The CSS Profile is a financial aid application that's used (or required) by nearly 250 colleges, universities, and scholarship programs to award non-federal aid.

Key points 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.

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 ...

Completing the CSS profile can help you qualify for non-federal aid opportunities. This form, unlike the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) , is used by a limited number of colleges ...

College Board's Susan McCrackin tells parents applying for financial aid to pay for college how to update their income tax information on the CSS Profile financial aid form. Many students are ...

Typically, both the FAFSA and the CSS Profile application open Oct. 1 the year before you need financial aid. For the 2023-24 school year, both applications open Oct. 1, 2022.

Bankrate’s take: In many cases, it is a good idea to apply for both the FAFSA and the CSS profile to get an idea of how much federal and private aid you are eligible for. CSS Profile vs. FAFSA ...

It’s the season for would-be college students and their families try to figure out how to pay tuition bills. On Oct. 1, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or the FAFSA, went live. The ...

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and College Scholarship Service (CSS) Profile are the most common financial aid forms and the 2019-2020 application for both became available ...

The CSS Profile also requires more financial detail in many cases, according to the independent website Finaid. For example, it takes family homeownership into account, while the FAFSA doesn’t.