College Board Makes CSS Free to More Students

The College Board announced Wednesday that the CSS Profile -- used by about 300 colleges to determine aid eligibility -- would become free to all students with a family income of up to $100,000. In the past, it was free to those with a family income up to $45,000. The CSS Profile asks more questions than the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, and some colleges prefer it.

The College Board also announced that it was “working to develop a lighter, shorter version of the CSS Profile for universities that need more information than FAFSA alone provides but less than today’s CSS Profile offers. The lighter profile option will be available as early as fall 2022.”