Learn more about financial aid at at https://www.mefa.org/collegefinancia...

Parent Information
• Report all parents and stepparents (up to 4) (include deceased)
• Legal guardians should be reported as parents (different from the FAFSA)
• Custodial parent, current spouse, and student provide info & list of colleges
• Custodial parent = same as FAFSA = whoever provided more financial support in the previous 12 months
• Some schools require noncustodial parent to submit a Profile (check school’s website)
• Student supplies email address of noncustodial parent
• Either after school selection or in dashboard after submission
• It is student responsibility to follow up with noncustodial parent
• If the student has a legal guardian, all of the parent questions apply to the legal guardian (!)
• Custodial parent: the parent who provided more financial support over the past 12 months, just like the FAFSA; if that is equal, use whoever has higher income or assets
• If one parent provided child support, assume the child support is financial support provided by that parent
• The schools selected will determine if parent info is collected for independent students – if required by any school, the parent data will be displayed. Independent students are: 24 or older as of Jan 1 in academic yr, married, grad students, have legal dependents other than spouse, veterans, and orphans/wards of the court
• Report both parents if you live with them
• Income earned from work = wages, salaries, & tips from the federal income tax return
• Most colleges/universities assume a certain amount of student contribution from income, even if income = $0
• Include other children in hh if parents will provide more than half their support during the upcoming academic year
• Don’t include people that the parents support who are NOT in the household (e.g. grandparents living elsewhere)

If Noncustodial Parent Info Not Available
• If no noncustodial parent is listed, student will receive followup questions
• Is noncustodial parent:
• Deceased
• Unknown
• Incarcerated
• Involved with legal order or documented abuse
• Is student:
• A child of a single adoptive parent
• A child conceived by single parent at time of conception
• Not in contact with noncustodial parent
• Based on the answers provided, noncustodial parent questions may be removed
• If noncustodial parent info required but not available, send waiver request to colleges
• Found on CSS Profile parent page: cssprofile.collegeboard.org/profileforparents

Noncustodial Parent Instructions
• Noncustodial parent will receive an email request to submit the Profile
• Noncustodial parent completes a separate and secure Profile
• Use same website: cssprofile.org
• Must create own College Board account
• Will use student’s CBFinAid ID (included in email)
• Will create a student account with parent information
• No student financial info provided, just student demographic info
• Does not select colleges but sees them listed
• Cannot submit application until at least one college is listed
• Can use a fee payment code
• If completing two CSS Profiles, will need to use two accounts under two different email addresses
• Custodial and noncustodial parents cannot see one another’s application
• Note that noncustodial parents get the full CSS Profile (with all the questions) so they will not have the same streamlined experience that students will receive