The Difference Between the FAFSA and CSS PROFILE
The Difference Between the FAFSA and CSS PROFILE
It’s time to think about college and all the stuff that goes with it – which college, which degree, and money, to name just a few of the things you’ll need to be focusing on in the near future. With money as a big factor in the choices you’ll be making, you need to be aware of all your options for finding money through grants, scholarships, and financial aid.
Most students fill out the FAFSA and it is free to all students regardless of income. However, there is another financial aid form that you might want to consider. The CSS PROFILE is a financial aid form that is used by various colleges to determine if you are eligible for non-federal financial help. Non-federal financial aid would include scholarships and grants awarded by the school itself as well as loans made through the financial aid office in the school.
The cost for filling out and filing the CSS PROFILE is $24.00. This $24.00 covers getting the information to your first college choice. If you have several that you are considering, the cost for having it sent to several colleges is $18.00 per college. Another thing you might want to keep in mind is that this financial aid form can be submitted prior to January 1st of the year you plan to start college.
Another difference between the FAFSA and the CSS PROFILE is that the PROFILE relates particularly to the colleges and the programs to which you are applying. Therefore, in order for the PROFILE to do the most good for you, you need to already know what college you’ll be attending. You will also need a short list of the programs in which you are interested.
The CSS PROFILE is processed a bit differently than the FAFSA and so requires some additional paper work that you will need to fill out the application. Because it is tailored to the school, you will need to contact the financial aid office of the college you plan to attend and talk to them about how to go about filling out the PROFILE. They will be happy to give you the form and talk to you about how to fill it out. These two different financial aid applications yield different results. If the college(s) you are looking into offers the PROFILE, you need to seriously consider filling out both forms in order to obtain the best financial aid for your situation.