FAFSA Form

This is the U.S. Department of Education's Free Application for Federal Student Aid website, commonly referred to as “FAFSA on the Web”. The FAFSA form is the federal financial aid form used by the U.S. Department of Education to calculate your family’s EFC (Expected Family Contribution).  It implements the Federal Methodology and is used by virtually every college in America in assessing federal and state financil aid eligibility.

With few exceptions we recommend that a FAFSA form be submitted for EVERY college-bound student - regardless of the parent's or student's level of income and assets. It must be submitted annually in order to qualify for federal and/or state financial aid, which includes grants, loans and work study programs.

CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE Form

About 200 colleges - nearly all of them private - require this financial aid form in order to qualify for aid provided by the schools themselves.  These colleges are commonly referred to as "Profile Schools".

PROFILE is the financial aid application service of the College Board – a national, 100-year-old, not-for-profit membership association.  Many of the member colleges, universities, graduate and professional schools, and scholarship programs use the information collected on the PROFILE form to help them award non-federal student aid funds.

View the listing of Profile Schools.

Institutional Forms (not a link)

Most private colleges require an additional financial aid form unique to the institution. GetCollegeFunding recommends you make a list of all the private schools your student is considering and research each of these school’s financial aid application requirements by visiting their individual websites.  You can then download any unique forms they require and note the deadlines for submission.