CSS Profile
• Insert Brand Approved Picture for Cover
(Square Pictures only)
An Overview of the 2022-23 CSS
Profile
09/15/2021
The Process
• Applying for financial aid
• What
• Why
• When
• How
• Made a mistake?
• Common mistakes
• Resources
Applying for Financial Aid
It’s a process!
• Start by applying for admission and financial aid
• Complete aid applications and application supports
- FAFSA
- CSS Profile, if required
- Institutional applications, if required
- Provide documents, if required
• Note all critical deadlines - And do not miss them!
• 2022-23 FAFSA and CSS Profile available October 1,
2021
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What is CSS Profile?
• A financial aid application used to determine the
family’s financial need for institutional aid
• Used by about 400 colleges, universities, and
scholarship programs
• A supplemental aid application to the FAFSA
• FAFSA is always required for federal student aid
• CSS Profile required only if your institution
requires it
• Supports international students applying for institutional
aid at some U.S. colleges
• International applicants report in home currency,
which is converted to U.S. dollars for institutions
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Why do colleges require CSS
Profile?
• To understand the family’s true financial need
• To ensure that institutional aid is awarded
• To the students who truly need it
• In a fair and equitable manner
• To collect information from each of the student’s
parents if the parents are no longer together and
have different households
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Why should students
complete CSS Profile?
To make certain that the student applies for all the
aid that an institution might award
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When should you complete
CSS Profile?
No later than the first deadline of your
colleges!
Almost every college will have a different
deadline and different dates for
• Early decision
• Early action
• Regular decision
Recommend treating a deadline like:
College’s deadline date
- 5 days
= Student’s deadline
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How do you complete CSS
Profile?
• Verify if your college requires the CSS Profile
either:
• On your college’s website or
• On the College Board’s website of
Participating Institutions
• Complete the application online at
[Link]
• Students, and in most cases their parents, will
need to provide information
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How do you complete CSS
Profile?
• Log in with a College Board account
• Use the student’s account, if student has
one
• If no College Board account, create one
• Select the proper application year!
• High school seniors who will graduate in the
spring of 2022 apply for financial aid for
2022-23
• Same rule as for the FAFSA
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How does the family complete
CSS Profile?
• Noncustodial parents must
create an account
• Custodial parents can create
their own account or use
student’s account
[Link]
rg/pdf/creating-css-profile-accou
[Link]
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Cost of CSS Profile
• CSS Profile is FREE for domestic
undergraduate applicants whose family
IMPORTANT! reported income is $100,000 or less!
If a student was eligible for an • Independent or Dependent students
SAT fee waiver, the student’s • First time, Returning, or Transfer students
College Board account must • Students can also submit CSS Profile for free if
be used for the CSS Profile for
• Student received an SAT Fee Waiver
the SAT based fee waiver to
• Is an Orphan, Ward of the Court, or Homeless
be awarded
• Covers fees for all colleges selected
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Cost of CSS Profile
• New! Early Notification in app
for
• SAT Fee Waiver
• Orphan, Ward of Court
• Eligibility based on income will
be on Final Charge Summary
page.
• Early Notification on Dashboard
as well!
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Cost of CSS Profile
• Custodial Household
• $25 for application and first college selected
• $16 for each additional college
• Noncustodial Household
• $25 flat fee
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CSS Profile at a Glance Student
A comprehensive application to allow
for a full understanding of the family
Parent
Information
Parent Academic Student
Details Information Income
Parent Always
Parent Student
Data Income Assets Complete
Required d
Household
Parent Information Student
Assets Expenses
Special
Circumstance
Parent s
Expenses
Submit
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Getting Started
Navigating the application
• Academic Year
• Navigation Pane
• Help
• Save and Continue
• Contact Us
• Dashboard
• Log Out
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Getting Started
Get it right from the beginning!
• Student’s name
- Enter as listed on legal documents
8 Social Security Card
8 Alien Registration Card
• Date of birth
• Social Security Number
- Must match number on FAFSA
- Critical to matching file correctly at
your institution
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Student Status
About the student – not the parents!
• These questions are critical to setting
the CSS Profile correctly.
• Student’s name is used to emphasize
these questions are about the student.
• Common mistake is for parents to
answer these questions about
themselves.
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Student Status
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Student Status
• Answers must be the same as
reported on the FAFSA
• If student is certified as homeless or
at risk of being homeless, the student
will be treated as an independent
student
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Report the student’s parents
• All parents are reported
• Living parents
• Deceased parents
• Current stepparents
• Parent’s current partner
• Legal guardians
• Legal guardian’s spouse
• Up to four parents can be reported
• View
Reporting Parents on the CSS Profil
e
tutorial
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Report the student’s parents
• Elizabeth reports her parents and their
relationship to her
• Use “Add Another Parent” to report
stepparents, legal guardians, or other
additional parents
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Report the student’s parents
Where do your parent’s live?
• Report the country your parents
are living in now
• Do Not report
- Country of birth
- Country of citizenship
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Selecting your colleges
If your college lists the CSS Code Number, you
should be sure to use that one!
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Selecting your colleges
Make certain to select the correct college
• High school seniors should not select a
graduate school!
- Law school
- Medical school
- Business school
• Verify that the college accepts the CSS
Profile from undergraduate applicants
• Selecting the wrong college can delay
your application
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Reporting College Details
You are still a first-year undergraduate, never
previously attended if:
• You were dually enrolled while in high
school
• You earned college credits as a high
school student
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Reporting College Details
Elizabeth’s Schools
• Elizabeth reports her plans for each college:
- Yearin school
- Student ID assigned by college (if available)
- Housing plans
- Admissions application status
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Parent information required!
