The Profile is a
financial aid form for students in
post-secondary education. It is similar in form and function to the
FAFSA; however, it is more lengthy and intrusive. It requires current year tax information (or estimates) as well as many other figures. It is required by many
private institutions of
higher education for need-based aid as well as merit-based
scholarships. This form can be completed online through the College Board's website, or the
conventional paper copy can be used if the
deadline's not tomorrow. The
College Scholarship Service, or
CSS, will, after receiving your information, send the data to the
colleges or
universities you requested.
The Profile can contain as many as 17 sections, including 'Student's Tax Information,' 'Parent's Expenses,' and the mutable Section Q (Institutional Questions). Depending on where you need your information sent, this may contain requests for figures such as "amount of parents' consumer debt."
If your parents are divorced and you have a non-custodial parent, they will need to fill out the Non-Custodial Parent's statement, a watered-down version of the main Profile form. This cannot be completed online. It is assumed that each parent will contribute financially to the student's education.
This form is mainly utilized by American colleges and universities, but international students will still need to complete it.