<p>Just wondering. What's the difference between the CSS and the FAFSA?</p>
<p>I know we won't qualify for any financial aid, but what does filing these out do to your chances of merit money? In other words, does your lack of need affect your chances of merit money at all?</p>
<p>All schools require FAFSA in order to award need-ased aid. Some schools additionally require the CSS profile. So, for those schools, if you’re trying to get need-based aid, you need to submit both.</p>
<p>If you’re certain that you won’t qualify for need-based aid, then you don’t need to fill out either one.</p>
<p>As for merit aid, some merit awards are completely independent of financial need, and others aren’t. Whether you fill out the forms or not won’t make any difference. You won’t be eligible for those awards that are restricted to lower income candidates (who’d be required to submit FAFSA to prove their financial need), and you will be eligible for all the others.</p>