CSS Profile: Schools that DON'T Require Non-Custodial Parent Information
For many years, schools used the FAFSA as the way to determine how much a family could contribute toward the cost of college. While the FAFSA is still in use to determine federal financial aid eligibility across the country, more recently schools have begun using the CSS Profile through the College Board to help determine how much institutional aid they will award families.
How to Find Colleges That Don’t Require the Non-Custodial CSS Profile
There is a lot to be gained from our free general financial aid advice, but it’s also a very individual process. If you have remaining financial aid questions, email us to discuss more or book an individual session.
Which Schools DON’T Require the CSS Profile? >>
The CSS Profile is a much more extensive form than the FAFSA. You can learn more about the CSS Profile here, but the biggest difference between the two forms is that many CSS Profile schools require information from the custodial parent AND the non-custodial parent, where the FAFSA only requires information on the custodial parent.
In this way, a family's financial aid eligibility could be VERY different when a school is looking at only the custodial parent's information versus the financial profile of the custodial and non-custodial parent. And, in the experience of many families of divorce or separation, this isn't always a fair way to determine financial aid eligibility since the non-custodial parent is not necessarily obligated to contribute to the cost of college.
How to Find FAFSA-Only Private Colleges >>
For example, some non-custodial parents say they are not contributing to college costs. If there is no court order mandating a contribution from the non-custodial parent toward the cost of the child's college, it could be very likely that the custodial parent will be the one shouldering the expense.
However, even if this is the case and explained by the custodial parent, many CSS Profile schools will still require the financial information of the non-custodial parent to be considered for need-based institutional aid.
As a result, families of separation and divorce are often better off, in terms of financial aid, targeting schools that only use the FAFSA or don't require the non-custodial CSS Profile form.
Here is a list of schools and organizations that require the CSS Profile but DO NOT require the non-custodial CSS Profile form.
Sign up for an individual session on the CSS Profile and other questions >>
CSS Profile schools and programs that don't require non-custodial information
| School Name | State |
| Armenian Student Assoc of Amer | RI |
| Bentley U: Mccallum Graduate | MA |
| Berry College | GA |
| Boyce College | KY |
| Buttonwood Foundation | NY |
| Christendom College, VA | VA |
| Cleveland Institute of Music | OH |
| College of William and Mary | VA |
| College of Wooster | OH |
| Cornell U: College of Vet Medicine | NY |
| Cornell U: School of Law | NY |
| Drexel University | PA |
| Elon University | NC |
| Emerson College | MA |
| George Washington U: Law S | DC |
| Georgia Institute of Technology | GA |
| Gestalt Institute of Cleveland | OH |
| Gettysburg College | PA |
| Global Citizen Year | CA |
| Great Basin College | NV |
| Gustavus Adolphus College | MN |
| Harvard U: Dental Sch | MA |
| Hillsdale College | MI |
| Illinois Wesleyan University | IL |
| Juilliard School, The | NY |
| Kamehameha Schools | HI |
| Kutztown University | PA |
| Montessori Inst of North Texas | TX |
| National Merit Schol Corp | IL |
| Nevada State College | NV |
| New Canaan HS Schol Foundation | CT |
| New Saint Andrews College | ID |
| Oberlin College | OH |
| Olivet College | MI |
| Otis College of Art and Design | CA |
| Providence College | RI |
| Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst | NY |
| Rhodes College | TN |
| Santa Clara University | CA |
| SF Mainliner Scholarship Prg | CA |
| Southern Baptist Theo Sem | KY |
| Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary | TX |
| St. Tikhons Orthodox Theological Seminary | PA |
| Stanford U: School of Law | CA |
| Stetson University | FL |
| Stevens Institute Technology | NJ |
| The 200 Club of Morris County | NJ |
| Town of Chelmsford Schol Fund | MA |
| Trinity University | TX |
| Univ of Chicago | IL |
| Univ of North Carolina Chapel | NC |
| Vanderbilt U: School of Medicine | TN |
| Vanderbilt University | TN |
| Virginia Commonwealth U: Sch of Med | VA |
| William Jewell College | MO |
| Yale U: Physicians Associate Program | CT |
| Yale U: School of Medicine | CT |
You can find a full updated list of CSS Profile schools and their individual requirements here.