getting to know the css profile
TRANSCRIPT
MASSACHUSETTS EDUCATIONAL FINANCING AUTHORITY
GETTING TO KNOW
THE CSS PROFILETM
Profile Facts
•Required by ~400 schools & scholarship programs
•Check school websites to find out if required
•Opens Oct 1st each year
•Used alongside the FAFSA
Why do schools
use the Profile?
•Collects more detail than the FAFSA
•Allows schools to add questions
•Allows families to write in comments
Profile
Homepage
List of
colleges
Apply (2018-19
for high school
seniors)
Overview
IDOC
Student
Guide
cssprofile.org
Participating
Institutions and
Programs
Application
Process
•Sign in using student’s College Board account
•Can also create a new account
•You may jump ahead to different sections
•Each section is checked when completed
•Click Save and Continue to finish each page
General
Application Tips
•Use buttons in application to navigate
•Click into an answer field for help tips
•Answer all relevant questions, even if not required
•Can leave non-required non-relevant questions blank
Parent
Information
•Report all parents & step-parents (up to 4)
•Treat legal guardians as parents
•Custodial parent & spouse complete the Profile
•Noncustodial parent & spouse do a separate Profile
What Do You
Report on the
Profile?
•Colleges
•Parent & student 2016 income
•Parent & student projected 2017 & 2018 income
•Parent & student current assets
•Household members
•# of children in college
Profile Questions
Not on the
FAFSA
Income
•Untaxed Social Security Benefits
•Earned Income Credit
•Additional Child Tax Credit
•Foreign Income Exclusion
Assets
•Primary home information
•All business & farm information
•Parent assets held in siblings’ names
•Retirement value (not often used by college)
Parent expenses
•Medical/dental
•Private elementary/secondary school tuition
•Education loan payments
Family data
•Ages of siblings
•Colleges that siblings attend
Student data
•Private scholarships
•Employee tuition benefits
Special circumstances
•Open field after certain questions
•Also at end of application
Supplemental questions
•Added by colleges & universities
•Not always required to answer
Profile Fees
•$25 for the application and first school
•$16 to send to each additional school
•Pay with credit or debit card
•Noncustodial parent: pays $25 one-time fee
Fee Waivers
•Automatically granted based on finances
•Only for first-year undergraduates
•Parents must live in the U.S.
•Notified at time of submission
•Covers up to 8 schools
Fee Payment
Codes
•Given to students
•Purchased by colleges or organizations
•Each code pays to send Profile to 1 school
•No limit on how many can be used
Submitting the
Profile
•Can review application beforehand
•Can print answers if desired
•Need to check box to certify accuracy
•Once submitted, cannot make edits
Dashboard
•Access anytime at top right of application
•Includes:
–Application status
–Each college’s submission date & deadline
–Payment receipt
–Next steps required by schools
–Opportunity to add a college
–Space to request email to noncustodial parent
IDOC
•College Board scanning service
•Collects family documents for schools
•Tax information most often collected
•Documents must be in JPEG, TIFF, or PDF
•IDOC Customer Service: (866) 897-9881
•idoc.collegeboard.com
IDOC
Overview
Reach by clicking the link on the Profile homepage
Profile Customer
Support Center
Reach by clicking on Contact Us anytime
FAQs
Chat
Phone number
Profile
Overview
learn.collegeboard.org/css-profile-overview
Profile Student
Guide
Reach by clicking the link on the Profile homepage
