Many private schools and a handful of state schools will require completion of the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE form in addition to the FAFSA. The 2005-06 PROFILE form can only be obtained by registering with the College Board and paying a processing fee. Registration and completion can be done only via the internet (previously, you could telephone and order a paper version of the form, but this is no longer the case). Since there is a $5 registration fee as well as an $18 processing fee per school, you should carefully review each school's financial aid requirements in order to determine which ones need the PROFILE information.

You will need to provide credit card information at the time they register as you will be charged $23 when you register: the $5 registration fee plus the $18 fee for one school/program. The $18 per school/program fee for each additional school beyond the first one will need to be charged to a credit card when you transit the completed PROFILE application to the processor. (Certain users may be eligible for a fee waiver covering the registration fee as well as the processing fee for up to three schools/programs.) Once you have completed the PROFILE registration process, you will be able to complete your PROFILE application immediately after you register. The following items will then be available to you:

1. General guidelines for completing the PROFILE form.
2. The core questions of the PROFILE form (Sections A through P). These questions involve the basic data requested by all the schools which require the PROFILE form.
3. The institutional questions if they are required by one or more of the schools or programs involved. In addition to the core questions, the College Board has a pool of about 200 other optional questions and has downloaded these into its computer system. These "institutional questions" were culled from old versions of individual school aid forms as well as from requests submitted by FAOs at various schools. Based upon the school or program codes that you provided when you registered, the College Board will generate the appropriate institutional questions required by those schools. These questions, if any, will appear in Section Q of the PROFILE form.
4. Optional supplements. Based upon certain responses you provided when you registered, you may receive a Noncustodial Parent's Statement and/or a Business/Farm Supplement. These supplements should be completed and then sent directly only to those aid offices that require the particular form. Starting with the 2005-2006 version of the PROFILE, some schools may require that the noncustodial parent complete the Noncustodial Parent's Statement online. Others may still prefer that the paper version be submitted to the financial aid office. If the latter, signed photocopies are accepted by the FAOs. The Business Supplement will still only be available in a paper format and should be sent directly to those schools that require it. (You will be able to download copies of these supplements and print them out at some point after you register for the PROFILE.

Not Too Early
While you can register for and complete the 2005-2006 PROFILE anytime after October 1, 2004, keep in mind that you will be paying an $18 processing fee for any school or program that you designate to receive your PROFILE information. So it would make sense to wait a while to submit your completed PROFILE to the processor until the student has a better idea of their list of schools. While you can change the list of schools/programs that you have provided when you registered, you will be charged for any school that you have selected to receive your PROFILE data at the time you submit your completed application to the processor. So unless the school requests the completion of the PROFILE form in the early fall, it's a good idea to wait to register until mid November. Otherwise, if you apply too soon, you may be paying a fee for schools to which you decide not to apply.

Note: Once you submit your PROFILE for processing, you can then add additional schools (at an additional cost for processing plus the $18 per-school fee) and you will be asked any additional Section Q questions that are required by the added school(s) but have not been previously asked.

Not Too Late
While you can now register for the College Board's website, register for the PROFILE, and then complete and submit the PROFILE in one session online, it is still not a good idea to wait until right before your earliest school's PROFILE deadlines to do so. During peak processing periods, the College Board website may run slowly or be difficult to access. If additional supplements are required, you will also need some time to complete them and work out the logistics of getting the data to the appropriate schools by their deadlines.

Completing The CSS PROFILE Registration Form
The questions are rather self-explanatory. However, we caution you to carefully read and follow the instructions. There are also a few additional tips to keep in mind:

• Be extremely careful when selecting the code numbers for the schools and programs.
• If you are applying to more schools/programs that require the PROFILE form than you can list when you register, first select those with the earliest PROFILE deadlines. After you submit your PROFILE data to the processor, you can then add the additional schools/programs.