The list of participating institutions shows if the school uses the PROFILE for international students, or uses the Noncustodial PROFILE or IDOC.

•Registration is a list of 21 questions about the student and family

•Must complete in one sitting

•Student Social Security number is not required but recommended

•Use a valid email address

•Report intended enrollment status, parent marital status, citizenship • Info reported determines PROFILE application questions

•Select colleges to receive the PROFILE data

•Save your CSS ID

•Customized Pre-Application Worksheet shows a list of the questions you’ll receive on the PROFILE

Registration

•Select “Save & Exit” anytime to save your data and complete later

•Use buttons in the application, not the web browser, to navigate

•You cannot leave numeric questions blank: you must enter a zero

•Estimate income figures for questions about 2016 & 2017

•Select “Print/Review Application” anytime

•Select “Add/Remove Colleges” anytime during the application process

•Parent section: green & white; Student section: blue & white

Application Process: General Tips

•Parent Income (2015) and Assets (Current)• Reported by the custodial parent and current spouse• Unlike the FAFSA, a Legal Guardian is considered a parent if

the legal relationship will continue after 6/30/17 (or if the college requires the guardian’s information)

•Student Income and Assets

•Household Information

•Number of children in college

General Main Information Requested

The PROFILE asks questions not found on the FAFSA to give schools additional data to help determine financial aid eligibility. You will report:

•Parent Income– Three years (2015, estimated 2016, & projected 2017)– Untaxed Social Security Benefits, Earned Income Credit, Additional Child

Tax Credit, Foreign Income Exclusion

•Parent Assets– Value and debt of primary home – Value of all businesses and farms – Parent assets held in siblings’ names– Retirement value (asked for, though not often used)

•Parent expenses– Medical/dental – Private elementary/secondary school tuition – Education loan repayments

More Questions = Better Estimate of Ability to Pay

•Family data–Ages of siblings –Colleges that siblings attend

•Student data–Expected-year income –Private scholarships earned–Employee tuition benefits

•Explanation of special circumstances

More Questions = Better Estimate of Ability to Pay

The Noncustodial PROFILE (NCP)

•For families w/ divorced or separated parents, or never married parents, living separately

•Separate online application for the noncustodial parent and spouse

•Located here: ncprofile.collegeboard.com

•Only required by certain schools (check with the financial aid office)

•Requests same information as collected from custodial parent

•Student can request the noncustodial parent to receive the application via email OR can send an application code to the noncustodial parent

PROFILE Fees

•$25 for the application and submitting it to one school

•$16 to send the PROFILE to each additional school

•Payment options: Credit card or debit card

•Noncustodial PROFILE: $25 one-time fee

Fee Waivers

•Automatically granted if family meets one of the following:• Has income within the USDA reduced price lunch standards (~$40K for family of 4)• Family receives SNAP or TANF• Student received an SAT fee waiver

•Not available for international students

•Available to first-time applicants whose parents live in the U.S.

•Orphans/wards of the court under age 24 are automatically eligible

•Notified at the time of submission

•Covers sending the PROFILE to 8 institutions

•Same fee waiver rules apply to the Noncustodial PROFILE except the SAT fee waiver

Fee Payment Codes

•Purchased by colleges/universities/organizations for use by students

•Each code pays for one college submission

•Students may use up to 16

Submitting the PROFILE

•Once submitted, cannot make online edits or delete schools

•Student will have the chance to save the PROFILE Acknowledgment–Summarizes all of the information reported–Can edit the form by hand & send to colleges if there are changes to the data

•Select “Add Colleges to Submitted Application” anytime to send the PROFILE to additional schools

•“Check Status”: date submitted & date sent to each school

•On time = by midnight ET of earliest priority deadline set by the school

What is IDOC?

•College Board’s Institutional Documentation Service

•Collects family documents (such as tax returns) on an institution’s behalf

•Families can take pictures of documents and upload them into IDOC

•IDOC student dashboard tells students of incomplete submissions

•Opens Nov 1st

•Student will be notified if required to use IDOC

•Customer Service: (866) 897-9881

• idoc.collegeboard.com

•The online tutorial provides more details

PROFILE Customer Service

•Phone: (844) 202-0524–M to F, 9am-6pm, ET; 8am-10pm Jan-Apr

•Email: [email protected]

•Contact Us button: provides phone & email

•Click ? Icon or Help Code (such as SI-100F) next to each question

•Help Desk button: FAQs, estimating tips, special audience instructions

•2017-18 PROFILE Student Guide on the PROFILE homepage

Interactive Presentation

css.collegeboard.org

Further instructions on different components of completing the PROFILE:

Connect with MEFA

Contact us with questions:

[email protected](800) 449-MEFA (6332)

mefa.org