CSS Profile: Everything You Need to Know for 2025-26
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You may have heard of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), but to score more free money for school, you may also need to submit the CSS Profile.
The CSS Profile is an additional financial aid form offered by College Board. Hundreds of U.S. colleges require students to submit the CSS Profile in order to qualify for institutional grants and scholarships. You can access the form on College Board's website.
Compared to the FAFSA, the CSS Profile allows families to share more information about extenuating circumstances that may affect their ability to pay for college.
Here's everything you need to know about the 2025-26 CSS Profile.
What is the CSS Profile?
The CSS Profile, like the FAFSA, is a form used to assess your family’s income and assets to calculate your expected family contribution.
Colleges use your expected family contribution to determine your financial aid package.
Who should submit the CSS Profile?
You should submit the CSS Profile if the school(s) to which you're applying require the form — even if you’ve already submitted the FAFSA. Check this list to see which schools need the profile.
When is the CSS Profile deadline?
The CSS Profile for the 2025-26 school year opened on Oct. 1, 2024.
Each school or program sets its own CSS Profile filing deadline. Many fall between Jan. 1 and March 31. Some schools have early filing deadlines in November or December. Submit the CSS Profile well before a school’s priority filing date in order to qualify for the most aid possible.
Like the FAFSA, you'll need to resubmit the CSS Profile for each year you're in college.
What kind of financial aid can I get with the CSS Profile vs. the FAFSA?
The CSS Profile is used primarily by private schools and some selective public universities to award institutional grants and scholarships to pay for college. It may allow colleges to see a fuller picture of your family's finances than the FAFSA alone.
The FAFSA can also be used for institutional aid, but its main use is to help you qualify for federal aid, including grants, work-study dollars and student loans.
How much financial aid will I qualify for with the CSS Profile?
Both the CSS Profile and FAFSA give colleges information they need to determine your financial aid offer, but each could produce a different result because they use different methodologies. Here’s how the CSS Profile determines aid:
More information is considered. The CSS Profile collects more detailed information about your family’s finances, such as medical expenses. It also considers assets that the FAFSA doesn’t, including home equity, and the value of family farms and small family businesses.
Your school may have unique questions. Colleges that use the CSS Profile can also add customized questions and adjust the formula they use for determining aid.
Divorced parents’ income may be used. Some schools that use the CSS Profile collect income information for both parents even if they’re divorced or separated and don’t live together. The FAFSA only considers one parent’s income in those circumstances.
Your actual financial aid eligibility may vary by school.
How much does it cost to submit the CSS Profile?
The CSS Profile costs $25 to submit to one school. Each additional school after that costs $16 each.
However, undergraduate students can submit the CSS Profile for free if they meet any of these conditions:
Their family's annual adjusted gross income is less than $100,000.
They qualified for an SAT fee waiver.
They're an orphan or ward of the court under the age of 24.
Why should I still submit the FAFSA?
The CSS Profile is for institutional and nonfederal aid only, so you’ll still want to submit the FAFSA to unlock Pell Grants, work-study, some scholarships and federal student loans.
And if you do need loans, consider how much you can afford to borrow for college.
How to complete the CSS Profile
The CSS Profile opens Oct. 1 each year. Before you get started, note your schools’ CSS Profile deadlines.
1. Create a College Board account. You might already have one if you took the SAT. You can create a College Board account or login on the College Board website. Custodial parents will use the same account as their student; only noncustodial parents need to create their own separate account.
2. Gather your financial documents. Having the following documents on hand will make filling out the application easier:
Your most recent federal tax returns.
Your most recent W-2 forms or other records of current year income.
Records of untaxed income and benefits.
Bank statements.
Mortgage information.
Records of savings, stocks, bonds, trusts and other assets.
3. Register for the CSS Profile. This process includes filling in basic identifying information and selecting the schools where you want to send your CSS Profile. Your CSS Profile questions will be customized based on your answers during registration.
4. Complete the application. This takes roughly 45 minutes to two hours, according to College Board. You don't need to finish the form in one sitting.
Many of the questions concern your parents’ finances. If they’re divorced or separated, have your custodial parent — the one you’ve lived with most in the past 12 months — complete those questions. If you lived with each parent for an equal amount of time, your custodial parent is the one who provided you with the most financial support in the past 12 months.
5. Have a parent complete the Noncustodial Profile, if necessary. This step only applies if your parents are divorced or separated and your school requires the Noncustodial Profile.
6. Find out whether you’re eligible for a fee waiver. The College Board automatically determines if you qualify for a waived application fee based on your responses. The waiver also includes the cost of sending your CSS Profile to up to eight colleges.
If you don’t qualify for a fee waiver, you’ll have to pay the $25 application fee before you can submit the form.
7. Submit the application. Check your work first. If you need to correct your CSS Profile after you’ve submitted it, you can update it by clicking “Correct Your CSS Profile” on your College Board account dashboard.
