• Financial Aid
• CSS PROFILE tips

CSS PROFILE

In 2011-2012 Occidental College awarded over $40 million dollars to students to help them pay for college. We use the CSS PROFILE to see which students need help paying for college and how much Oxy aid can be awarded in scholarships, grants, work, and student loans.  

CSS PROFILE Costs

Occidental College does not provide fee waivers or fee waiver codes for the CSS PROFILE. Eligibility for fee waivers is automatically assessed at the time you submit the CSS PROFILE.

The CSS PROFILE requires a credit card to pay the registration fee. Fee waivers are available for low-income students. The CSS PROFILE fee waiver covers the costs of the registration fee and up to six school reports for eligible applicants who are first-time, first-year filers.

What you Need to Know

The CSS PROFILE is only available online. Be sure we get your application--add us as a school recipient, our CSS code is #4581. 

We encourage you to use your best estimates when answering the questions on the CSS PROFILE. Do not miss the deadline for this application because you are waiting for your Federal Tax Returns to be filed. 

Before you begin your CSS PROFILE application, you may want to gather a couple of useful documents to assist you:

• Student and parent(s) Social Security Cards

• Parent(s) prior year Federal Tax Returns and W-2s

• Parent(s) prior year Corporate Tax Returns

• Bank statements and other investment records

Avoid Common Errors

• Double check that essential information is entered correctly (i.e. social security numbers, date of birth, name as it appears on a social security card).

• Answer all questions to the best of your ability. If you do not know what a question is asking, contact the College Board helpline at (866) 630-9305.

• Estimate income information to the best of your ability. It is useful to reference prior year tax returns to answer many of the income questions on the CSS PROFILE.

Special Forms

If your parents are divorced, separated, or never married, you may be required to complete a Noncustodial PROFILE.

After you submit your CSS PROFILE, the College Board will ask you, via e-mail, to provide information to your noncustodial parent about the Noncustodial PROFILE requirement. You should forward this e-mail to your noncustodial parent. This e-mail contains a link to the Noncustodial PROFILE website where the noncustodial parent must log-in.

Important Note

Incoming students who do not register for and complete the CSS PROFILE application by the deadline may not be considered for Occidental need-based scholarships, work awards, or loan funds. Late applicants are awarded on a first come, first serve basis.

Go to Step 2