the css/financial aid profile
TRANSCRIPT
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Celebrating 30 years of ExcellencePlanning, Saving & Paying for College
CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE®
The CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE® is a registered trademark of the College Board
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• 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 the needs of the student and institution
• Available for both domestic and international students
What is the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE?
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• Collects more detailed information than the FAFSA
• Provides schools with applicant information earlier than the FAFSA
• Allows schools to ask customized questions
• Permits you to explain your family’s special circumstances
Why Do Institutions Use the PROFILE?
Start Here: student.collegeboard.org/profile
Select correct year
List of colleges that use the PROFILE
Create College Board account
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• Must complete in one sitting
• Social Security Number – not required but recommended to provide to help colleges match application to the student’s record
• Use a valid email address
• Provide enrollment status, parent marital status, citizenship status
• List colleges to which student is applying
• Save your CSS ID
• Post Registration: Receive a Customized Pre-Application Worksheet and Instructions
To Begin: Complete Registration
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• “Save & Exit” anytime – can save answers and complete later
• Use buttons in application, not web browser, to navigate
• Cannot leave numeric questions blank – must enter a zero
• Estimate income figures if taxes are not completed
• “Print/Review Application” anytime
• “Add/Remove Colleges” anytime during the application process
• Parent section: green & white; Student section: blue & white
Application Process: General Tips
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• Parent Income and Assets• Report data for custodial parent and current spouse• Unlike the FAFSA, a Legal Guardian is a parent if
the legal relationship will continue after 6/30/16 (or if the college requires information)
• Student Income and Assets
• Household Information
• Number of children in college
General Information Requested
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More details are required on the PROFILE than on the FAFSA
•Parent Income– Income information from 2014, 2015, and projected 2016– Untaxed Social Security Benefits, Earned Income Credit,
Additional Child Tax Credit, Foreign Income Exclusion
•Parent Assets– Value and debt of primary home – All business and farm information – Any parent assets held in siblings’ names– Retirement value (asked for, though not often used by colleges)
•Parent expenses– Medical/dental – Private elementary/secondary school tuition – Education loan repayments
Information Required
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• Family data–Ages of siblings –Colleges that siblings attend
• Student data–Expected-year income –Private scholarships earned–Employee tuition benefits
• Explanation of special circumstances
Information Required
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• For families w/ divorced or separated parents, or never married parents, living separately
• Separate application completed by noncustodial parent and spouse
• Found at: ncprofile.collegeboard.com
• Only required by certain schools (check with financial aid office)
• Requests same information as collected from custodial parent
• Student can request noncustodial parent to receive application via email OR student can send application code to noncustodial parent
The Noncustodial PROFILE (NCP)
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• $25 for the application and to send to the first school
• $16 for each additional school
• Fees are paid by the family
• Payment options: Credit card or debit card
• Noncustodial PROFILE: $25 one-time fee
PROFILE Fees
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• 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 U.S.
• Orphans/wards of the court under age 24 automatically eligible
• Notified at time of PROFILE submission
• Eligible students receive fee waivers to send the PROFILE to 8 colleges
• Same fee waiver rules apply to Noncustodial PROFILE
Fee Waivers
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• Purchased by colleges/universities/organizations for use by students
• Each code pays for sending the PROFILE to one college
• Students may use up to 16
Fee Payment Codes
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Submitting the PROFILE
• Once submitted, cannot make online edits or delete schools
• Select “Add Colleges to Submitted Application” anytime
• “Check Status”: date submitted & date sent to school
• On time = by midnight ET of earliest priority deadline
• Student will receive PROFILE Acknowledgment– Summarizes information reported– Lists each’s schools additional requirements– To updated submitted information, make corrections
to Acknowledgment by hand & send to all colleges
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• College Board’s Institutional Documentation Service
• Collects family documents (such as tax returns) on college’s behalf
• Family is notified of IDOC requirement on PROFILE Acknowledgment
• Submit documents with your IDOC Cover Sheet
•IDOC Customer Service: (305) 420-3688
•idoc.collegeboard.com
What is IDOC?
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PROFILE Customer Service•Phone: (305) 420-3670
– 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 links to FAQs, English & Spanish Glossary, and Tips
•2016-17 PROFILE Student Guide on PROFILE homepage provides basic info
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Interactive Presentation: A PROFILE Overview
Found at css.collegeboard.org
