College Counseling: Financial Aid

CSS/Profile

To expedite early application programs, a web-based financial aid service is used by many private schools. There is a fee involved. One advantage is that the Profile can be filled out in the fall. Your registration goes to a server, at which time, schools can access the data and send you their own individualized application. A major disadvantage is that most methodologies used by private schools include assets in their determination of need. Consequently, issues like home equity, retirement savings, non-custodial parent income, and business values can be used in the determination.