The CSS Profile is the FAFSA counterpart for many private colleges. The CSS College Profile is used to collect financial information from the parent and student to calculate your family's *EFC using the Institutional Methodology. The CSS Profile calculates your income and asset differently for financial aid purposes than does the FAFSA. Many colleges require both the CSS PROFILE and the FAFSA application to determine your financial aid eligibility. In addition to the FAFSA and the CSS College Profile, some colleges will also have a financial aid form of their own. The purpose of yet another form is to expose income and assets not revealed by the CSS PROFILE or the FAFSA or uncover financial inconsistencies that may have been under reported on the FAFSA application or CSS Profile. The importance placed on the CSS PROFILE and the FAFSA in financial aid process is why it's imperative you complete the FAFSA application and the CSS College profile both accurately and on time.
What The CSS PROFILE And The FAFSA Are Used For:
If you want to qualify for more financial aid, understanding which methodology a school uses to calculate your financial aid can be extremely valuable. A school that uses only the FAFSA and not the CSS PROFILE to calculate your financial aid provides you more opportunities to shelter assets from the formula. A school that uses only the FAFSA will not count your home equity as an asset in the formula so you'll appear "needier" then if your home equity was counted as an asset. The CSS PROFILE does expose your home equity to the financial aid formula. Knowing how to shelter your home equity from the formula can help you preserve your second largest asset.
You may assume an equity line of credit would shelter your home equity from the CSS PROFILE, but it won't. You need to be very careful and know what you're doing before you try and shelter your assets from the CSS PROFILE. In fact if you don't know what you're doing you could make matters worse. You could end up making your home equity an asset that now has to be reported on the FAFSA and the CSS PROFILE.
There are several ways to shelter your home equity from the CSS PROFILE to maximize your financial aid eligibility. One way to shelter your home equity from both the CSS PROFILE and the FAFSA is to move it inside a non-includable asset. If you move your home equity into a non-includable asset you do not have to report it on your CSS PROFILE. This one strategy has helped our clients receive tens of thousands more in financial aid. You should consult with a financial aid consultant so your efforts aren't counterproductive and you don't lose any financial aid.
When you participate in the Financial Aid FastTrack Program, professionals complete your CSS Profile, and all the other Federal and Campus based financial aid forms. If your family needs to receive financial aid, The Financial Aid FastTrack Program will be one of the best decisions your family ever makes.
*CSS/Profile is a registered tradeamrk of the College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does note endorse this product.