The questions are now about the parents
• Elizabeth’s mother and father will now
see parent questions
- Income
- Assets
- Family members
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Reporting Income Information
2020 Parent Tax Schedules and Forms
Check parent 2020 tax documents
carefully to see if schedules apply!
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Reporting Income Information
Follow the numbers
• Income questions are determined by the
type of tax return filed.
• Elizabeth’s parents used their 2020 IRS
1040 to report their income.
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Reporting Income Information
Follow the numbers
80000
2020 1040 Tax Return 300
500
2260
78540
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Reporting Income Information
Information from Lexi’s parents’ W-2s and other
documents
Whole
• Elizabeth’s parents report their
numbers only
earnings from their W-2s
• They also report other income No Cents
- Retirement contributions
- Family’s Flexible Spending Account
• They respond “0” to questions that do
not apply
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Reporting Income Information
Reporting future income
• Covid-19
• Expect Change
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Reporting Income Information
Reporting future income
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Reporting Asset Information
Report only assets that you have
• Cash, savings, and checking asked of
all filers
• Other assets reported only if owned
- Home
- Investments
- Parental
assets held in the name of
younger children
• Other real estate
• Business(es)
• Farm(s)
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Reporting the family members
Who else is in Elizabeth’s family?
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Reporting the family members
Who else is in Elizabeth’s family?
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Reporting the family members
Who else is in Elizabeth’s family?
For each family member added, you
will provide information about their
school attendance
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It’s Elizabeth’s turn!
Questions now collect Elizabeth’s financial
information
• Elizabeth will answer questions about
her
- Currentincome
- Expected income and benefits
- Assets
• Questions will be like those answered
by Mark and Ava
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Special Circumstances
Important opportunity to tell your story!
• Use this section to tell your story
• Tips:
- Selectall options that apply
- Be specific
8 Include amounts
8 Include examples
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Profile Dashboard
Up-to-date information
• Application status
• Payment receipt
• College list with details
- Deadline dates
- Link to school portal
• Add a college or program
• Next steps
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Made a mistake on your application?
New this year, you can submit a Correction!
• Basics:
- Can only submit one correction
- You cannot change data on the
original application
8 Correction is only to add data Correct Your CSS
Profile
- Corrections will be available 1
day after submission of your
application
• Submit at no Cost!
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Submitting a Correction
How to start the process?
• Click on “Correct Your CSS Profile”
Click to Start
Correct Your CSS
Profile
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Submitting a Correction
Types of Corrections
• Select Primary Reason for Correction
- Can only select one reason
• Types of Corrections:
- Changing from Independent to
Dependent (only applies to student
application)
- Need to add a Business or Farm
- Other options
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Submitting a Correction
Changing from Independent to Dependent
• Talk with your Colleges First!
• Then, Contact Customer Service
- Ifnot, correction cannot be started
- Warning message will alert you to contact
them
• Customer Service will open this
Correction process for you
- Ensuresyou do not incorrectly change
your status
• Once open,
- Select
this option (no warning)
- Complete free form text box
- Complete all parent questions
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Submitting a Correction
Changing from Independent to Dependent
• Application will display all questions not
previously answered
- Parent Details
- Parent Income
- Parent Assets
- Parent Expenses
- Household Summary (parent questions only)
- Supplemental Questions (if applicable)
• Once questions are complete, you will
submit Correction at no cost
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Submitting a Correction
Need to add a Business or Farm
• Select option “Need to add a Business or
Farm”
• Complete free form text box
• Click Continue
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Submitting a Correction
Need to add a Business or Farm
• Asset section will be the only area you
can provide updates
• Cannot overwrite or change
business(es) or farm(s) that were
previously submitted
• Once questions are complete,
applicant will submit Correction at no
cost
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Submitting a Correction
All Other types
• Other Correction types:
- Made a mistake
- Change in Employment
- COVID-19
- Medical Dental Expenses
- Catastrophic Event
- Elder Care
- Nonrecurring Income
- Financial Support
- Other
• Complete free form text box and submit
• No additional questions or changes can
be made for these types
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Submitting a Correction
Profile Dashboard Updates
• CSS Profile Dashboard will update
to show date Correction submitted
• “Add a College or Program” button
will activate in Colleges &
Programs
• Next Steps updated if additional
documents are needed
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1. Applying for the wrong academic year
2. Entering important information incorrectly
• Not reporting the student’s name as shown on
legal documents
• Not reporting the student’s Social Security
Number when one is available or entering it
incorrectly
• Reporting parent information as student
Common information, and vice versa
3. Entering the student’s date of birth incorrectly
Mistakes •
•
Parent entering a sibling’s date of birth
Parent entering their own date of birth
4. Answering questions about the student’s status
incorrectly
• Reporting the student has dependents
• Reporting the student is married or is a veteran
• Reporting the student is a ward of the court
5. Selecting a graduate school instead of the college’s
undergraduate program 50
Spanish Resources
• CSS Profile Application Guidance
• Customer Service Hours
• Resource page in Spanish at [Link].
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References:
[Link]
Getting Started with your CSS Profile Application
• Other tutorials
• Completing the CSS Profile as the Noncusto
Thank you! dial Parent
• Reporting Parents on the CSS Profile
Customer Service
• Phone
• Email
• Chat
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